Odds and Ends

  • We Need a Hybrid!

    Human beings are genetically hardwired to compete. But what would happen when all that hardwiring collides with the Malthusian concern that suggests we live on a finite planet with finite resources that must accommodate an ever-expanding population? The following is a piece I wrote back in ’23 and put on a static page in late

    Read more →

  • This is one of my favorite scenes from Dog Day Afternoon, a film directed my Sidney Lumet, starring Al Pacino and John Cazale. Previously, Pacino and Cazale appeared together in The Godfather part I and II. Leaping past the absurd, my wish list is to visit The Cotswold’s in England and go hiking in Ireland.

    Read more →

  • In the film Once Upon a Time in America, Noodles, played by Robert De Niro, said to Chief Aiello, played by Danny Aiello, “You know, Aiello, for a rotten lousy no-good sonofabitch, you’re not half bad.” That bit of movie dialogue might not represent my most ideal tagline, but I thought I’d start off the

    Read more →

  • To life!

    To exist in a madding world swimming in dysfunction and a list of human failings too long to mention (and those are our species rosier aspects), one must possess a sense of humor, an appreciation for irony, and the wisdom to recognize each as a gift. A bonus would be having a life mate also

    Read more →

  • Ooh, It’s Zesty!

    It’s been a spell since I posted a recipe or food awareness blog. Recently, “zesty chickpeas” came onto my radar. It’s a tomato sauce-base recipe. The sauce is flavored with sea salt, fresh minced garlic, cayenne pepper, coriander, turmeric, and… drum roll… ginger? Yes, fresh ginger goes into this tomato sauce concoction. I was skeptical

    Read more →

  • I’m a young boomer, age sixty-three, which means I’ve lived half my life with a world wide web and half without. Back in its infancy, the once nifty new space called an internet was dubbed “The great information highway.” Then, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum: information became the new currency.

    Read more →

  • My Next Novel!

    If you’re looking for an engaging summer read, please consider the edgy and spirited American Odyssey. The tone and presence of its core characters will immerse you in a summer’s day, when you were coming of age, a breath away from awakening unrealized passions, and making enduring ties. The paperback is available at Amazon.com: American

    Read more →

  • Lorca! Lorca!

    Recently, for the first time, I listened to the opera Ainadamar. I had never heard of the opera or its composer, Osvaldo Golijov. Golijov was born in La Plata, Argentina, to a Jewish family that immigrated to Argentina from Ukraine. Ainadamar in an Arabic word meaning Fountain of Tears. It is the name of an

    Read more →

  • The domain where public discourse goes to linger and test its wares has become too crowded a sphere. Moreover, the coexistence of legacy and social media has placed us inside a pinball machine operated by a wizard who refuses to let the small silver orb settle. In my humble opinion, we’re not wired to care

    Read more →

  • The following is an excerpt from the podcast Darkhorse, hosted by evolutionary biologists, Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying. Bret and Heather discuss what elites are planning to do to mitigate climate concerns. As for my own perspective on climate concerns and initiatives, the following is an engaging analysis I wrote late last year: Who’s The

    Read more →