It’s said humor is tragedy revisited, like slipping on a banana peel or getting your foot stuck in metal bucket. It’s not very funny while it happens, but gets funnier when retold or remembered. I keep trying to find the humor in everyday tragedy, something... Continue
Columnist
Phone home! I’ve been living in foreclosure hell – dozens of black printed letters, guts churning into sleeplessness, auction dates, signs on the door, and strange men taking photos, with no notice. And, as I write this, they are still “reviewing my file,” two years... Continue
A recent report in the NY Times listed the 2010 CEO income from 200 of the largest corporations. The amount of compensation was stunning, of course, and ranged from a stratospheric $84 million for Phillip P. Dauman of Viacom, $70 million for Larry Ellison of... Continue
I’m bedeviled by “y’ know.” Everywhere where I go I hear “y’ know.” From a literal standpoint, I don’t know, and I must assume I will be told, that is, what I need to know. Out of politeness, I don’t say “No, I don’t know,”... Continue
Dear Bonnie: I just graduated from UC Berkeley and am starting a job here at a local winery. I haven’t really had a serious job before. I worked part time here and there while I was school. But it’s different now and I’m going to... Continue
I must admit to feeling quite deflated by the recent Supreme Court decisions regarding the first amendment. To see liberal justices Ginsberg, Sotomayor and Kagen recently join Scalia and Roberts in deciding not to protect minors from videos filled with blood-spattering violence, torture and mayhem... Continue
Watching old films of the 40’s and 50’s explicitly reveals the underpinnings of our American cultural narrative. Produced before the rise of contemporary comic irony or social satire, these post WWII films feel more like “educational” dating or coming of age films that were shown... Continue
As the world moves solidly into the 21st century, education in America appears to be headed to the 19th. Teachers and the country’s public school system have been targeted by political conservatives who seek to cut salaries and job security for unionized teachers while diverting... Continue
Doctors aren’t God and intuition goes just so far. How does healing occur? There are lots of opinions: vitamins, exercise, herbs, sex, yoga, even being Italian! So, why write another article about healthcare? Does anybody really care? Let’s face it, marathon runners can die early... Continue
Bob Dylan sang that, “those not busy being born are busy dying” but from what I can tell most everyone is doing both at once. Each new moment is a moment of rebirth. What seems constant and solid is a renewal, one heartbeat, one breath... Continue