Rough Drafts
Essays and blog posts I've written that haven't been published elsewhere yet
808 postsFifth Sun
Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs by Camilla Townsend Camilla Townsend has pulled off a remarkable magic trick in this book, reconstituting the Mexica empire with an amazing level of detail and sensitivity. It makes the Aztecs feel like a real people, with a vibrant and complex culture, instead
1 min read
The tree with the lights in it
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard My rating: 5 of 5 stars It took many months for me to finish reading this book, as I could only manage it in small doses. Dillard writes with an intensity level that starts around 7 or 8 and cranks up to 11 by the end of each […]
1 min read
Zen, death, love, and an exorcism.
Love and Fear: Stories from a Hospice Chaplain by Renshin Bunce My rating: 5 of 5 stars A Zen Buddhist chaplain’s memoir, with many stories shining light on what it means to die, and some of the many different ways it can happen. Written with a gentle, understanding, open heart, and a knack for tell
1 min read
I have heard the toadfish singing.
The toadfish sits on the bottom of the sea, singing a song of love.
2 min read
Walking through a shitstorm.
So last week I went for a walk before starting work. It was a simple, small walk, just around the block. I was enjoying the sunshine and the blue sky and paused to appreciate the gnarled, massive pepper tree on the street parallel to ours, which I don’t see nearly enough because I usually don’t […]
3 min read
Either way, you get your pet back.
My advice is simple: Do not request a teddy bear made out of the shirt of your deceased loved one.
4 min read
Grief and gratitude.
I’m not entirely sure I know the difference between grief and depression. My father died on February 7, and for the past two and a half weeks, I’ve been grieving his death. This is normal and expected. It’s exactly the kind of ordinary devastation that people all over the world feel every day, that
3 min read
Ryan D. Tweney, 1943-2020
Ryan D. Tweney, professor, book collector, husband, father, and mentor, died February 7 in Pahrump, Nevada, aged 76. Born in Detroit, Ryan was raised by his mother Helene Tweney and grandmother Viola Marciniak, and educated at Cass Technical High School, the University of Chicago, and Wayne State Un
2 min read
November chill.
It’s November, and in the seasonal ebb and return of the San Francisco economy that means it’s time for Dreamforce, the annual tradeshow hosted by Salesforce.com.
5 min read
The Institute, by Stephen King
The Institute by Stephen King My rating: 3 of 5 stars “The Institute” is a dark vision of psychic power and how it could be abused by a shadowy organization that transcends any one government — people who believe they are doing massive good for the world while actually inflicting tremendous evil on
1 min read