Please Don’t Overlook This Opportunity To Further Persecute The Jews
There’s been a lot in the news lately about Pastor Terry Jones, whose church, the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, is planning to commemorate the terror attacks of September 11 by hosting a BBQ. This wouldn't be so noteworthy but for the fact...
Mama knows best, 18 August, 2010
I'd like to use this space today to acknowledge a little adjustment to our country's Constitution that occurred 90-years ago today: the ratification of the 19th Amendment. For those not immediately familiar, that's the one whose key phrase reads, "The right of...
Room For All?
We here in Seattle like to consider ourselves to be a progressive, open-minded bunch. On principle we try and make certain that everyone's rights are protected and all are free to express themselves. The other day, while on a walk through a local park, I happily...
Sung Snapshots: An Interview With Michael Stegner
I recently sat down with Michael Stegner, the songwriter, piano player and singer of the Seattle-based band Fascination Nation, to discuss the roots of his songwriting and the release of the band's upcoming album. Below is a small impression of my time with Michael,...
Disinfected, 1 July, 2010
Sometimes I forget that living in a dense urban area means that there will be occasions when I will be forced against my will to interact with people one could best call..., well..., crazy. Today, however, was a friendly reminder that no matter how artfully you...
A Bee, 8 January, 2009
A bee sting in the middle of January
Post-Christmas, 6 January, 2009
Several years ago I stopped giving Christmas gifts. I had come to see Christmas as a grossly over-commodified purchasing orgy, a holiday of things rather than people, and I simply gave up on it. This year, a couple days before the 25th, I met a woman on the street...
For Rebecca, 31 December, 2008
The other night I ran into an old friend who now lives in China. Within minutes of saying hello Becky chastised me for not writing on this blog more frequently. My first reaction was internal and was something to the effect of: Wow, I can't believe someone actually...
The Bends, 18 November, 2008
It's been over a month now since I returned to Seattle. A terribly valid question would be - in fact has been nearly every time I've run into someone in town - What have you been doing with your time? This question has a Siamese twin that follows with, What are you...
Cue the Pig, 6 October 2008
I was sitting in a cafe in Cairo the other day contemplating the quality of this trip. One obvious benefit is that I get to start sentences with statements like the above, and that carries some weight. I had come to a crux: after a few days in Egypt the time had come...
Pyramids and Sphinx, Sakkara & Giza, Egypt, 3 October 2008
I took a little tour of some old stone buildings today. The way things work in Cairo: upon check-in to a hotel the staff present you with a tour-arranger, a cul-de-sac of information who helps set up tours to places throughout the country. Tourism is extremely...