Below is a list of works that first were published elsewhere. These links (below) will take you to the original essays as they appeared in these publications. This page will be maintained and updated as additional links are added. RAPID GROWTH MEDIA The Good Of The Many No Longer Interested In The Russians Today A [...]
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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 [...]
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. [...]
I wasn’t trying to make a joke of it, I really wasn’t. I was raised a Christian. I’ve sat through a thousand sermons, taken Communion many hundreds of times, and been baptized twice. Regardless: once you’ve seen “Life of Brian” a certain number of times, “peacemakers” becomes “cheesemakers”…
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 [...]
No one really knows what I’m talking about. -Beastie Boys, “Sounds Of Science” I open bananas with a steak knife, I get two haircuts a year, I can barely dress myself, and my favorite band is the Replacements. Yet I’m the president of an arts advocacy organization. It makes you wonder: what are the standards [...]
We fear what is different, and this tendency starts early. If you put a bite of falafel on the plate of an average American toddler, her face will contort in disgust, and she’ll probably remove it. It gets more complicated when we become adults, especially when you throw in passion, religion, self-doubt, familiarity and other ingredients.
A lot of cars in my neighborhood have bad exhaust systems; repairs are less of a priority than upgrading stereos. The bass from the music rattles the rusty parts. The front seats often are reclined back so far back that people appear to be driving from the rear of the vehicle. The brakes scream out [...]
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 [...]
