A few weeks ago, I watched Bill Maher interview Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan University. Higher-education institutions have been taking heat lately for alleged political bias, and Roth was there to discuss it. They had a lively conversation about Wesleyan specifically, and Higher Education in general, needing to shed some political biases. I imagine […]
In a matter of months, my book What Are Private Eyes Made Of? will be published. It’ll be my last commercial publishing venture. But as I may have said before, I can’t not write. Therefore, I’ll scratch that itch by continuing to pen short stories that I’ll send for free to my mailing list — […]
On May 5th, I heard a loud blast as I was making a phone call from my home office. The power went out immediately, which triggered the generator to come on. My phone cut out for a few seconds, but came back on, whereupon I finished the call. Even the explosion hadn’t rattled me, and […]
Gravity is real! I don’t think anyone (with the possible exception of ultrametaphysical scientists) would argue that fact. We see the evidence of gravitational pull all the time. Drop something, like a hammer, and it falls directly earthward to land on your foot. Therefore, we know that gravity can be painfully real! But what about […]
I recently made a sad pilgrimage to Prince Edward Island, Canada, because my wife’s beloved uncle passed on. The family made it feel as much of a celebration of life as possible, but as circumstances would have it, some melancholia was bound to seep in. It’s tough on those left behind — especially for my […]
How was your summer? Mine was trying. The weather, home repairs, self-health repairs, etc. … put my wife and me in a gray mood. It came over us so gradually that we didn’t even realize it. But given the obvious reality of our fun-less season, I did aspire to arrange a convalescent getaway. As soon […]
The other day I tuned in the beginning of Today. The opening segment is where they tease their upcoming news stories, and that’s how I decide if any are worth watching. The new pope, political theater, foreign wars, British royalty, etc. … is fast-forward content. But escaped elephants wandering through the streets of a town […]
You don’t count yourself as part of the Curmudgeon Generation, do you? Don’t be too sure. Not long ago, I was making small talk with a man who was perhaps 40 years old. That’s younger than me. Our conversation got around to what people find funny. He brought up the Tom Brady roast. It […]
Do you still get the same charge you used to from recreational reading? As a writer, I know what I’d like the answer to be; but in this modern age of hypercondensed messaging, does anyone take the time to enjoy a good novel these days? I think the answer depends on which generation you were […]
The other day, I had an astonishing vision. It was strikingly colorful and finely detailed. I saw a beautiful Japanese woman, clad in classical garb. Her allure was heightened, at least to this Westerner, because her lovely face wasn’t obscured with the Kabuki makeup favored by geishas and the hard-rock band KISS. She knelt down […]
