I received a partial acceptance for a short story last week. The caveat was that I had to cut off the beginning and end, no small amputation from my point of view. The editor’s concluding sentence tried to be encouraging: All in all, this story has potential especially if you focus

“Any species that is wholly contented, perfectly adapted to its environment, runs a real risk of its extinction.” So begins Walter Kerr, theater critic, lyricist and Broadway director of several successful productions, in his 1962 publication, The Decline of Pleasure. (Paperback e

The other day, a young woman with whom I have a business arrangement referred to me as “sweet.” The word has been applied to me before and each time I blanche at the description. Believe me, gentle reader, I am anything but sweet. I take no offense at the word. I simply have no wi

One of the ironies of life is that a writer depends upon critics as much as he or she depends upon readers. Without the critic there is no chatter and a new book lies as neglected as a homework assignment after graduation. Haruki Murakami’s magnum opus, 1Q84 came out in English tran

Recently, on his PBS television program, Bill Moyers interviewed two women whose job it is to lobby against lobbyists. As they talked, the pair cited many instances where big money and big government worked together against the interest of the common man. Moyers, a former Washington i

Recently, I wrote a blog about data mining – how researchers track our electronic habits while we e-shop or use social networking. We pay for the convenience by opening ourselves to practices that invade our privacy. (5/20/13) I see no way to avoid data collectors unless we unplug o

Anyone who wants to learn how to be invisible should pick up a copy of Robin Nagle’s new book, Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City. The tale is an odyssey of pure trash as Nagle rides along with one of the 10,000 sanitation w

Like many others, I’ve often wondered why democracy is slow in coming to the Middle East. In an article written for Foreign Affairs, Seth G. Jones looks at this question and arrives at an interesting conclusion. He believes that the energy wealth of these countries allows regimes t

“Urgent!” said the email I opened one morning last week. The note was from a friend alerting me to a plan our city commissioners were considering, one that would put unwanted chemicals into our drinking water. She asked me to communicate my objections to the commissioners at once.

One of the few benefits of being old is knowing I will escape certain disasters. By the time the world chokes on carbon emissions, or countries suffer acute water shortages due to droughts, or the national debt finally overwhelms us, I won’t have to worry because I won’t be here.