An appreciation of Howard Norman’s novel The Bird Artist with a side note or two of additional appreciation for the real artists of Change Islands, Newfoundland, where I lived idyllically for a while.
The lesson learned from trying to be something I was not; that is, an actor.
Black History Month has a half century history, since Gerald Ford inaugurated the celebration in 1976. Until 2025 the month was actively celebrated by our government. That has changed now in the emerging Trump dictatorship.
Tove Jansson’s book Sun City takes place in St. Petersburg, FL, a place I’ve had some dealings with through my parents’ retirement there. It got me reminiscing and then thinking about my own retirement.
Following an election there’s always a post mortem analysis by the losers about why they lost. The analysts need to find the flaws. And there are several places to look. At the candidates, the party, the voters, the messaging, or just because the time wasn’t right. .
The West Virginia Senate in the 2025 legislative session posted a bill to rescind a provision in a state law that prohibits industrial drilling in state parks. This is in the interest of allowing carbon sequestration in the parks.