(Editors Note: On February 25, 2022, the Florida House of Representatives passed H.B. 1557, “Parental Rights in Education,” colloquially known as the “Don’t Say Gay,” bill. The addendum discussed here, which would have required schools to out LGBTQ kids, was struck from the bill before it was voted on. Meanwhile, The Florida Senate is expected…
Category: A Piece of Our Minds
Sunday Summary: Community
We’ve reached another Sunday, and so we bring you a Sunday Summary for the week of 14 February 2022-19 February 2022. It’s been an exciting week at 2 Rules of Writing for our community of writers. They’ve brought us heartfelt pieces about popular media this week, as well as some insightful ones about the writing…
Big Cat, Little Cat: Obscenities
This week was a big week for Little Cat in particular. Got out a bit. Learned some new obscenities. All in all a good week. He escaped while Human-Mom (a.k.a. Erika) was taking in the groceries. He made it as far as Orlando and visited a cat-house. (Please nobody tell him. Yeah, Little Cat puts…
Watch/Listen/Read: Things to Try Guys!
Every Friday we bring you a chat about the media we’ve been consuming. This week, Wheel of Time, Try Guys, and (what a surprise) classical music. Enjoy! Adam Writes: The Wheel of Time So. I’m about halfway through book ten of the fourteen book series. I find it fits surprisingly well into my day. I’m…
Make Literary Analysis Personal: The Rose
I have always had a fondness for the personal literary analysis. The kind you see in novels. Someone is talking about a work of literature, but they’re really talking about themselves. In my opinion, all literary analysis is personal. Nobody picks a subject of study unless they’re not just interested but invested in it. Yes,…
Rebirth: The Day I Became a Writer
We often mark time in our lives with rituals and rites of passage. Moments of birth and rebirth. Baby showers, weddings, funerals. There were a couple of years in junior high school where many weekends were taken up with b’nai mitzvot for friends or family members, followed a few years later by sweet sixteens. We…
Sunday Summary: Waiting for the Flowers
Welcome to the Sunday Summary for the week of 7 February 2022-12 February 2022. We’ve reached the middle of February–that time of year when winter’s chill has worn us down but every day we look around, hoping to be surprised by the sudden appearance of the crocus to remind us that spring is within our…
Watch/Listen/Read: Why I Read
Erika Writes… One of those Weeks I don’t know what’s going on this week. Things just feel unsettled. As I worked on the piece I shared this week, something just felt… off. The weather was cold and yucky, the topic was difficult to write about. Everything was, and has continued to be, a little bit…
The Nazis are Getting Worse
The Sound of Music was my introduction to Nazis. I can remember watching that scene as a small child, and feeling frightened. I can remember asking about what the flag meant and my mother explaining it. Even without seeing the clip I can recall how chilling the anger is in the scene. The only thing…
Peek inside the Rare Book Room
I want to talk for a bit about what was truly magical about being an academic: the rare book room. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I feel a bit dismal about my own PhD journey. Huge swaths of American Academia are a scam. I’m not alone in thinking this. But. But! There…