Someone very dear to me once pointed out that my mind can sometimes work in non-traditional ways. We’d be talking and I would have a thought. That thought would lead to another thought, and another and another, at which point I’d say ‘I really love candied yams’. The problem was that we’d been talking about existentialism and the search for… Read more →
Filling the Well: Shoegaze @ Arlene’s Grocery
I can’t remember the last time I went out to see a live band. In an effort to fill the well, and maintain a commitment I’ve made to myself recently to get out of the house more and take in the culture of NYC I went to Arlene’s Grocery on the lower East side this past Saturday night. They were… Read more →
What I Listened To: Week of 3/3/25
Here’s a link to my original post, ‘Healing My Brain Through Music’. This week I decided to stick with the Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach. Specifically the 2023 Deutsche Grammophon recording by Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson. The technical prowess of Ólafsson is absolutely stunning on this recording. Several of the variations prompted me to create an entirely new playlist… Read more →
8.2 Billion
“No one needs the things that I do. No one needs my music or my art or my creativity. No one needs or wants my skills and my talents. No one will pay me for what I have to offer the world. — My Brain As of February 28th, 2025 there are approximately 8.2 billion people living on planet earth.… Read more →
Healthy Habits v. 1.0
“Knowing the rules of an art is not the same as having the habit. When we speak of a man as skilled in any way, we do not mean that he knows the rules of making or doing something, but that he posses the habit of making or doing it.” — Mortimer J. Adler / How to Read a Book… Read more →
The Way Forward: 2025
It’s 3:09 pm, New Years Eve, 2024. I want to avoid the trap of making a bunch of hardcore resolutions that I’ll bail on in one, two or three months time. Somewhere in the back of my lizard brain I know that I’ve done that more times than I can count. In the spirit of trying something new I’m going… Read more →
This Too Shall Pass
It’s here. That feeling of panic. Adrenaline dump. Feeling overwhelmed. Feeling hopeless. Wanting to crawl up into a ball. Assume the fetal position. It’s all too much. Look ahead. Tragedy and darkness. The sky is falling and you don’t know what to do. Breathe. Breathe again. Deeper this time. ‘This too shall pass.’ Breathe. Breathe again. Over and over. One… Read more →
Overcoming
The dictionary lists thirty one synonyms for ‘inertia’ and only two antonyms: in·er·tianoun: inertia1. a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged. “the problem runs deeper than bureaucratic inertia” Similar: inactivity / inaction / inactiveness / inertness / dormancy / passivity / apathy / accidie / malaise / stagnation / dullness / enervation / sluggishness / lethargy / languor… Read more →
What If?
What if? How would you act? What foods would you put into your body? What time would you go to bed? How would you exercise and move your body throughout the day? How would your life change for the better if you made this small shift in thinking? What could you accomplish with the added energy that would come from… Read more →
Can You Still Make Art?
The world is crashing down around you. Things are looking bleak. You’re surrounded by stress and strife and worry. You have burdens to carry. The load is heavy right now. Can you still make art? I want to believe that the answer is ‘yes’. Maybe you have to lower the bar. Give yourself the greatest chance to succeed. Keep the… Read more →