this one's optimistic

It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want. -Capt. Spock, ‘Errand of Mercy’ The Margin The art of economics lies in the margin between wholesale and retail. This margin contains two fishes and five loaves of bread – a meal for a select few or enough to [...]

Once, in Amsterdam, Holland, when I was 17 years old, I saw a man smoking a marijuana cigarette within arm’s reach of a police officer. It was legal, but still, it seemed brazen. Well that’s nothing compared to what I’ve seen this week. First, a junkie who looked like Iggy Pop rode by on a [...]

Religion and rock ‘n roll once existed in opposition to one another. Of course, those days are gone: they eventually intersected, maybe merged, and definitely borrowed from one another. Gods, saints, devils, sacred hymns, purity, temptation, gluttony, worshiping openly, arenas, mega-churches, communion of the flesh, falling from grace, sacrifice, redemption, creation, destruction, love, immortality… where [...]

Two one eyed dogs, they’re looking at stereos – Modest Mouse, “Polar Opposites” A paranoid friend once told me cocaine residue is present on 90% of all paper currency in circulation, in the United States. Then he leaned in closer. He told me that – by “cocaine” – he actually meant conservative politics. And by [...]

A rooftop, Manhattan At one in the morning And you said something That I’ve never forgotten -PJ Harvey, “You Said Something” In 1999, I tended bar at an upscale restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. I worked for an impeccably dressed, unintentional philosopher named Bill. He resembled a “pre-facelift” Al Pacino. He said cool things. [...]