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Answering Proust’s Questionnaire
The questions here are from the second questionnaire he developed, the one when he was 20. I thought it might be a fun exercise.
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Why I Write
I have been writing now — officially, professionally, occasionally happily — for 35 years, and I don’t believe I have ever, until now, committed to paper exactly why. So, let’s have at it. I write to…
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Staying Calm in the Face of Trumpism
Just a few days later I was presented, apparently by cosmic fate, two items that have given me a new perspective on how Facebook and other social media have helped to make compromise nearly impossible and how I, in turn, could make my role in protesting obscene policies more effective, rational, and humane.
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2018 Oscars Fashion by Someone Who Knows Almost Nothing About Fashion
I know virtually nothing except that I can identify a wide variety of women’s shoes. (Slingbacks, kitten heels, open-toed pumps — don’t even get me started.) We dutifully watched the 90th Oscars last night, and I give you now my best-ofs in my own categories.
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Even Cleaner Air Starts in Donora
With the EPA undergoing extensive downsizing and the Trump administration wanting to open previously protected lands to oil and shale drilling, Donora continues to remind the nation of the need for clean air.
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Donora’s Field of Dreams
Probably the most famous player to ever sprint down this field was the legendary Joseph “Joe Cool” Montana. Montana was unequivocally one of the greatest quarterbacks in history and a Hall of Fame pick in his first year of eligibility. And he played here, right here in Donora, on Legion Field, where all Ringgold games were played.
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The Peaceful Transfer of Power and Hope
Inauguration Day for Donald J. Trump is in three days, and we will watch again as the transition of power from one party to another occurs peacefully and completely in a single day. Quite a remarkable occurrence.An occurrence, in fact, that forms the bedrock of a true democracy. I look forward to that peaceful transition…
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Goodbye, 2016. Hello, 2017
We’ve had quite a divaricate year, all in all, one with a split personality, one that feels differently to me depending on whether I think about what happened in my personal life or what happened in the nation and the world. Perhaps it is always that way, but 2016 certainly feels different. Personally I had…
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My Responses to Bernard Pivot’s Questionnaire, with Apologies to James Lipton
At 66 I thought it might be time to do my own Bernard Pivot questionnaire, the one the incomparable James Lipton uses on “Inside the Actor’s Studio.” Here goes. What is your favorite word?Awesome What is your least favorite word?The N word What turns you on creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?Honesty What turns you off?Lack of…
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Sexuality More Static Than Previously Thought
Alfred Kinsey (Great biography here) I’ve thought for a long time that human sexuality was fluid, that there were a nearly infinite number of forms. Much of that thought was based on information from Alfred Kinsey’s landmark studies back in the 60s, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. A new study…
