In 1987, Carrie Fisher published her first novel, Postcards From the Edge, a semi-autobiographical work reflecting her time in a drug rehabilitation clinic. It was an instant hit that launched her secondary career as an author and playwright. The story is broken down into sections. The first details the month actress Suzanne Vale spends in …
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Review: “I Am a Gay Wizard”
Sometimes being a wizard isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. This can be especially true if you don’t really believe you are one. But there are occasions when wizardry, like greatness, can be thrust upon you. Johnny, a gay high schooler, is half-heartedly dabbling in magic with his trans friend Alison, who is deeply …
A Christmas Carol
In 1965, television station CBS was looking for a new Christmas special to air that season. They reached out to one of the most famous cartoonists in the country, Charles M. Schultz, to write the program and draw the cels, which would be animated by Bill Melendez. Schultz’s syndicated newspaper comic Peanuts was beloved by …
Autumn Haiku
Happiness skips past Laughing in sun’s yellow rays Dancing autumn leaves
Communal Coolness
I have, my entire life, been driven by a powerful inner need to be part of a select group. It is the primary definition of my existence, the one consistent and overwhelming fact of my personality. I grew up in a time (the 1960s) when neighborhoods actually consisted of neighbors. I had tons of friends …
Sentience
Twenty years ago, I was living in a 70-year-old small, dingy apartment in the above-ground basement of a mansion in Germany. It was originally a maid’s quarters. And it was depressing as all get-up. After a couple of years there, I got permission from my landlord to spruce the place up a little. He allowed …
What Dreams May Come
Everybody dreams. Some people think they don’t, but they are mistaken. Research shows that people who claim not to dream undergo the same REM sleep patterns as everyone else. What is really the case is that they simply do not remember their dreams. I hate it when I don’t remember my dreams. I especially hate …
Paranoia Runs Deep
Apparently, 80% of Americans are worried about the possibility of an imminent nuclear war (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/08/11/8-10-americans-fear-nuclear-war-trump-says-us-locked-and-loaded). Are they right to be? I’ve always enjoyed Apocalyptic movies such as Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove, which depict nuclear catastrophes that occur due to the failure of programs in place to prevent accidental nuclear war. Both films end with …
MAGA
This will be the only political blog entry I will ever make. And it really isn’t so much political as it is sociological. I’m not going to stand on one side of the Party dichotomy here, or rail against policies I don’t like, or push an ideology. Rather, I desire to simply ask a question: …
Easy Riders
In 1969, when I was 14, the Hell’s Angels descended on the quiet little mountain village of Big Bear, California, over Labor Day weekend. The San Bernardino-based group had announced their impending visit in advance, and all the townsfolk were in a tizzy over it. After all, 200 of the outlaw bikers, rampaging on Harley-Davidsons, …
An Innocuous Conversation 