Latest posts

Essays, Musings, New

91968

Modern Medieval Dentist

August 22, 2023

I could have gotten a swollen head if I took all the compliments from dentists over the years to be a real measure of self-worth. Via genetic roulette (and fluorinated

Read article

Featured Artist: The Amazing Linoleum Block Printing of Los Angeles Artist Dave Lefner

August 6, 2020

Last Sunday, on “Museums-Free-For-All Day,” a lady friend and I decided to visit a museum neither of us had visited before, the Pasadena Museum of California Art

Read article

Essays, New

5508

Beauty Isn’t Pretty

November 27, 2023

I like a good bargain as much as the next guy. Okay, maybe more than the next guy. There is something satisfying, even life affirming, about getting a good deal. It makes me

Read article

Essays, New, Trending

3447

Sleep Study

June 27, 2023

Several years ago I was diagnosed with a condition called “sleep apnea.” According to the world-famous Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.org), “Sleep apnea is a potentially

Read article

Essays, New

2893

Free Directions! Limited Time Only!

March 1, 2023

On any given Saturday or Sunday morning, in the days before GPS, my family and I would find ourselves on our way to visit Aunt Bea and Uncle Harold, Cousins Dorothy and

Read article

Grandpa Artie’s Tools

November 22, 2022

My beloved maternal grandfather, Arthur, was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1901. As a boy, his Jewish, Lithuanian-born parents moved him and the rest of their eight

Read article

Essays, New

4917

Good Fruit & Bad Behavior

August 16, 2022

  Several years ago, while visiting my parents back in New Jersey, my father and I ended up at ShopRite in search of some summer peaches. I noticed my dad carefully

Read article

Essays, New

4649

Better Angels

May 24, 2022

One day a young male student of mine came into the classroom bursting with glee. It seemed he had his first experience with political protest and was excited to share the

Read article

Essays, New

6691

Tortilla As Teaching Tool

February 4, 2022

On a day I would otherwise not remember, I found myself about an hour from home and not having eaten lunch. Luckily one of my favorite authentic taco and burrito chains had a

Read article

Essays, New

6658

The Joke’s on Me!

November 10, 2021

    During one of my earlier trips to a Chinese Hot Pot buffet, after feasting on beef, chicken, vegetables, and all the other “non-traif” items that I

Read article

Not Really “Dead”

August 26, 2021

Several years ago, on one of my self-guided excursions through Mexico, I arrived at the city of Guanajuato, about three and a half hours east of Guadalajara. When I saw my

Read article

Essays, New

10996

It’s So Gay To Be Left-Handed

June 13, 2021

I feel I need to come clean about something. Some of my friends already know about this. My family has known this about me even before I did. I was born different from my

Read article

Language Lesson: “Guarantee”

March 11, 2021

I have always marveled at how a conductor can halt a symphony rehearsal, point to the third clarinet in the back row, and declare that he hit a flat note instead of a sharp

Read article

Latest In Travel

Essays, New

5508

Beauty Isn’t Pretty

November 27, 2023

I like a good bargain as much as the next guy. Okay, maybe more than the next guy. There is something satisfying, even life affirming, about getting a good deal. It makes me

Read article

Staff Picks