The Undervaluation of Eccentricity

Praise abounds regarding the value of diversity, at least outside primitive enclaves such as Iraq and Myanmar where religious opposition becomes sanctified. In our own country, Republicans would be challenged to come up with more original disasters a la George W. Bush were it not for the Democratic targets that … … more …

EN-CHANCING TRANSMEDIA

Skipping down the escalator at Montgomery BART station, I saw people below moving toward the siding. The train must be already there. I descended even faster, catching the train in partial view to my left. A door was open. Touching down on the platform, I turned immediately left and went … … more …

Social Beings

I treated myself to breakfast out today.  Just eggs, toast and hashbrowns on the daily special menu at El Rancho.  I reserved my coffee expenditure for a latte at Peets.  Did some quick shopping at the adjacent Safeway. On the way home, I stopped at O’Reilly’s to inquire about car … … more …

A Night with Garrison

I sat down with Garrison Keilor last night, albeit at some distance. From the back row of the upper balcony in a California theatre, I listened to him spin tales of my homeland. We both knew Minnesota: “Land of 10,000 Lakes and a Few Weirdos,” as one of my t-shirts … … more …

Hello

She was a beautiful young woman: long, slender legs, trim hips, mid-length blonde hair with streaks of darker color crafted at a beauty shop.  The blue fleece running suit reminded him of a soft velour, inviting to the touch.  She had the top unzipped enough to reveal a bit of … … more …

Moon Crashing

“It’s not the same around NASA anymore: budget cuts, the end of the shuttle. What are we going to do for fun?” “Well, we still have all that Hubble data we can analyze. No one’s looked at that pass we did on the zD1 galaxy yet. That light is almost … … more …

The Reversible Zen of Water

“How’s the water?” I asked the two kayakers floating nearby. We had gathered near the stream’s entry into the lake as it took a final dive over high rocks. “Ah, well, just fine. Why don’t you try?” said a young woman in a solo kayak. Tempting as the invitation to … … more …

Embedded in the 99th

San Francisco, 2010 Official runners were everywhere, displaying their tags, numbers, even foot tapes to track their start and finish lines down to the hundredth of a second. I was an unofficial, un-costumed, numberless reporter drifting amidst their ranks. To capture the movements, the characters and the spirit of the … … more …