Finding Grace in Beautiful Places (Revisited)
Sean MurphyIn a piece I recommend you reading @ the reliably awesome Rumpus, writer Amber Sparks, a non-believer, discusses matters of faith, spirituality and art (check it here). The piece is…
The Bittersweet Science, Part One (Revisited)
It probably says something about evolution that the younger generations see the future as expansive, malleable and positive while the older generations eventually—and inexorably—see the past as safer, simpler and…
2012: When Rhetoric Meets Reality (Revisited)
I read the news today. Oh boy. Looks like one of the worst-kept secrets in the industry is beginning to spring a rather unseemly leak. Sounds like art may have…
Beauty is a Rare Thing: Celebrating International Jazz Day (Revisited)
All hope is not lost. At least enough people are still making --and listening to-- jazz that we can even attempt to initiate what hopefully becomes an ongoing occasion. In…
Compassion*
License registration, no I ain’t got none, But I got a clear conscience ‘bout the things that I done… When you find yourself singing Bruce Springsteen lyrics in New Jersey…
Whitney Houston and the Wages of Fame (Revisited)
Sadly, only the most optimistic or naive observers did not see this coming. Indeed, it is fair, if harsh, to wonder how it took so long. I make it a…
Human Connections, Missed Connections, Chance Connections: ‘Three Colors: Blue, White, Red’ (Revisited)*
Words need not be minced here: the Criterion Collection treatment of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s trilogy is an essential, if overdue cultural event. The high-definition digital restorations are reason enough to rejoice;…
Emotional feedback on a timeless wavelength: Rush’s ‘Permanent Waves’
How unbelievably appropriate that Permanent Waves was released on January 1, 1980? In virtually every regard, this album ended the '70s (literally) and foreshadowed the fertile grounds (reggae, pop elements, concise…
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before*
Let me tell you a story. It involves a white male born in a steadily prospering town to a slowly prospering family. His father, the first in his Irish family…
My Annual New Year’s Eve Message
As always, it’s a hell of a lot easier to keep these things in perspective by considering the (increasing) number of our brothers and sisters who are struggling just to…