The User’s Manual: 13 Rules

AI-generated cartoon of the writer's desk, with a thick manual labeled "Kana" beside her typewriter

November 7, 2025November 7, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 17 Comments

Joshua Pantalleresco, who recently had me as a guest on his podcast, "Just Joshing," has ten Life Rules he tries to live by. I asked, after we went off the air, and he rattled them off for me. Number One is "Show up;" Number Ten is choose the option that's more fun (all other things … Continue reading The User’s Manual: 13 Rules

Vanity Fair (or Unfair)

AI-generated image of the author looking in two mirrors

November 4, 2025November 4, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 28 Comments

I've been trying, here, to dig down and write some things that are real (even if they don't frame me in the best light), and what's on my mind today is vanity. My own vanities are a weird mix---things I literally don't even bother to look at, and things I obsess about as if they … Continue reading Vanity Fair (or Unfair)

Giving Thanks: The “October Curse” Stays Lifted

a woman sits in darkness with her face in her hands. Behind her is a calendar open to "October"

October 30, 2025October 30, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 28 Comments

I couldn't tell you what it is about Octobers, but nearly every drama and trauma of my adult life has landed on me in an October. It makes for a month littered with traumatic anniversaries and destructive memories. October has been a haunted month for me, for reasons entirely unrelated to Halloween. Some of those … Continue reading Giving Thanks: The “October Curse” Stays Lifted