I still haven't given names to my new friends - the magpie birds who I share this habitat with. There are at least a dozen nests, nestled in all manner of trees, that surround the apartment complex where I nest. The birds are more reliable and stable than my human neighbors. Friendlier, too. Despite having … Continue reading The Magpie Cafe: Summer Update
Tag: David Foster Wallace
Karen and Dagny: Election 2020
Who are you? A Karen or Dagny? Election 2020 hinges on that? Or so Krystal Ball has said. I think she hit that fucking nail square on the head. Karen as defined by Krystal (Damn, the synchronicity/irony is mind blowing) is a "Facebook suburban empathy mom". Formally Formerly known (in Election 2004) as a "soccer … Continue reading Karen and Dagny: Election 2020
The Perfect Storm
The Perfect Storm was a phrase made popular by journalist Sebastian Junger, with his 1997 novel and subsequent major motion picture. The subtitle is: A True Story Of Men Against The Sea. I think the phrase applies now as then. You can read my review of the book here. The perfect storm describes a confluence of circumstance … Continue reading The Perfect Storm
What Happened to Education?
What happened to education? is a great question. Certainly books have been written, and will be written (maybe), regarding answers. My answer is both simple and extremely complex. Survival and greed, in other words: Life at work, or biology on planet earth. My Favorite People are progressives. (see them here and here and here.) However, … Continue reading What Happened to Education?
Planet Of The Humans: a review
Monday I watched Planet Of The Humans, and today, Tuesday, the three principle drivers of the documentary were interviewed on Rising by one of my favorite personalities, Krystal Ball. The executive producer is Michael Moore and the director/creator is Jeff Gibbs. The two had been working on the film for fifteen years. It's about the dire … Continue reading Planet Of The Humans: a review
Into The Wild: Open
It's time to OPEN up. Sure, we'd be going into the wild, but it's time. It's been 44 days (March 11) since the world (human) panicked and shut down. I'm not going to go into the time-line, nor the reasons why what happened happened. Books will be written and be mostly wrong. Because, "Everyone has an agenda. … Continue reading Into The Wild: Open
Totem and Taboo, 2020
Totem and Taboo was a book written by Sigmund Freud and published in 1915, about human neurosis, health, behavior, and survival. This post is also about those interactions; but in regard to the current crisis concerning the COVID-19 global pandemic. I am suggesting that there is a three factor model that can explain who is at … Continue reading Totem and Taboo, 2020
Snowbound, screens, & self care
On the cusp of the New Hampshire primary, here in Colorado I've been snowbound. It has snowed six of the last eight days. Back-in-the-day (forty-nine years ago to the day), such a barrage of snow would not have fazed me. In fact it would have invigorated me. Then, I was living in a cabin in … Continue reading Snowbound, screens, & self care
2020 Democratic Candidate Quiz
The Washington Post has devised a quiz to see who you most agree with regarding policy positions amongst the Democratic candidates. I took it, and so did my friend Max. (Max is a fictional composite of real people I know who first appears in Election 2016: The Great Divide, The Great Debate.) Max and I debated … Continue reading 2020 Democratic Candidate Quiz
Books, bookstores, and bookshelves
Books, bookstores, and bookshelves could certainly be a book in itself. So where and when to begin? I may be the foremost expert on the subject. Because in my life I have been a reader, builder, seller, writer, and teacher - all at a high level. When I was three my father would read to … Continue reading Books, bookstores, and bookshelves