A Child In the Closet
The following took place in Ooltewah, Tennessee. It is one of those stories that has never left me, although it took place sometime in the late 1960’s. …
Poetry
Humor and Parody
Rejected Titles for Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope
- The Audacity of Expectorants
- Why Not Sanguinity?
- Half-Black Like Me
- The Paucity of Dope …
Rejected Titles for Barack Obama’s The Audacity of HopeRead More »
Humor and Parody
Generic Disclaimer for an Imaginary Publication
Environmental Impact
This document was printed on paper hand-crafted from recycled bus transfers. The ink was prepared from natural vegetable dyes derived from plants that were not plucked but which fell harmlessly to thick organic Burmuda grass and lovingly carried by Carmelite Sisters directly to Crystal City, Virginia in a 2007 Toyota Yaris hatchback in complete silence and non-denomenational prayer and contemplation. This cruelty-free process did not involve any obvious, apparent, or imagined harm to any plants or large animals. No foul language or pornographic or Pre-Raphaelite images were used during the process. It is placenta-free, unscented, biodegradable, and Y2K compliant. …
Movies
Good Movies: Lars and the Real Girl
People will either consider this movie great or stupid. Since my Myers-Briggs type is INFJ and the J stands for judging, I do have an opinion about those who will call it stupid. But I shall hold this in check. I shall also refrain from revealing too much about the story itself, since that would tend to spoil it for you when/if you see it. …
Poetry
I was drivin on the DC beltway late
Under the Overpass
I was drivin on the DC beltway late
at night not doin very much just
cruisin and saw this cop eased
in under an overpass at Colesville …
Movies
Good Movies: The Power of Art
This 3-DVD set is probably best for those who think they aren’t fans of classical art and haven’t spent much time in the art museums. Presented by art historial Simon Schama, the series contains episodes for Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso and Rothko. …
Movies
Good Movies: Elegy
Elegy (2008) might be considered a disturbing view of men, written from a woman’s perspective. If so, it is a fairly kind, if frank, perspective. The movie has a remarkably un-judgmental stance. This movie made me look up and reserve other films by director Isabel Coixet. Unfortunately they are few in number. …
Movies
Good Movies: Bobby
It’s a mistake to say that Bobby (2006 and 111 mins) is a movie about the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Obviously it includes that, but it is really about America in the 1960’s. It’s about race and Vietnam and violence and drugs, but it also is about people trying to get along in life in ways that have nothing to do with any decade. It features a surprisingly effective blending of archival news footage and switching back and forth–as in Forest Gump only better done. …
Humanity Stories
A Woman’s Body
If I could, I would slide out of bed and into the pool. Every morning at six. Then the laps. Thirty six to the mile, half an hour in the cooling flow of water, counting down the distance.
My left hand is getting better all the time. It used to start the pull too soon. The timing now is smooth and the stoke constant. It has taken years of daily swimming to accomplish this. …
Humanity Stories
Claiming the Leftovers
I learn about life from naked men in the swimming pool locker room in the morning before work. One pool I go to has a lot of older guys, mostly retired. They talk about things the doctor told them, reasons their children are getting divorced, what their wives want them to do when they get home, or what somebody ought to do about the country. I was half listening as one guy told about taking the family to a restaurant for dinner. Until he quoted what the little girl said out loud at the table: …