Not-yet-published pieces, stories, essays, rants, and random strangenesses

Tao (pronounded “dow”), as everyone knows, translates roughly to “the Way,” specifically the way water runs downhill, effortlessly,...

As much as I would like to say I’m a thoroughgoing pagan, albeit one with synchretist tendencies, there are certain times of the year...

The Kaddish—that is, the so-called “Mourner’s Kaddish” that is recited for the dead in Jewish prayer services—was originally prayed by...

Scientists say the Earth is humming. Not just noise, but a deep, astonishing music. Can you hear it? By Mark Morford San Francisco Gate...

I am pleased to announce that The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation It is a completely new translation of the Bible from...

by Abe Novick, special to the (Baltimore) Jewish Times It was cable TV that came out of the gate early this summer. While the networks...

Many people will say it is morally acceptable to pull a switch that diverts a train, killing just one person instead of the five on the...

By DOUGLAS MARTIN, The New York Times Published: September 8, 2007 Madeleine L’Engle, who in writing more than 60 books, including...

I frequently had night terrors as a child, though apparently what I experienced was not what the psychologists call “night terror.” True...

by Jernigan Pontiac, Seven Days It dazzles me, the commonality of message among wise-men and women the world over. From the Dalai Lama to...

When I was five, I knew I had a remarkable power. I could fly. Sometimes I’d sit on top of the stairs leading down to the basement,...

Since I seem to be incapable of writing anything original these days, I thought perhaps you’d at least care to hear what I’ve been...

Last night I swore I’d never again set foot in the Black Hills. Today I feel pulled back there, if for no reason than to see what they...

The wind is so high, it’s causing dust devils all over the place—pink-brown whirlwinds of dust, dancing like small tornadoes, dancing...

After the Inipi ceremony and the evening with Virgil, I needed a day to process everything. I left St. Paul after breakfast, and wandered...

Ah, the flatlands! Driving east from Rockford, I’m finding the prairie very refreshing—all these wide vistas, this great expanse of sky....

Do You Believe in Magic? By BENEDICT CAREY The New York Times January 23, 2007 A graduate school application can go sour in as many ways...

Lightly men talk of saying what they mean. Often when he was teaching me to write in Greek, the Fox would say, ‘Child, to say the very...