A local church is advertising an upcoming performance by “a bras quintet.” I fear the spectators will not find what the ad seems to promise.

Do you know those posters in pediatricians’ offices suggesting that you shouldn’t pelt small children with rapid-fire questions? “What happened at school today? What did you learn? How much outdoor time did you get? What was for lunch? Who did you play with?” A kid clams up and answers “I don’t know” in the best-case scenario, and throws a tantrum in the worst.

But you still want to know! Here’s a trick I invented to find everything out without asking.

On the way from school, Klara and I play Little Penguin. There’s a little penguin who wants to go to her school but he’s scared and confused and thinks all sorts of funny things about how school works.

“Little Penguin says that during lunch everybody puts lunch boxes on their heads! And that at math you learn to play basketball!”

Klara laughs and is eager to explain to the Little Penguin what actually happens during the math lesson, at choir practice, or at lunch. And I don’t ask a single question.

Speaking about neoliberalism, Mark Edwards writes thrillers that are all based on a single premise: any contact with another human being is fraught with danger. Anybody can turn out to be a psychopath out to destroy you: a neighbor, a girlfriend, a coworker, a passerby. Talk to another human, treat anybody with kindness, and your life will be over.

The Devil’s Work is about co-workers from hell. The novel was published several years ago, but it would make for a perfect lockdown reading. All books by Edwards are perfect for a lockdown. Instead of wasting billions on Pfizer swill, governments should have ordered copies of Edwards’ books and sent them to everybody. Then people wouldn’t want to leave lockdowns ever again.

Great book, extremely enjoyable, extra spooky. In short, it’s perfect neoliberal fun.

Alexa interprets “Away in a Manger” as “Willie the Manager.” Even its speech recognition is neoliberal.

The Amazon warehouse that was destroyed by the tornado is a smoldering ruin. I don’t know how they build in a tornado-prone area to end up with such a flimsy structure. I also find it shocking that they didn’t evacuate when we all knew that tornadoes were coming. I hope people sue. It’s a terrible calamity.