the bastards' last stand

Despite my attempt to apply (negligible) pressure to my writing, I have found that the expectation that I publish regularly is not the same as expecting quality writing. Or that I follow my plans as I sit to write. I have been planning to write the same piece for weeks now, but continuously find something that seems more "current"; I've got reasons. This has been theoretically annoying, but surprisingly gratifying in practice. The last piece I wrote about my mother was the third most read piece on my blog within two days. I'm always touched by the opportunity to share my love for my mother with the world. I realize that I write better with some time pressure, and waiting until the day I'm supposed to post to write adds that. It also makes it easier to rely on my ad hoc make the road by walking style of writing: is it intellectual laziness or an invocation to my favorite muse? I wrap myself in my faith at her feet. That I continue to have questions about my approac...

i do need that time, though, for naoko's face to appear. and as the years have passed, the time has grown longer. the sad truth is that what i could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, then a full minute-- like shadows lengthening at dusk. someday, i suppose the shadows will be swallowed up in darkness. haruki murakami, norwegian wood Yesterday was my birthday, its number is irrelevant to this writing. I don't usually celebrate my birthday, beyond a moment or two of gratitude for being alive. Prior to her death I saw the day as a time to say thanks to my mother for the life, love, and effort that made each consecutive year possible. Her death made it acutely difficult; her absence and the evolution of grief, the cycle of missing and remembering amplifying the hole of her absence as I tried to detail the source of my gratitude was too much. What had been for years a public acknowledgment, an invitation to all I knew to raise a glass to the woman w...

I have been intending to write about an epiphany I had after the sudden end of a torrid affair in Barcelona. I was going to write about how I realized that all women are crazy all men stupid, and how that refined over the course of a walk home to be be we all exist on an X/Y axis of "crazy" and "stupid" determined by the extent of your personal privilege. I might write about that later but I'm actually more interested in my continued distraction from writing the things I vaguely intend to write. When I committed recently to posting twice a month I also planned to start writing more regularly. I've come to realize that I have been writing regularly, probably more than the 30 minute minimum that was my goal, it's just that it's in increments of 240 characters or less. I spend a lot of time sparring with dishonest people on Twitter threads about electoral politics and progressive policy. I worry a bit that this is some weird modern techno social media...

In 2006 Stephen Colbert gave a commencement speech at Knox College that concluded like this: So, say "yes." In fact, say "yes" as often as you can. When I was starting out in Chicago, doing improvisational theatre with Second City and other places, there was really only one rule I was taught about improv. That was, "yes-and." In this case, "yes-and" is a verb. To "yes-and." I yes-and, you yes-and, he, she or it yes-ands. And yes-anding means that when you go onstage to improvise a scene with no script, you have no idea what's going to happen, maybe with someone you've never met before. To build a scene, you have to accept. To build anything onstage, you have to accept what the other improviser initiates on stage. They say you're doctors—you're doctors. And then, you add to that: We're doctors and we're trapped in an ice cave. That's the "-and." And then hopefully they "yes-and" you back...

I made a commitment to myself to start a music podcast that I would post monthly. To meet that commitment I need to post it today. There's a slight problem. While looking at options for hosting the podcast I consulted with a Twitter friend who pointed out the likelihood of being taken down by publishers. I hadn't considered the possibility that anything I might do would be anything other than obscure. So in order to meet the commitment I will post the first episode of my podcast, The Supper Table . I'm in the process of looking for loopholes to do what I want to do in a completely not for profit way.

I have been a Virgin Mobile customer since I returned to the US in 2012. It reminded me of the low pressure nature of the relationship with mobile companies in Spain. I purchased their low end phone to try out their service (and smartphones). Overall I have found their service to be perfectly functional. There is one exception, it's kind of ironic, the phone service sucks. I have to stand by my bedroom window or lean over the balcony railing to hear and be heard clearly. I don't actually mind. I hate talking on the phone but enjoy the pocket computer. After a year I decided to upgrade to a Samsung Galaxy 3, at the time 2 generations behind their most recently offered S5. I purchased my S3 from Radio Shack (RIP).  Six months after that purchase, while vacationing in California, I had trouble charging the phone. It required that I prop something under the cord to ensure connection. After some back and forth, although I purchased the phone through Radio Shack, Virgin sent first a ...

Let me start by saying: I know I can be petty. I'm not proud of that, but sometimes it results in good cheap fun. Mostly because I'm sick of their bullshit, but also out of pure curiosity with what they might produce, I have been challenging the people flogging non-voters, third party voters, Bernie Sanders, Russia, the Pope, etc as the reasons for Hillary's loss a year ago. I feel like six months of denial is okish, a year on it starts to be ridiculous. This has been my challenge: Most try to point out my lack of understanding for nuanced campaigning. In response I ask for an example of another successful campaign relying on a website and an opaque message. Many of them block me or move on to pastures involving less cognitive dissonance. Two have actually attempted to define her agenda and provide video. The first got salty and blocked me after I asked if he was sure the agenda he shared was in each of the five videos. The second is the reason for this distracting pos...