Sparks Ignites

  My Dear Spring Flingers and Flunkers: Just when you feel you’ve made it through winter’s gray, emotionally underlit Motel 6 room with faulty plumbing and no WiFi, along comes spring, kicking down the door with blooming blossoms and the overconfidence that you’ll feel better immediately. The sun creeps its way through your windows like a cheery guest who doesn’t know when to leave. Birds twitter at your window, daring you to come outside. Don’t tempt me, blue jay, unless you’re willing to part with some feathers. I hear avian chic will be big this fall.  The world rebrands itself in pastels as if sponsored by a macaron. Everywhere you go, people are smiling, jogging, and planting flowers like they have something to prove to Saint Martha Stewart of Bedford Farm.  What about you? You’re tired. You’re puffy. You’re pissed off. You’ve sneezed twenty times in a row and blown your nose so much you briefly saw God, who looked a lot like Ryan Gosling. You are experiencing what I...

Washington, D.C. – After the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump immediately called for the construction of his “militarily top secret ballroom.” Which, don’t tell the president, hasn’t been top secret since the White House East Wing was demolished in October 2025.  In response to Trump’s concern for heightened security in public venues and protection from active shooters, a wave of demands for specially equipped ballrooms is sweeping the country. Schools, malls, churches, and synagogues have issued statements declaring, "We, too, require ballrooms." They want them immediately and preferably with marble floors and at least one dramatic staircase for fleeing elegantly.  The White House has been flooded with requests for a copy of the ballroom blueprints. The principal of Time Out Elementary School, Polly Ticks, said she wanted immediate approval for a bulletproof ballroom to replace the gymnasium and the cafeteria. The school board president, Ella Mentary...