Category Archives: nothing special

Today, June 1, is the start of the 2007 hurricane season. The state of Florida has declared today a Day of Prayer. I object to this strenuously as a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Having grown … Continue reading →

I got bored, and decided I missed my old color scheme. It took me all of a few minutes — with no mucking about in HTML — to get it back to the way I wanted. Unlike when I first … Continue reading →

Most war poetry speaks to the situation of the soldier. One of the most subtle speaks to those left behind: Patterns I walk down the garden paths, And all the daffodils Are blowing, and the bright blue squills. I walk … Continue reading →

Virginia Woolf was right about a lot of things. Mainly about how life can interfere with the creative process. I have a room of my own — more or less — but there is no place to write in there, … Continue reading →

It’s insanely beautiful today. The sky here in Northern California is that almost surreal shade of blue — too bright to be found in nature, almost, and yet too intense to be replicated on canvas. The light is as golden … Continue reading →

I have just stumbled across this tribute to soldiers and veterans buried in Arlington National Cemetery and elsewhere. I find it profoundly moving, and thought I would pass it along.

Sometimes, if you procrastinate, things get done without you. Or you decide that since other people have already done them better than you why reinvent the wheel? I have been trying to find a way to write about torture, and … Continue reading →

I have not written here about 9/11. My experiences were pretty much the same as many others across the country who did not have loved ones in harm’s way. Unlike Katrina, where I had definite emotional ties to the places … Continue reading →

My very favorite political and public affairs blog, Respectful of Otters, is back online after a nine-months absence. Rivka is scrupulously fair, willing to call out idiocy in any direction when she sees it, and she does her homework. She … Continue reading →

It strikes me that that last post was overly melodramatic. All it lacked was Snidely Whiplash twirling his mustaches. I think I could have made my central point a little less…. floridly. Maybe I should not be writing in the … Continue reading →

Turns out, even members have to do the “fill in the word you see below” bit. Damn. I always hate those.