A year or so ago, I ran into a song by Mike Doughty, called "Fort Hood." Interesting guy, Doughty. Son of a Vietnam vet, he grew up on military bases. Later on, he became the lead singer & moving force behind Soul...
Nationalism. It irritates the hell outta me, and I think it's pretty much the most destructive force left on the Earth. However. I also recognize the argument that different nations and their citizens can have somewhat different national characteristics....
I first preached in church when I was 17. Wore a light blue polyester suit. I had never spoken in public before. Never. Not even in school. Every year, my English teachers would insist that I go to the front...
Tetrachromatic Vision.Birds can see in the ultraviolet.Red, green, blue... and ultraviolet. "Tetrachromatic" vision.Whereas we can only see three. Our brains, our words, our beliefs are all hard-wired to the idea that what we see... is what is real. If we can't...
Do you prefer really short, one sentence blogs.... or really long, boring, 7 pagers?Yes, or No.- quinnP.S. I am writing this blog under duress.P.P.S. No, not dress, duress.P.P.P.S. Though it is my girlfriend Mildred who is making me write...
Back in 1993, David Letterman cut a comedian's performance from his show. Apparently because the guy made some jokes about pro-lifers.Last night, Letterman had the comedian's mother on his show, and he... apologized to her. Repeatedly. Talked to her for...
This man serving communion through the wall at the US-Mexican border reminds me of my friend. Or rather, he reminds me of a friend of mine from twenty-odd years ago. My friend had it all. Brilliant. Well-spoken. Funny. Kind. Tall too....
Like Billy Pilgrim, I've come unstuck in time. And I think I like it.For years now, I've woken up & not known what day it was. Or where I was. Or even who I was. And yes, that last one in...
Bumping home in the cab. Broke my toe, and since it's -40 out, no way I'm walking home. Tried that yesterday. Two & a half miles home, in that cold. Thought I'd "test the foot." Somebody should test my...
Fewer, Better Things Our lives are full of things. Disposable distractions, Stuff you buy but do not cherish, own yet never love. Thrown away in weeks, rather than passed down for generations. Perhaps things will be different now. Wiser...
"12,000 years ago... In a cave, 12 miles from Nazareth...." I'm reading to the Ice Weasels again. Most stories, they don't like. This one, they're wearing it out. Or rather, wearing me out. It's time-consuming, and a bit frustrating,...
Imagine you lived in California, and voted 62%-38% in favor of Obama, and even though he won... as a result of some split amongst your elected officials in the Electoral College, you ended up with a government run by... Dick...
Leapfrog. We've all heard it applied to Developing World countries, right? As in, these countries don't need to repeat every single step we took on our path to development. And we'd all tend to agree that it'd be good...
When we were kids, we got one present each year. Pick something faddish, or breakable, or only useful during a limited season, and you were out of luck. Worse, luck might actively turn against you. Like the year I chose skates,...
Friedrich Nietzsche: "The economy is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come."Ok, Matt Groening only said Nietzsche said that, so we can't be 100% sure, even if...
Couple of years ago, I had this dream about death. Death. I was walking down a street in London in this dream, up it, actually, it was uphill. Saw Bono standing outside this cool car. Bono. Really. But as I...
Diary - 10/26/08: Old man Genesee's house burnt down. Went thru the ashes, only found a few of the effects. Btwn the fire, rain & liquor, not much salvage value. Just scraps of paper. Mad/hatter stuff. Articles + Bible...
Dentists. Four trips in a row, four times this month. Each time I lay there, lip frozen, nose frozen, one eye blind, the other blinking like McCain, staring up at CNN as the Dow goes cliff-diving over Iowa. Dr...
Levi Stubbs died today. I grew up listening to the Four Tops, late at night, sitting out in the car to pick up the stations. Later, one of the best nights of my life, in a Detroit bar, my buddy...
