Crack in the neighborhood

I came down to the garage to hop on my motorbike yesterday and discovered the spark plug caps had been smashed off.  Now, I know this phenomenon exists in certain parts of the city where crack is notoriously smoked, as the ceramic insulators are used for smoking rock, but I live in an apartment complex [...]

Keeping track of reading

I guess it’s no surprise, I read a lot. Unfortunately, I read all sorts of things that go unaccounted for, so when people ask, “What are you reading?” or “What have you read lately that’s good?” I usually am mixing book reviews liberally with what I have actually read. It’s a bit like [...]

Losing Little Bear

Little Bear had to be put down this morning after a long weekend at the SF Veterinary Specialists hospital. It happened so quickly, but looking back, the signs were there and we just didn’t see them.
Apparently, she’d been suffering from pancreatitis for a long time, a somewhat mysterious affliction in cats (after I [...]

Erykah Badu, let me count the ways…

What happened to soul music? I mean, like Me’shell N’dege’Ocello talks about, “Remember back in the day/when everyone was black and conscious/down for the struggle?/that brought us all together…”–just check out her influences. Not like I know exactly what she’s talking about, but I know that hip-hop and Justin Timberlake seem to have [...]

Nature or nurture: part-time Quakerism

Part-time Quakerism: I’ve wondered if this is possible…it’s probably sacreligious.
I know this opens a can of worms for any religious person, no matter what persuasion, but I often marvel at the focus and dedication of Quakers who devote and dedicate their lives to their faith and practice. Every moment seems infused with one or [...]