Boy howdy, here we go again–try not to jump out of your skin! It’s time for yet another entry in my year of excellent essayists project. random notes: In August I read Pico Iyer, who is widely known as a travel writer, although he writes on a variety of topics, and often on globalism. He [...]

A titillating post title (but perhaps an inappropriate one given the number of wildfires tearing through California right now.) I’m using it because it’s the title of H’s latest film. It screened at the SF Museum of Modern Art last night. It was part of a selection of youth films which are being released on [...]

Mr. T leaves crazy little play tableaus all over the house. Constantly. He immerses himself in an imaginary landscape and lingers there, and then eventually moves to another room, another game before I’ve noticed what’s happened. There are Zoob creations on the couch. Zoob creations beside The Beatles. The other day when I sat in [...]

The older two didn’t want to go. And there were a few meltdowns along the way. But it’s hard to ignore the magic of pines and a pristine lake beneath a mountain that almost doesn’t look real; family games by lantern-light with oldies on the radio; hot dinners from a dutch oven set in the [...]

There has been a lot of new folks poking around this blog lately; I hope this post doesn’t make you run for the hills! It’s part of a little project I’ve undertaken, a year-long attempt to read twelve essayists in depth, and to study their styles. You can read more about the project here. I’m [...]

I’ve met not one, but two blogging friends in person in the past week. When I tell this to my other, non-blogging friends, they nod their heads politely but with a definite air of disbelief. Meeting people I’ve encountered on the internet? How desperate can I be? But meeting like-minded folks in person isn’t always [...]