Some things aren’t funny… But some of them are worth talking about. We live in a privileged age in a privileged place. Believe it or not, that is a problem. It makes some things hard to imagine, even if we should. A few of us have traveled to places where our privileges are not common […]
“Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life,” said Tom Petty, who died unexpectedly a few days ago, the legendary lead singer of the Heartbreakers and the Traveling Wilburys. “There’s not some trick involved with it,” he said. “It’s pure and it’s real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and […]
We are all hunters by nature, even if you don’t own a gun and I don’t own a bow and some arrows. For instance… “Where did I put my glasses this time?” Another hunt is on. See what I mean? Whenever there is something we want or need, we become happy hunters. Hunting does not […]
I am able to use my right foot. Pretty cool, right? I have never broken it or left it carelessly under your cow’s back hoof when she stamped it in the muck. I have not even spilled hot coffee on it. My right foot works just fine, thank you. But see if I can kick […]
You can’t fall over a cliff from far away. You’ve got to be near the edge. So, are you near the edge today? It sure can happen, can’t it? Even the best of us – and that’s a hard club to join anyway – can feel pushed too far some days. The question really is, […]
Some scientists today are questioning the popular notion of multitasking, the much praised ability to do a bunch of things all at once. Do you do it? Multitasking is supposed to be the badge of today’s legendary supermom, for example – job, kids, household, alluring spouse and, of course, dog walker-feeder-scooper upper after. The same […]
…the one who will not see. I bet you know somebody, and probably more than one, whose mind is so made up that he doesn’t want to be confused by any more facts. Some people are so sure they are right they simply won’t take another look… until they fall on their face. Consider: Some […]
“Random” has turned into a slang buzzword. On the street it means just about nothing like what it really means. So, if you have tweens and teens loitering someplace in your world, or little bros and sisses of such people, be aware you may become random-ized next time you do something shockingly parental or grown-up. […]
The last few weeks have been a time to watch things change. Take the Celts, for example. The Celtic Festival coming up in Mayville is always a great community event, lots of fun and even inspiring with its music and traditions. Please accept your Jamestown Gazette’s cover story invitation to take it all in and […]
Doesn’t that phrase bring a romantic image to mind?… beautiful music under the stars on a moonlit summer night. What could be better? Those words have a different meaning for an orchestra conductor, though. Kurt Masur, one of the great maestros the 20th century, the late music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, once […]