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On the Map: Ojai Still Charms After All These Years
By Mark McNease
This is a travelogue, so I’ll skip the history lesson. I lived in Ojai, California, in 1979 after fleeing Indiana three days after my high school graduation. It’s always been a special place for me, an early refuge. My sister Cathy has lived in the same house here for 50 years this month. That’s it for the memoir.
Ojai is a magical town in the mountains about 90 minutes from Los Angeles and 40 minutes from Santa Barbara. It’s not far from Ventura, where I also lived once upon a time. Frank and I have been here a half dozen times over our 20 years together (next December) and we love spending several days and nights here. From this visit’s must-list: the Blue Iguana Inn, where we’re staying. It’s just 50 yards or so from my sister’s house, and it’s a lovely and slightly sprawling boutique hotel; dinner at Rumfish y Vino in Ventura; lunch at The Duchess in Ojai; and coffee-with-a-laptop at Ojai Coffee Roasters, where I’m writing this now. Keep reading for more about Ojai and the area, and if you ever get the chance, come stay a spell. It’s the kind of place where saying ‘stay a spell’ is a good way of putting it.
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Devil’s Wood Chapter 3: Who’ll Stop the Rain? (AUDIO)
Devil’s Wood begins when two boys wander into the woods outside Lambertville, New Jersey, and uncover a strange walking stick buried in the soil. One boy feels an immediate, nameless dread and keeps his distance; the other is drawn to it, pulling it free and revealing a grim truth beneath the earth—a human skull buried alongside the object. The discovery hints at an old, unfinished wrong, and a wood that has long remembered what was done there, waiting patiently for someone to find it.
The stick first surfaces in the life of Peter Brightly, a forty-two-year-old antique dealer struggling to hold together the fragments of his life after a painful divorce. As Peter becomes increasingly attached to the object, his health, judgment, and moral center begin to erode. The wood exerts a quiet pull, the past presses closer, and Peter is forced to confront how far he is willing to go to protect his own sanity.
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Your Weekly LGBTSr Humorscope: ‘T’ is for Taurus
Some humor from the stars in these challenging times.
♈ Aries
You’re feeling fired up and mildly intolerant of nonsense. Choose your battles carefully. Not everything needs your opinion—just most things.♉ Taurus
Comfort is non-negotiable this week. If something disrupts your routine, snacks, or favorite chair, you’re allowed to complain about it loudly.♊ Gemini
You’re juggling too many thoughts and at least one unnecessary conversation. Focus. Or pivot. You’re very good at pivoting.♋ Cancer
You’re nostalgic, sensitive, and emotionally invested in something from 2009. Feel it, release it, and then absolutely bring it up again later. -
Savvy Senior: Do I Need to File a Tax Return This Year?
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
What are the IRS income tax filing requirements for retirees this tax season? I didn’t file a tax return last year because my income was below the filing threshold, but I got a part-time job in 2025, so I’m wondering if I need to file this year.
Semi-retired Joe
Dear Joe,
Whether you need to file a federal income tax return this year depends on several factors: how much you earned in 2025, the source of your income, your age, and your filing status.
Here’s a quick guide to this year’s IRS filing thresholds. For most people, it’s straightforward: if your gross income (all taxable income, excluding Social Security benefits unless you’re married and filing separately) is below the threshold for your filing status and age, you generally do not need to file. But if it’s over, you will.
2025 IRS Federal Filing Thresholds:
- Single: $15,750 ($17,750 if you’re 65 or older by Jan. 1, 2026).
- Married filing jointly: $31,500 ($33,100 if one spouse is 65 or older; or $34,700 if you’re both over 65).
- Married filing separately: $5 at any age.
- Head of household: $23,625 ($25,625 if 65 or older).
- Qualifying surviving spouse: $31,500 ($33,100 if 65 or older).
For a detailed breakdown, including taxable vs. nontaxable income, you can request a free copy of the IRS “1040 and 1040-SR Instructions for Tax Year 2025” by calling 800-829-3676, or view it online at IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf.
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Health Beat: Sleep Changes with Age, and What Can Help
By Mark McNease
Another night, another wake up at 3:00 am. It doesn’t matter that we’re in California and it’s three hours ealier – the routine is the same. Having talked about this to many people my age, it seems like it’s just part of the changing sleep patterns that come with getting older. I’ve gotten use to it, but on those rare occasions when I wake up at 5:00 am, or even 4:30, it feels like I’ve slept late.
If you’ve experienced this same phenomenon you’re not imagining things, and you’re definitely not alone. As we get older, sleep often changes in frustrating ways. Falling asleep takes longer for many people, although that’s never a problem for me. I often drift off halfway through a TV show at 8:30 p.m., maybe 9:00 p.m., and consider it a win if I get six hours of sleep. Then I wake up at 3 a.m. for no clear reason and lie there thinking about an acceptable time to get out of bed. Being in bed awake in the middle of the night doesn’t work for me: I explain it as feeling the way I imagine a turtle on its back feels. I just want to get up. Nothing is quite as disturbing to my fragile peace of mind as imagining terrible things in the dark while I’m stranded on my back.
One of the most important things to understand is that sleep changes with age are normal, but chronic exhaustion, if that’s a result, is not something we have to accept. Our bodies produce less melatonin as we age, and our internal clocks tend to shift earlier. That means lighter sleep, more awakenings, and earlier mornings. Add in medications, aches and pains, hot flashes, anxiety, or sleep apnea, and it’s no wonder rest can feel elusive. (I’ve been using a CPAP machine for seven years, and it’s not weight-related, which many people assume.)
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From the Book Bin: Katherine Dunn’s Unforgettable Classic ‘Geek Love’
As both a reader and writer since chilidood I’ve had many influences, but fewer books that have stayed with me like a memory I’ll never be free from. Katherine Dunn’s stunning Geek Love , first published in 1989, is at the top of the list. While I can’t claim to remember all the details this many years later, I often refer to it as one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s a daring story with remarkable characters, and the kind of literary brilliance that makes writers like me want to reach for that star, knowing I’ll never hold it in my hand. I kept asking myself, “How did she do that? How can I forget these characters and this story?” The answer is, I can’t.I’ve remained in awe of her artistry, the often shocking originality of her imagination, and the mastery of her craft. If you don’t mind being made uncomfortable by writing of this caliber and what it can do, this is a book that will make you believe in the possibilities of literature.
Prepare yourself
Geek Love quietly dares you to keep reading, and then refuses to let go. Set within a traveling carnival sideshow, the book follows the Binewski family, whose parents deliberately engineer their children’s physical abnormalities in pursuit of fame, legacy, and control. What sounds outrageous on the surface quickly becomes something far more intimate and disturbing.
At its core, Geek Love isn’t about physical difference. It’s about family. Narrated by Olympia (“Oly”) Binewski, an albino hunchback with a sharp, aching voice, the novel explores how love can curdle into possession, how belonging can become a trap, and how children raised as spectacles may never fully escape the stage.
The novel’s most chilling character, Arturo (“Aqua Boy”), grows from charismatic sideshow star into manipulative cult leader, embodying the dangerous line between performance and belief. Through him, Dunn examines charisma as a weapon and idealism as a gateway to cruelty.
Katherine Dunn’s prose is precise and unsentimental. She never asks the reader to pity her characters, nor does she soften the horror. Instead, she forces us to confront uncomfortable questions about empathy, exploitation, and our own role as spectators. The result is a novel that is grotesque on the surface but deeply psychological beneath it.
Geek Love isn’t easy or comforting, but it is unforgettable. Long after the final page, it lingers as a meditation on how love, when warped by ego and fear, can be as damaging as any cruelty inflicted from the outside.
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The Twist Podcast 318: Secrets of Greenland Revealed, Mark Loves Eat Clean, and Our New Twist Hit List
This week on The Twist Podcast, we’re serving up fun facts about Greenland that might surprise you (hint: it’s way more interesting than just ice). We also recommend Eat Clean, a food delivery service that makes healthy meals easy and satisfying—no sad salads involved.
Plus, we dive into our always-relatable “What Bugs Us” list, covering those everyday irritations that prove we’re definitely not alone.
Curious, funny, and opinionated as ever—Episode 318 brings facts, food, and friendly venting in one smart listen.
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This Week’s Survey: Winter Makes Me Want To … ?
Winter makes me want to … ?
Slow down and cozy up
Enjoy every wintery day of it
Travel somewhere warmer
Stay home and appreciate the familiar
Catch up on reading, shows, or hobbies/creative stuff
Something else (add in the comments) -
This Week’s Fun Facts: The Mysteries of Greenland Revealed
Some things you may not know about Greenland
It’s drifting west, literally.
Greenland sits on the North American tectonic plate and moves about 2–3 centimeters west each year. Tiny, but measurable with GPS.There are no roads between towns.
You can’t drive from one city to another. Travel happens by boat, plane, helicopter, snowmobile, or dogsled depending on the season.Greenland has its own name, and it’s not Danish.
In the local Inuit language, the country is called Kalaallit Nunaat, meaning “Land of the People.”Ice hides a canyon bigger than the Grand Canyon.
Beneath the ice sheet lies a massive canyon system over 750 km long, discovered using radar. It was completely unknown until 2013.Time works differently near the Arctic Circle.
Parts of Greenland experience months of nonstop daylight in summer and months of darkness in winter with no sunrise or sunset at all.Most people live on a thin coastal strip.
About 80% of Greenland is covered by ice, so nearly the entire population lives along the coast—often wedged between mountains and sea.Greenlandic words can be very long.
The Greenlandic language (Kalaallisut) is polysynthetic, meaning entire sentences can be packed into a single word. -
Devil’s Wood Chapter 2: Going, Going, Gone (AUDIO)
Devil’s Wood begins when two boys wander into the woods outside Lambertville, New Jersey, and uncover a strange walking stick buried in the soil. One boy feels an immediate, nameless dread and keeps his distance; the other is drawn to it, pulling it free and revealing a grim truth beneath the earth—a human skull buried alongside the object. The discovery hints at an old, unfinished wrong, and a wood that has long remembered what was done there, waiting patiently for someone to find it.
The stick first surfaces in the life of Peter Brightly, a forty-two-year-old antique dealer struggling to hold together the fragments of his life after a painful divorce. As Peter becomes increasingly attached to the object, his health, judgment, and moral center begin to erode. The wood exerts a quiet pull, the past presses closer, and Peter is forced to confront how far he is willing to go to protect his own sanity.
