A few months back my old buddy Ed tracked me down. We used to play baseball together, but he moved away, we lost touch, etc., and we hadn’t talked in a good 15 years. It was great hearing from him and I really enjoyed catching up. As we were talking on the phone, though, something telling happened. He cut me
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2014 was, in short, a remarkable year for music. Some hipster wanker pub recently lamented that there just wasn’t a great disc this year, and all I can do is hope that somebody forwards them this list, because they damned sure missed some things. Let’s start with my co-CDs of the Year. Jeffrey Dean Foster – The Arrow You know that Desert Island
Read moreThe other day I wished everyone a Happy Solstice. Tonight, I wish my Christian friends a Merry Christmas. Even though I have left that particular religion behind me, I can’t help feeling the tug of my childhood, when friends and family, lights and food, the magic of the manger story and, of course, the HDAD-inducing anticipation of Santa’s impending visit
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This is the full text of the farewell ritual performed on December 21, 2014 in memory of my dog, Ronan. _____ Elements of the North, of Earth, locus of Will, of patience, endurance, stability and tenacity – draw near and bear witness. Elements of the East, of Air, locus of Creativity, of wisdom, intellect, perception and inspiration – draw near
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Never mind religion. Know your customer, right? Something … odd … happened today. As I have noted here before, I am not a Christian. I’m either atheist or pagan, depending on your perspective, and this afternoon I was in full-on pagan mode, for reasons that will be elaborated on in the next couple of days. So I head to a
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What a fucking day. Item: Congress has tentatively agreed on a bill that will keep the government from shutting down. Now, there’s a lot wrong with it, starting with the fact that the Republicans are insisting on a huge payoff to Wall Street, basically holding the best interests of the people hostage to the best interests of the insanely rich. The smart money
Read moreGreetings from the Pop Underground – here’s a track from one of my best CDs of the year… Those who follow along know that I have a weakness for “Power Pop” – that retro, guitar-driven genre originally practiced by the likes of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Badfinger, Big Star, The Who, The Raspberries, and others of that ilk. You don’t
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I rarely post recommendations encouraging you to go check out a business writer. And by rarely I mean never. Today I’m making an exception, though, because it turns out that one of my favorites, MediaPost’s Bob Garfield, hates those motherfucking Jane Seymour Kay Jewelers ads as bad as I do. Awww. Every kitsch begins with Kay. But wait. Open your heart?
Read moreFormer US Poet Laureate Mark Strand is dead at 80. In a 1998 interview with the Paris Review, poet Strand said something I find fascinating: Well, I think what happens at certain points in my poems is that language takes over, and I follow it. It just sounds right. And I trust the implication of what I’m saying, even though I’m
Read moreFerguson, MO is currently a dumpster full of flaming grease and it’s a long way from being extinguished. As I have been watching the Michael Brown/Darren Wilson case unfold, a few things have occurred to me. 1: Let’s just get this out of the way first: there were two distinct groups in the streets the other night. Group A comprised people
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