Every writer seems to be on a journey and perhaps like life itself, no journey is exactly the same. My journey began far before I was ever aware that I would become a writer. I have always had a fondness for language, a propensity to play with words, and a nearly unquenchable desire for knowledge […]
Creativity Uses Failure
Although Thomas Edison remains a hotly debated character, he is generally considered a creative genius. He is also considered by many the greatest inventor ever to live. He once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Edison’s Light Bulb Moment This is the creative tenacity that leads to light […]
Subterranean Chronicles Part 10: Guilt
Guilt has been a major theme in my life, and it seems to be a phantom that plagues many of us outside of politicians and ad executives. This phantom comes in and steals our happiness leaving us to wonder what went wrong. I am not saying that a little guilt here and there is not […]
Subterranean Chronicles Part 9: Ignorant Oppressors
The following blog is a piece I wrote as I was working on Long Island with many Latino laborers in both my restaurant and vineyard jobs. It was 2008, and I was on the brink of starting a graduate history program studying the history of US/Latin American Relations. I was becoming increasingly aware of the […]
Subterranean Chronicles Part 8: What is Good Enough?
My college experience was similar to that of many. Usually, it is a time for adding to one’s knowledge base, but just as importantly adding to your perspective and broadening your view of the world. This is an essay that I produced in November of 2003 when I was a Senior in college, reflecting on […]
Subterranean Chronicles Part 7: Thoughts From My Journal at Twenty-five
In 2006 when I had been on this planet for about a quarter-century, I sat down at that point in my life hoping to write down what life had taught me. Sometimes I would have this crisis where I thought that I did not learn anything aside from basic facts from grade school like in […]
How Exploring Our Shadows Can Improve Our Lives
There are all types of lights and shadows in our lives. As I mentioned in my last newsletter, there is an actual physical light and shadow sequence that affects our lives. The warmth of the sun and protection of darkness can change our moods. Extended times of shadow may even dampen our inner light. But […]
Subterranean Chronicles Part 6: TV is Finite and Depressing
When I was child, it was impressed upon me that television was evil. Over the course of my life I have had a complicated relationship with television. Ultimately, I have viewed it more with wariness and disdain. As a parent, I have done the most to limit the presence of television in my daughter’s life […]
Five Years Since Death: An Exploration
In the five years since publishing Death: An Exploration so much has changed. Many people believe that publishing your first book is a momentous, if not life-changing event. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have long periods where I sat dreaming of what it would be like to become an author. […]
Subterranean Chronicles Part 5: Klaus Barbie and Didactic Art
Since the beginning, I have been accused of being didactic in my writing. This is something that perhaps can be excused in writing non-fiction, but in the world of fiction and poetry, many view it with scorn. I guess that I have found it my duty to use whatever talent I might have been endowed with […]