You laugh, but there was a time when we used to stare at a bouncing newborn baby and the first thing that came to mind was: You’re a depraved sinner. Better luck to you in the next life. For 1500 years this view of human nature dominated because The Church defined our consciousness. And who […]
Is this how we think of ourselves?
Originally published in February 2010 in Blog
I write, you write, we all write
Originally published in February 2010 in Blog, Uncategorized
“What does your son do?” asked a friend of François Zola. “Nothing. He writes.” replied Zola, an engineer (mostly of bridges and dams) and father of the journalist and best-selling novelist, Emile Zola. This conversation took place in the late nineteenth century, long before there were phones or the internet, so it was still possible for […]
The Internet Age heralds a shift in human nature
Originally published in February 2010 in Blog, Uncategorized
Facebook (est. 2004 in a stinky Harvard dorm) took almost five years to attract its first 150 million users, but only eight months to double that number, says The Economist in a Special Report on Social Networking. As a social platform initially designed to share tipsy pics and Saturday night plans, it’s becoming clear, and pretty fast, […]
Things are looking up
Originally published in February 2010 in Blog
Just when I thought smart phones were fast becoming the device of choice for philanderers, and sexting the most dominant literary form on these gadgets (“U look good naked,” etc., etc.), a new study shows that we’re using the email accounts on our phones and computers to spread more enlightening news. An article by John […]
Momento mori
Originally published in February 2010 in Blog
On the move
Originally published in February 2010 in Blog
The long goodbye …
Originally published in February 2010 in Blog
I got a lot of moving feedback the first time I wrote about my mother, Catherine, here in The Long Goodbye, published four years ago on this blog. After she died in December 2012, I expanded on the story of our relationship and turned it into a magazine piece for Glow Magazine. You can read that version here. I […]
