Hi, Desert

Be the Love

I hit my I-hate-Valentine’s Day wall a few years back, having grown tired of giving my power away to a random winter’s day and all the propaganda that went along with it. Railing against Valentine’s Day took just as much effort as playing into Valentine’s Day, while proving equally stupid.

Wednesday, January 25,2012
Opinion

The Correct Answer

Sometimes, there just isn’t one

Joe Teacher

A childhood friend of mine runs one of those online newspapery things that serves as a watchdog for the rural community in which we both grew up.

Wednesday, January 18,2012
Opinion

First Person

EcoSystemic Policy

Laura Paskus

Climate change affects everyone, even if it doesn’t feel like it.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve driven through a handful of dust storms that made me feel, even just momentarily, that I wouldn’t find a safe way out of the darkness and stinging grit. Even inside the vehicle, it was hard not to hold my breath.

Wednesday, January 11,2012
Opinion

First Person

Somewhere in America

Ramon A Lovato

Mama Nena is in the kitchen, reheating a pot of fried beans from several days before. Papa Mon sits in the living room, his frail, ancient body occupying barely any space on the wide couch. He is asking me about my life.

Wednesday, January 4,2012
Opinion

Hi, Desert

HollyDaze

Dani Katz

It’s Christmas Eve, and I’m playing cat’s cradle with an unruly tangle of thoughts telling me I should feel happy, I should act merry, I should engage in festive revelry. But I’m not feeling it and haven’t felt it yet, not since that first digital snowflake fell across an innocent Google search, or a glittery felt version affixed itself to a retail shop window, and certainly not now. Christmas—what does it even mean anymore?

Wednesday, December 21,2011
Opinion

First Person

Back to Frack: What’s old is new in New Mexico drilling regulations

Laura Paskus

Three years ago, residents of Pavillion, Wyo. asked the US Environmental Protection Agency to figure out what had happened to their drinking water, which had begun to taste and smell bad.

Wednesday, December 14,2011
Opinion

Hi, Desert

Find, Find and Find Again

Dani Katz

It was snowing, and I was on foot, determined to find no less than every piece of art hidden around the city, as part of Caldera Gallery’s Hide and Seek treasure hunt for all.

Wednesday, December 7,2011
Opinion

First Person

Mind the Gap: New Mexico children deserve better education—and better reform

Allegra Love

When it comes to public education, New Mexico’s current reform efforts are dangerously misguided. The optimistic tagline of the New Mexico Public Education Department’s new reform initiative—“Kids First, New Mexico Wins”—is disingenuous on several levels.

Wednesday, November 30,2011
Opinion

First Person

Climate Inaction: With climate change, it’s up to communities to save themselves

Laura Paskus

Don’t believe in climate change? Congratulations. But this isn’t the Rapture. Whether you believe or not, you’re coming along for the ride. This means that, if you live in New Mexico, you’re going to experience higher temperatures, worsening drought conditions, conifer forest die-offs and variable precipitation.

Wednesday, November 23,2011
Opinion

Hi, Desert

Captain Winky Ball

Dani Katz

I’m sprawled on my belly at Ten Thousand Waves, languishing in The Fountainhead, milking these last few moments of mid-fall sunshine for all the vitamin D they’re worth, while my boyfriend’s eyes are glued to an old man’s scrotum.