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Posts published in “Essays”

Downtown Denizens

Every fortnight, the San Francisco Chronicle publishes something it deceptively brands a “magazine.” Before they achieved their monopoly, said pamphlet was a weekly — go figure. Overall, we’re talking sorry product, particularly in a city…

Holiday Diary

Tuesday 5:01 a.m. — I’m scribbling this in the dark as we drive down 2nd Avenue towards the Midtown Tunnel, so I hope you can read this should my body never be found. The livery…

The Day Henry Kissinger Cried

Just when I thought there could be no further desecration of those who perished on Sept. 11, George W. Bush appoints Henry Kissinger to direct an investigation of the government's failure to prevent the terrorist…

Self-Help Yourself

Dear Diary: 7:44 a.m. — My analyst says I should keep a diary so I can get closer to my emotions. What a crock. But I don't want the little jerk telling my employer I'm…

Botox, the Naked Empire & War on Iraq

I’ll get to Botox and Iraq in a bit. Let’s start with the Naked Empire. Naked in the sense that those who decide on American policy and those whose job it is to sell that…

Ride to the Blue

It's Saturday morning Labor Day Weekend and I wake up early thinking about where to ride. Hmmmm. Crater Lake? That blue caldera, impossibly blue, and that beautiful 35-mile ride high around its rim? Last night…

9-11 Reflections

I watched a fair amount of the mainstream media coverage of the first anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy, and was deeply troubled by much of what I heard and saw. I had hoped that there…

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