Every Day is Veterans Day
Sean MurphyI. Personal Remember when Born in the U.S.A. was ubiquitous? The album and the song. Springsteen was already a big deal, but he wasn't ubiquitous. (A lot more on how Bruce went…
Labor Day Rant: Unpaid Internships are Evil
First off, with very few exceptions, unpaid internships are immoral and disgusting. Any business, especially a multi-million dollar tech behemoth, that justifies not paying interns is evil. But because the…
Be at Peace, Sweet Sinéad
She was brave. She was beautiful. She was brilliant. We all found our lives enriched thanks to her gift and, as is so often the case with our most fragile…
Original Poem: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, 1967: MUHAMMAD ALI REFUSES ARMY INDUCTION*
My thanks to Words & Sports Quarterly for publishing my poem about how America handled Muhammad Ali and his (spiritually & politically astute, prescient) conscientious objection to the Vietnam war.…
Original Poem: St. James’s Place
I've only been to Atlantic City one time (friend's bachelor party, obvi) and, admittedly, not being a gambler or fan of rooms thick with cigarette smoke (circa 2002), and loathing…
Barbara Ehrenreich and the Dignity of Labor
image via The Nation It seems specious, even disingenuous, to suggest that a well-known, best-selling author is both underrated and insufficiently read. As it happens, Barbara Ehrenreich, one of the…
Roger Waters: Shining On
There are so many musicians I admire, a smaller circle I adore, a smaller one still I revere, and a relative handful I’m grateful for. Artists whose work has changed…
Boris the Spider: Farewell to a Fop and a Fraud
So many contemporary pols—particularly right wingers—seem to acknowledge that throwing red meat to the tigers they ride will eventually be insufficient, their half-hearted embrace of the bullshit they spew seen…
Original Poem: Anthropogenic
Big gratitude to Book of Matches for including my poem "Anthropogenic" in their new issue. (This piece is inspired by the chapter "The Shark Massacre" from Moby Dick -- a…
Sui generis, on the rocks: Christopher Hitchens, Ten Years On
The best way to compliment a writer, as a reader, is to recommend their work to others. That I wholeheartedly do –and have done. The best way to compliment a…