Windows on the World Once again this morning, as on every September 11, I’m remembering the day twelve years ago when the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell. Like millions of Americans, I have vivid memories of that ghastly morning embedded in my brain – the endlessly repeated images of the towers engulfed… [Read More]
New Year’s Resolutions? Bah humbug!
Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? I haven’t, but at least I managed to write a new poem about all the lazy things I did instead: TARDY RESOLUTIONS 2013 January second, and I haven’t made my resolutions yet. Maybe it’s too late to bother. Too late to make it to the Y in… [Read More]
R.I.P. Dave Brubeck
The first two jazz LPs I ever bought were by Stan Getz and Dave Brubeck. That day was in 1953, nearly sixty years ago, and I was barely twelve years old. Brubeck died this morning, one day shy of his ninety-second birthday, and his death brings back a flood of memories. I heard him in… [Read More]
Entropeia – Goddess of Disorder
I’ve long been fascinated by the concept of entropy, the idea that chaos and disorder tend to increase in a closed system. I’m not talking about the scientific explanations – the second law of thermodynamics and all the inscrutable equations that remind me of why science courses terrified me in college. Rather, I’m using the… [Read More]
Venting negative thoughts in writing – is it always therapeutic?
Commenting on my “Slump-A-Dump” poem in the last post, Bob Sanchez praised my quasi-rap rhyming and characterized the piece as “healthy venting.” He got me thinking – how healthy is using your writing as a way of venting negative thoughts? Can it be counterproductive? I’m afraid that sometimes the answer is yes. This morning I… [Read More]
Slump-A-Dump: Rapping my way through a creative block
Writing as everyday spiritual practice was the topic of one of my recent blog posts, but writing mindfully and staying in the present moment is a lot more difficult than it might seem. Since I’ve been feeling creatively blocked lately, I decided to follow my own advice, switch genres and write a poem about my… [Read More]