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Prayer at Winter Solstice
Blessed is the road that keeps us homeless. Blessed is the mountain that blocks our way. Blessed are hunger and thirst, loneliness and all forms of desire. Blessed is the labor that exhausts us without end. Blessed are the night and the darkness that blinds us. Blessed is the cold that teaches us to feel. […]
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What bad art is for
When I was in San Francisco last week I was walking down Market Street and heading toward a restaurant after leaving a friend’s work party. That’s when I noticed this sculpture. Do you see it? I know it’s dark. Even during the day, this art is designed to be sort of tucked away. It’s an…
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New American revolutionaries
Leaving San Francisco today, and returning to Andrew Bacevich’s 1998 reflection on “the irony of American power”. It’s worthwhile reading since many are still trying to detox from an incredibly contentious election cycle. Bacevich paints a portrait of American power that is probably at odds with our traditional history: A nation born of the first great anti-imperial revolution,…
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Light, not the weather
A little street scene at Fillmore and Washington in Pacific Heights, San Francisco. Enjoying this year’s Anchor Christmas Ale this weekend, and generally enjoying the light here. It’s not the weather, but the quality of California’s light, that I love so much about this place. Off to see friends old and new.
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Dissenters, not victors
In Lower Pacific Heights, San Francisco and enjoying the fresh December air from my friends’ studio apartment. From Don Eberly’s The Essential Civil Society Reader: While it is often said that history is written by the winners, the truth is that the cultural images that come down to us as history are written, in large…