Every year or so, I’ve compiled a list of “places I’d like to live before I die.” It isn’t a particularly realistic bucket list… if you have to know a place in order to have lived there, I’ve lived in both Flint and Chicago for more than a decade, and I still make unexpected discoveries about both of these places.… Read the rest
Places I’d Like to Live Before I Die: The Final Edition Read More »
I wanted to post today, but I’m trying to crank out the new chapter of Shattering Glass and finish raking the leaves and mowing the lawn. So I decided to go for something simple. Here are some videos that had amused and delighted me in the last month or so. … Read the rest
9 Delightful Videos Read More »
What is the appeal in loneliness? What is the attraction in sadness? Many of us spend a not inconsequential amount of time seeking out emotions and experiences which are not naively pleasurable. Nostalgia is one of the most accessible of these contradictions, and when I hear people use it, the word most often has negative connotations.… Read the rest
Kinetic Melancholy Read More »
Well it took me long enough! This is the second installment of my photoblog exploration of East Village, Flint, the neighborhood where I grew up and where I now live again after being away for 21 years. The first installment explored the area south of Court Street as well as Pierce Park. … Read the rest
Flint’s East Village in Pictures (2 of 3) Read More »
So it’s been over a month now since R.E.M., one of my favorite bands, maybe the favorite band, has split up. And I still feel deeply gloomy about the whole thing. People who mourn celebrities like a friend or a brother are a bit self-indulgent.… Read the rest
Auditioning the New R.E.M. Read More »
For this blog’s relaunch, I wanted to kick off with something fun and colorful. It’s been a great week to explore my neighborhood, as many of the trees — tall maples and oaks — are hitting peak color about now.
I remember a few years ago I was participating in a reading series on Avenue A in Manhattan, and when my bio mentioned that I had grown up “in the East Village of Flint, Michigan” the audience chuckled, as if they were in on an inside joke.… Read the rest
Flint’s East Village in Pictures (1 of 3) Read More »
The short story here is simply that “the old blog is back.”
I started this blog in early 2004 (and if you want, you can still read the earliest, untitled entries here) and it was an eclectic thing. I wrote about reading and writing and the arts. … Read the rest
A panacea to your want of early morning rambling. Read More »
In Chicago, February has not been warmer than January this year. It feels like it must be at least a dozen degrees colder. What I have noticed is the increase in daylight, with the sun still above the horizon after five, sometimes while I’m getting dinner ready. … Read the rest
Wednesday Phenology: Feb. 9th 2011 Read More »
What does an adventurous writer do when the city where he lives is socked by the blizzard of the half-century? He documents the whole thing! I’ve taken some photos and videos of Snowmageddon 2011 on the North Side of Chicago (Edgewater Beach). … Read the rest
I had a dream which I would have to describe as a “nostalgia dream.” It was quite realistic, but seemed to incorporate elements of the past, present, and future.
