A Eulogy for George Carlin

Perhaps my favorite George Carlin routine was his rant on “stuff.” As was often the case in his routines, he starts by alerting his audience to the absurdity of something and then, in a torrent of repetitions and distinctions, overwhelms you. By the end, he exhausts the word… and sometimes you. Others are more qualified [...]

Going West on North Ave.

Summer and the city seems to empty, spirit leaking by drips and people seeping into the space at their feet. Everyone left marches east to the lake, so sure, so right in their direction. Only I walk the other way, fighting the sun, carrying a book as if it were the ark, dreaming of reasons [...]

Oversharing Again

During my break from blogging, I’ve been thinking about blogging—more specifically why I do it and what I hope, however foolishly, to get from it. Part of what stirred my thinking was A New York Times Sunday Magazine article (“Exposed” by the former Gawker blogger, Emily Gould) and some thoughtful comments on Gould’s essay by [...]