On February 22, 2022, the planet Pluto was exactly at the same place in the sky that it was on July 4, 1776 – American Independence Day. Pluto’s orbit around the Sun takes 246 years, and Pluto’s return was talked about as a portent for revolutionary change. But February 22, 2022 turned out to have … Read more
On the surface of it, the phrase “never again” doesn’t make sense. How can something that doesn’t exist (“never”) happen again? But in the context of the appropriate predicate (such as a killing) the logic of the statement becomes clear, taking on an urgency of exasperation, a demand for an entire society to examine its … Read more
There is a law of diminishing returns that states that a benefit will require an ever increasing input of energy to maintain a fixed result. In the United States, in early 2017, we witnessed a casual amount of bullshitting by our nominally-elected president. The outrage and shock by the citizenry was high. But today, after … Read more
For many gay Americans, like myself, the face of Donald Trump is reminiscent of the schoolyard bully who physically threatened us. His constant bellowing of “WRONG” has the capability of re-traumatizing our inner shame we experienced as we came out; and for many, that shame still persists in our psyche today. Over the next several … Read more
“I will not let you leave me until you have blessed me.” Loosely translated, the patriarch, Jacob, spoke this to the angel with which he wrestled for a night, leaving him with an injured hip. Some five millennia later, I’m standing (for two and a half hours) on the Davies Hall stage, playing Messiah, with … Read more