A WEEK WITH WISE BLOOD

I’ve been reading this book called Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor.  I started liking Flanner O’ Connor in early college, because I liked a story I read in class called “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” All of her writing is about redemption and sin. She is the epitome of the Southern Gothic. In [...]

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WILLIE NELSON ON A TUESDAY NIGHT

Last night I went to see Willie Nelson play at The National. I’ve never been to a concert like that before, in part because they tend to be very expensive and in part because I’m not usually all that interested in that type of music. Or so I thought. Most everyone was over 40, lots [...]

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WAITING TO DRINK COFFEE ON SATURDAY

It’s Saturday morning and coffee is an important part of my Saturday morning ritual.  I’ve asked everyone I know. Usually I stay up pretty late on weekends, but last night I went to bed around midnight and found myself awake this morning by 9. I’m not sure what to do with all this extra time [...]

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Freedom of Speech?

So lately I have been wondering if freedom of speech should be an absolute. I mean, is there a line that should not be crossed? Surely no, I have always believed. I am totally opposed to censorship, and I think all art should be available to all viewers at all times. Here is why. Let’s [...]

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Cliche’s and Contrived Social Gatherings

I never want to turn forty and I hate cliches–and this is how those two ideas come together. I have a friend, a work friend, who just turned forty years old. But he looks and definitely acts very young. I don’t see him as any older than me, most of the time. So he and [...]

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A PREDICAMENT AT 9AM

So this morning I went to teach my 9am class. It was early and rainy and everyone was no doubt tired. When I got to class, I learned through my very honest students that only six of the 16 enrolled had read the essay called A Fourth State of Matter for homework. At first I [...]

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Reading and Yoga: A Likely Combination?

Reading and Yoga. So far in my life, these are the only two healthy ways I have found to force relaxation. And yes, I have to force it. I am terrible at relaxing. I never do it, and really, I don’t know how–at least not in any health conscious way. But that is a different [...]

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Congratulate Me

You should all congratulate me because I finally, officially, sold Empire! So this is life without a restaurant. Hmm. I don’t really feel any different. It’s like on your birthday when you expect to “feel” older, but really it is just another day.
There has never been a day since I was 15 years old that [...]

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MY THOUGHTS ON FOOTBALL AND POLITICS

A few days ago, I went to eat lunch at Banditos. It was Sunday, and it was close to 3pm. Thinking that this would be a reasonable time to try to have a peaceful meal at Banditos, and knowing that I would never go there when it was busy, I was shocked when we got [...]

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Dirty Richmond Snow

I love when it snows, but I hate the dirty Richmond slush that usually follows. The streets are so dirty that when the snow accumulates it looks beautiful because it covers up the mess, but when it begins to melt, all the dirt is absorbed and the snow turns gray and gross. I didn’t believe [...]

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