As of September 16, the U.S. casualty toll from mass shootings in 2024 – defined as involving four or more victims – was sitting at 553 killed and 1,835 injured. Those totals, compiled by Wikipedia, don’t count the numbers of family members, friends, lovers, co-workers,... Continue
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Without doubt, the state of Arizona features some of the most spectacular landscapes in America, mind-boggling sandstone canyons sculpted by millions of years of wind and water and vast moonscape-like deserts which challenge life entirely. My wife and I are currently traversing such areas, and... Continue
I never had any intention of becoming a writer, to externalize and expose myself on paper. But as life would have it, I had a meltdown in a course I was taking, and out of that emotional quagmire I wrote a short piece called, “Queen... Continue
“If the strong person exercises all his rights to oppress and pillage the weak, he is only doing the most natural thing in the world.” — Friedrich Nietzsche When we observe the imperatives of nature, it might appear that might makes right. With relatively few... Continue
There is a silent scream stuck in my throat. It has been there for as long as I can remember. As a child, living two of my most formative years in immediate post-war Berlin, with forays through the rubble-strewn remains of the Third Reich, seeing... Continue
Diligent readers abreast of the latest news (wildfires, wars, mass shootings, environmental collapse, political insults du jour) are well aware of the nation's simmering problems with immigration. It's again a hot topic of political brick-batting in the current election cycle. (e.g., "Build that wall! Build... Continue
Humanity’s place in nature is terrifying. Fires, floods, landslides, predatory animals, starvation, poisoned water, infection, plague; the list of depredations goes on. Were it not for each other we’d have never survived; alone we are weak and vulnerable. Some animals are solitary, but human beings... Continue
Looking ahead to the future has never been easy. One transformational wave after another has swamped humanity in its wake. The control of fire was perhaps the first such event, followed by flint arrowheads, bows, metallurgy, the wheel, gunpowder and the internal combustion engine. One... Continue
Most of us have too much stuff, and it continually creeps into our space. By the looks of the hourly Amazon and FedEx deliveries on my street, online retail is also alive and well. I seldom shop online. When I do, it’s for things I... Continue