Laurie Johnson

Redlining: Mapping Inequality in Dayton & Springfield | Redlining: Mapping Inequality (online version) See how redlining embedded racial segregation into the development of American cities.

Yes! Thank you. The rest of the PBS series on redlining in Ohio is also very enlightening. www.pbs.org/video/redlin...

Redlining: Mapping Inequality in Dayton & Springfield | Redlining: Mapping Inequality (online version) See how redlining embedded racial segregation into the development of American cities.

www.pbs.org/video/redlin...

A white lattice gazebo with an Ohio historical marker sign about Ridgewood in the Country Club District. The planned community was white-only until the 1980s.

While researching locations for my novel, I became obsessed with planned communities and seemingly utopian suburban neighborhoods. Some, like the Love Canal, were literally built on toxic waste. Others were poisoned by whites-only policies. I highly recommend the PBS documentary on redlining.

Readers at the event posing for a photo

Kit de Waal about to give a reading, sitting in a chair at a distance with rows of listeners on either side

Crowd listening to a reading with a floor to ceiling window in the background

People chatting in a lounge in mid century style

Impeccable vibes at #EWSBrussels2025 ✨

Thank you to all our readers, especially to our surprise guest @kitdewaal.com

Oh no! Safe travels and get well soon. Happy writing and maybe see you at another EWS event. (This was my first as well).

It was wonderful and inspiring!

I'm looking forward to it!

A beautiful essay about a beautiful life. Thank you. And yes, her memory IS a blessing!

In Honor of Joanna Macy, 1929-2025 I write while staying in one of the great forests of British Columbia, a forest in which the inextricability of life from death is gorgeously evident. Several kinds of fern spring from this soil, some...

I wrote a memorial essay in praise of the great Joanna Macy over there at my newsletter.....

So interesting! I rewatched TNG and first watched Voyager and DS9 during 2020 lockdowns and appreciate Roddenberry's vision. Nice to see Jeri Taylor wrote many of the episodes I Iike. Not a fan of B Crusher and Grandma's green ghost lover, though. I'll visit the Janeway statue this August!

It was a great speech!

Me at the Munich #NoKings demonstration, wearing my tie-dyed Idaho Falls Pride t-shirt and carrying a yellow umbrella saying "No Kings *or queens **except drag"

Munich #DemocratsAbroad #NoKings

Three barn swallows on a fence

A common blue damselfly on a yellow iris bud

Field scabious, a pinkish, purplish flowering plant in a meadow

Wagtail bird on a branch over the Amper River

Walking around rivers, trees, and ponds is the best. It clears my head after work, when I'm writing, or when current events are getting me down. Such beauty!

What a great title! Wishing you good nerves and helpful feedback.

A flying stork with branches in its beak.

A stork standing next to branches on an old wall. It's looking at us and a black wing feather is lifted by the wind.

A stork walking through green grass with dandelions. There's an old stone wall, the bottom part of an arch, and signs of construction.

When I came to Europe, I was thrilled to see #storks and hedgehogs in real life and not just fairy tales or picture books.
My #WIP is set in the US, so my characters have cardinals, pileated woodpeckers, and spotted owls, but no storks. Or should I send someone to Europe to see them?🤔

Live: Speaking on Trump, Musk, and America’s Moral Moment on the Senate Floor | Senator Cory Booker YouTube video by Senator Cory Booker

I’ve taken the Senate floor and will speak for as long as I’m physically able to lift the voices of Americans who are being harmed and not being heard in this moment of crisis. Watch here:

In Munich, we have The Readery, which also sponsors open readings and workshops. Amerika Haus offers a library card for e-books that works through the consulate in Berlin. The selection and availability aren't as good as a US library, but it's still a big help!

Sunny yellow coltsfoot blossoms (Hufflattich)

A patch of bright yellow coltsfoot flowers (Hufflattich)

So many coltsfoot flowers (Hufflattich)

Coltsfoot, is such a welcome sight every spring with its blossoms like little suns. Unlike many other plants, the flowers show up first and the leaves come later. I was so happy to find these large patches on a recent bike ride to Munich. 🌿 #Coltsfoot #Hufflattich #NativePlants

A middle spotted woodpecker at a feeding station in Nymphenburg park (Mittelspecht)

A greater spotted woodpecker at a feeding station in Nymphenburg park (Buntspecht)

A greater spotted woodpecker taking a nosedive as it flies off. (Buntspecht)

It's #WoodpeckerWednesday and I am here for it! No writing updates at the moment. I'm still trying to get in the rhythm of working on my second draft and getting stuck writing about work. I've been self-employed most of my adult life and therefore somewhat clueless about office life.
#Mittelspecht

Dried puffball mushrooms on a moss tree stump.

Hepatica / liverwort blossoms among dried leaf letter.

Hepatica/ liverwort flowers in spring sunshine.

Bright yellow witchhazel flowers

Flora and fungi on a beautiful, early spring day. Walking and biking outside clears my mind and relaxes my being - so important these days!

Nice! I've only seen the grey once (and only because someone more knowledgable pointed it out to me).

Donald Trump is embarrassing the United States on the world stage. We are a country that stands up to dictators and fights for democracy.

Minnesota stands firmly with our allies in Ukraine.

Many small greyish green mushrooms on a mossy log with patches of snow.

Moss and snow on a shelf mushroom on a tree trunk with lichens.

European goldfinches on a tree branch with dry, brown oak leaves.

The yellow stripe on the head of the bird in the bare branches identifies it as a kinglet.

What's good these days? Work is good. Writing is good. Nature is good. Mushrooms are easier to photograph but birds are more fun.

I feel so seen
🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️💙📚⏰
#BookSky
#booksky
#reading #booklover #readingcommunity
#BookSkyFeed 🔁
#AmWriting
📚💙🖋️📚💙

I am outside the US Treasury Department calling out Musk and Trump for their dangerous power grab.

Unelected billionaires have no place in our government, and they sure as hell have no business with the Social Security and tax information of millions of Americans. youtube.com/live/sZXyEUF...

Banner with the words in German "Remembering has never been as important as today." Demonstrators for democracy stand behind the banner. "Nie war Erinnern so wichtig wie heute" (Heimatverein Indersdorf ev, Demokratiebündnis dachauer Land)

A sign with colorful letters. It says in German "Diversity not simple mindedness." Rainbow heart plus brain "protect from populism." "Vielfalt statt Einfalt. Herz und Hirn schützen vor Populismus."

A long line of people, only a small portion of the 5000 demonstrators, walking down the closed off road (keeping one side open for emergency vehicles).

I just read that there were 160,000 pro-democracy demonstrators in Berlin. We were "only" 5000 in my town. It feels weird to have to demonstrate for basic things like democracy, human decency, kindness, treating people like people, etc., but I'm glad we were so many despite the damp, creeping cold.

If you’re in the US and you’d like to know what projects and vital services federal grants currently fund in your state, you can search here: www.usaspending.gov

And you can find the contact information for your elected representatives here: www.usa.gov/elected-offi...

They need to hear from you.

"Are you Kant or Hegel?" "I'm Audre Lorde and Gisele Pelicot."

Different generations have different reactions. In the 50s many wanted to buy a washing machine, get on with life. 60s kids challenged their parents and grandparents. Also, who's a collaborator? There are obvious perpetrators but so many were in-between. Or both victims and collaborators. Or kids.

Certain aspects of nazi Germany took longer to confront, such as forced sterilization and so-called euthanasia of "life unworthy of living," meaning people with disabilities or mental illness. Sinti and Roma populations and gay victims also weren't recognized til later.