2016 was an odd year for music. But at least Bowie left us a masterpiece on his way out the door. If I were doing my year-end ratings and reviews the way I used to I have no idea what I’d make of 2016. It started horribly, with David Bowie, one of the most influential geniuses in rock history, releasing Blackstar and
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2016 isn’t a person or a monster, but the collective assholery of all we experienced transcends the normal rules. Here’s to you, 2016 – and good riddance. And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
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No, famous people won’t stop dying on January 1. But we lost too many bright lights this year and we hope that 2017 will be better. Here’s a list of noteworthy people who died in 2016. For the past several months a lot of us have been saying we can’t wait for this damned year to be over. 2016 gave us
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I have always supported independent artists, but that support has not often been reciprocated. This bothers me. Part 2 of a series [Caveat: I’ll apologize in advance if this one sounds a little bitchy. That isn’t my intent, but I know people don’t always hear what I think I’m saying.] Ever since we started this blog in 2007, and really for
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I resolve to be more honest and direct in confronting ignorance and hatred. Part 1 of a series When I was a little boy, my grandparents read me the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25: 14-30). They had a particularly Southern Baptist working class interpretation of what it meant. If you had a gift, the Lord intended you to use it
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Analyzing Clinton’s loss: can we PLEASE let go of our compulsive binary either/or thinking? Ever since the stunning outcome of the election several weeks ago we have been subjected to one analysis after another as to why Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump. Dozens and Dozens. Hell, make that hundreds and hundreds, probably. I’m seeing more of these stories in my
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The people who passed HB2 now want to unpass it because they hate teh queers, love the money and fear the people. [Note: Please forgive the snark in this post. I’m in one of those moods, but despite the tone this is a wholly factual analysis.] The yahoos who run my native state of North Carolina have been a marvel to
Read moreRIP Santa Claus: 300-2016 AD Go tell the kids – Santa ain’t coming this year.
Read moreWhat do you see in this image? When you take macro shots of orchids and process them for abstraction, people frequently respond this way:
Read moreRemembering the blackest moment of the entire nativity cycle is an odd way to celebrate. For a couple weeks now I have been assembling my “Dark Christmas Melancholy” playlist, a process I described in a post a few days ago. While I have listened to (and sung) a lot of holiday music through the years, my little project introduced me to a
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Can new procedures tell us who killed the child pageant queen? Were there multiple murderers? According to NBC News, “new DNA testing is planned in the unsolved murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey.” The news was first reported by NBC affiliate KUSA in Denver, Colorado, and by the Boulder Daily Camera. The two news outlets did a joint investigation in October
Read moreYesterday I added Greg Lake’s “I Believe in Father Christmas” to my Dark Christmas Melancholy playlist. This morning I wake to learn he’s gone. Another light snuffed by this hellish, hateful year, and the holiday season just got a little darker…
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There is beauty in the darkness. This is all I have ever known. Beauty doesn’t work the same for me as it does for most people. I first started realizing this in Mr. Booth’s (excuse me, Dr. Booth’s) English V class at Ledford High School in 1978 and 1979. I remember two moments distinctly. First, we read “The Eve of St.
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Here are your 8 tournament teams if we had a sensible college playoff system. The NCAA Football Selection Committee today will issue its final rankings, and in doing so they face some tough choices about who gets to play for the national title. This is because NCAAF, unlike every other sport, doesn’t allow everyone with a claim to settle it
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