Today, I made someone cry. I didn’t hit them or shove them down the stairs. I wasn’t screaming at them, brandishing a weapon, or kidnapping their child. I made them cry without any desire or plan to reduce them to weeping in public. I did it simply with words. A vast majority of my life [...]

From fifty-foot posters of dead fetuses to buckets of real, human blood dumped on patrons of health clinics, the anti-abortion movement lustily embraced the fantastical and spectacular elements of Grand Guignol storytelling. And while the Great Anti-Abortion Movement sadly devolved into Splatter Cinema (killing innocent doctors and patients), its generally agreed that it provided some [...]

It’s always fascinating when technology seeps into real life. When I drop a dish, I find myself immediately trying to “Control+Z”. I’m constantly trying to rewind what I’m watching in a movie theater, but alas, there’s no DVR. These are mere “mechanical” examples of technology’s tendrils woven into our daily lives. What really fascinates me [...]

Like virtually every other aspect of American culture, our language has been corporatized; poisoned, convoluted, and robotized – all in the name of “efficiency”. Whoever first uttered the phrase “think outside the box” deserves a big bonus. However, the next person I hear use it will get my foot up their ass. While it’s initial [...]

This past May, Sixkill by Robert B. Parker arrived in bookstores. It’s the thirty-ninth book in Parker’s Spenser detective series and I’ve read each of the previous thirty-eight at least a half dozen times. The day it arrived I hauled my ass down to the local Barnes and Noble and bought a copy. Which was [...]

Without a doubt, my strongest (and one of the fondest) childhood memory is the multi-sensory experience of walking through the autumn woods, trees blazing with color, leaves crunching underfoot and the sweet, earthy smell of humus filling me up. (My second strongest memory is being handed over by parents to clowns at the circus, but [...]

Anyone else had enough of the relentlessly unending stream of “social issues” being shoved down our throats? With the 24/7/365 election cycle there’s just no rest for the weary. As you recall, this approach to politicking can be traced back to 1994 and Newt Gingrich’s “Contract With America” (or as it should be called Contract [...]

This article was meaningful to me because it reminded me of just how unpredictable life can be, that sometimes, we can all be a real asshole and that every once in a while, the bad girl/guy gets what s/he deseves! Originally published 04/05/11 Several months ago, I decided to make a day job change, and [...]

Generally speaking, I’m in awe of grace. It’s not a trait I possess, though one I deeply admire and have been on a 25-year quest to develop in myself. And when my life is touched by grace it’s almost always profound. It sticks with me, teaches me, and incrementally opens my heart, making just a [...]

Forever. When you actually think about it, forever is a concept that’s tough to get your head around. Even if you believe in an afterlife, forever is still a bit of an abstraction. This came into startling clarity when, several weeks ago, I decided to officially break my ties with the church in which I [...]