Better Call Shao

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diary

A collection of 5 issues

Sylvia Plath's Ariel: A Cry for Escape

Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... Ariel By Sylvia Plath in her own voice Stasis in darkness. Then the substanceless blue Pour of tor and distances. God’s lioness, How one we grow, Pivot of heels and knees!—The furrow Splits and passes, sister to The brown arc

Bedtime Diplomacy: Out-Trolling the Tiny Negotiator

Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... Parenting is a wild ride, and today was no exception. It’s 9:30 PM, and I’m trying to convince my toddler son that sleep is a wonderful idea. We’re snuggled in bed, and I pull out my classic argument:

Curiosity: The Doorway to Truth

Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... Why did you play with the food and not eat it like I told you? This is what my father asks my toddler, and the answer, if we think about it, is simple: curiosity. Curiosity is so deeply embedded in us that

In the Shadow of Second Chances

Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... On a crisp autumn night, my wife and I found ourselves in the emergency department of UCSF Children's Hospital with our son. As he dozed off in my arms, fatigue overcame me, prompting a walk around the ward. In the

A Dialogue on Existence: Life, Suffering, and the Human Condition

Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... Guest: Never being born is quiet and peaceful. But to become a sensible being, burdened with the imperfections of human nature, plunges one into pain. It’s messy and worse than never being born. For example, once alive, one suffers from laziness