I write for people who share my insatiable lust for unexpected, irreverent, amusing, and thought-provoking perspectives on things like:
A guy who realizes in the midst of a stroke that he’s the Buddha;
Becoming friends with (and hustled by) individuals whom most people casually group together as just “panhandlers,” “homeless,” and “addicts”;
The experience of Rubens exhorting me to draw a Rubens-like painting at the Crayola Crayon Factory;
The original myth(s) of “writer’s block.”
A woman determined to develop a series of “Mad Libs” that encompass all human experience.
A memoir by the God of Carrots including the transcendent wit and wisdom of Bugs Bunny;
A kid who grew up on a hippie commune who became a marine and covert op.
My goal is for readers (and me!) to have profound reactions like: “Huh..” “Gee…” “Whoa…” followed by some version of “I never thought of that.”
And that we’ll be regularly amused, frequently intrigued, and occasionally laugh out loud.
Where I’m coming from;
As a former copywriter and ad agency exec, I’ve written about everything from A (Apple software) to Z (Zoos) and every other letter in between, including Q (quarries).1
As a documentary scriptwriter, I’ve written Ken Burns films on genetics, cancer, the Mayo Clinic, youth mental illness, and Henry David Thoreau.
And as a published author I’ve written a comprehensive history of opium up through today’s opioid crisis as well as a memoir of mental illness that includes a close examination of how it affects our creativity, spirituality, relationships, and more.
What Happens When You Subscribe?
You mean in addition to the heavens opening up and pouring positive energy upon you? Well, you’ll get notified of new posts for any of my projects.
BUT, don’t worry about getting swamped, I pretty much focus on one project at a time. Currently, I’m sending an episode of The Man Who Woke Up the Buddha every week (usually Saturday morning.) Occasionally I’ll do a new Writing Aside or other piece and send that out during the week.
Writing Asides: Essays about what writers do when they’re not writing.
Street Cred: Essays about my friends who live on the street by day and wherever they can by night.
The Man Who Woke Up the Buddha: A serialized version of a novel about an everyday guy who simultaneously has a stroke, orgasm, and the realization he’s the Buddha.
Fiction & etc. Short Stories, published and unpublished. And etc.
Coming sooner or later to Substack:
Waking the Dead: Short stories about people from history—kings, queens, prophets, poets, explorers, and more—who return to talk about what they were doing back then and what they think about what we’re doing now.
Untitled: A novel-in-process about a young man who grows up on a peace-and-love hippie farm and becomes a covert op—A modern-day "Bhagavad Gita” I call it. [Not sure if it will go to Substack or straight to print…]
The Secret Life of Carrots: A memoir by the God of All Carrots who has unexpected and irreverent insights into the universe in general and humans in particular.
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Here’s a short video by my friend Christopher Irion from his innovative project “Portrait/Self Portrait.” He films you listening to the playback of a three-minute piece that you wrote and recorded about yourself.
Addiction, Apple Software, Ball Bearings, Baseball, Bath Salts, Beer, Bipolar, Cancer, Carrots, Checking Accounts, Chemotherapy, Computer Accessories, Construction Companies, Cribs, Criminal Justice Reform, Cutting Boards, Daycare Furniture, Depression, Drugs, Employee Benefit Programs, Energy-Efficient Buildings, Espionage, Famous Historical People (many), Fragrance, Genetics, Gods, Healthcare, Helicopters (Medivac), Hospitals, HVAC Systems, In-Vitro Fertilization, Industrial Machinery, Insurance, Investment Services, Judicial Reform, Kitchen Cabinetry, Legal Services, Magazines, Me, Medical History, Mental Health, Neurotransmitters, Non-Profit Housing, Ophthalmological Instruments, Optical Filters, Packaging, Palliative Care, Pediatric Medicine, Personal Computers, Pharmaceuticals, Pollination, Post & Beam Buildings, Presidents, Private Schools, Pumice Stones, Quarries (marble), Radioactive Storage, Relationships, RFI Chips, Savings Accounts, Schizophrenia, Scientific Research, Shoes, Silver Polish, Sluice Gates, Soap, Soapstone Countertops, Social Services, Software, Sponges, Spray Nozzles, Toys, Trade Show Displays, Trust Accounts, Women’s Clothing, Worms, Writing, X-rays (well, Radiation Therapy), transcendence, YMCAs, Zoos (Petting)
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