"The Four Stages of Cruelty," copper engravings by William Hogarth, 1751. Late March, 2025: By now, we should believe any promises made by Donald Trump and Elon Musk to cause pain. The sheer scope and carelessness of their sweeping changes are almost unbelievable, [...]
When I was ten years old, I decided that sailing a small boat across a big ocean was a superb idea. It’s not something you tend to confess later on to, say, your high school guidance counselor when discussing future career choices like brain surgeon, diplomat or industrial tycoon (or, [...]
In thinking about my post from yesterday, I did not mention the nation's grief or my own, at the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The fact that I did not reflects the first stage of grief: denial. I did not want to have to write this, but feel [...]
Upon reading the leaked Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade, I got a little upset that it relied on the opinions of a 17th century judge who liked to burn women as witches, so, if you're like me, we tend to get busy when stuff hits the fan. I [...]
On the morning of Sunday, September 9, 2001, precisely 48 hours before American Airlines Flight 77 would fly this same airspace, I was on an Alaska Airlines flight making its final approach to Washington D.C.’s National Airport. There I would catch a shuttle bus to attend a week’s training [...]
To my wonderful subscribers, thank you. This braided essay was recently published in Rainshadow Journal, but I also wanted to share it with you. Dec 31, 2020: It was foggy this morning, and temps have not dipped below freezing in a long time. There was a thick frost a couple [...]
As I write this, a new president and vice-president have just been inaugurated, and like many, I’m emotional about it. There’s relief, of course, but also much more. Four years ago on election night in 2016, I was sitting with a group of friends, at first encouraged by the polls [...]
I wish whoever said, “May you live in interesting times” was alive today, to get a nice big gulp of his own advice. Fun fact: Does anyone remember it was a leap year? It had 29 days in February, 200 days in March, and five years in November. It can now [...]
According to the Urban Dictionary, the term “blarg” is one of those unique words that can mean anything you want it to. It reminds me of that well-known meme where a dog is trying to drink out of a high-pressure lawn sprinkler and the caption is "WHARRRRRGARBL." Thus, the word [...]
There are times when I want to flee into the wilderness to a place with no cell or internet service and stay there. This is one of them. There are also times where I try for a mood lift, maybe by drawing some cartoons skewering tone-deaf politicians. This is not [...]