I was thinking, for some reason, about Louis Armstrong and Mahogany Hall Stomp, the astonishing piece recorded March 1929. In it you can hear both New Orleans style – it was an older composition – as well as the innovations to come. “All of a sudden when Pops takes his solo [at 1:33], the piece […]
Mahogany Hall Stomp Read More »
I was in the middle of reading Dinty W. Moore’s new book “To Hell With It: Of Sin and Sex, Chicken Wings, and Dante’s Entirely Ridiculous, Needlessly Guilt-inducing Inferno” from the University of Nebraska Press when the news broke that eight people were murdered at massage parlors around Atlanta. In addition to the Asian racism,
Guilt, pickling swill, and ass trumpets Read More »
I miss playing cards. It’s a remnant from an earlier era, before streaming media and smart phones, when family would pass the evenings in such a simple, timeless way.
Yeah, I’ve been away for a while. You know, the pandemic and all. And plans got changed. But the good news is that I wrote a novel and now I’m querying. So here’s an explanation and an apology.
The Glass Key is a dark character study masquerading as a lurid crime novel. And for much of my life I felt the main character was the most like me of anyone in literature.
Thinking about Ned Beaumont Read More »
A change communication initiative trying to alter behavior in a business organization is challenging and tricky. It involves desired, even mandatory, changes where there is no convenient way to assure compliance. This is where a version of tag from my childhood, inexplicably known as hooper, becomes a handy strategic analogy.
The hooper theory of behavioral change comms Read More »
A photo from the last period of my life when I was seriously writing fiction. It was also a time when I knew how to find fantastic vintage clothes and put them together to make a very cool look.
Me, San Francisco, 1984 Read More »
If you walk around downtown Dallas in mid-morning or early afternoon the only people you’ll see on the street are derelicts, panhandlers, and tourists trying to manage those motorized scooters after a little day drinking. And you wonder, how could that be? Where are all the people?
City Series: The emptiness of Dallas, Texas Read More »
This morning I was reading some takes on last night’s episode of The Good Place and of course everyone was excited about the weird and unexpected and hilarious way they brought Timothy Olyphant in for a cameo. This led me (as happens when you are reading culture news over coffee in the morning) to a
A different place along the journey Read More »
Some of the books I read in 2019 – regardless when they were first published! – that I would recommend. From crime fiction and cerebral sci-fi to design to marketing.
Recommended books of 2019 Read More »