Caramel Kid Jacob came home from school and asked me what color he was. Since the day he was born, I knew this day would come. I consider myself to be an honest person, and …
February 23, 2006
North America
Morenike Akinlawon in Rhode Island
Mushballs! Riding the Big Apple's little waves
Contrary to popular belief, there is surf to be had off New York City. Just as one can purchase a bagel (or passable facsimile) in San Diego, one can ride a wave off Queens. It's …
February 16, 2006
Morenike Akinlawon in Rhode Island
It's Not You, It's Me I'm not a people person. I try not to be around them too much. I don't like to talk to them, and if I were ever to gain a large …
February 16, 2006
Morenike Akinlawon, Rhode Island
Crime Seen I'm sitting in the food court at the mall, munching on my BLT sub from Subway, and watching the hustle and bustle of the shoppers. I have a book in front of me, …
February 9, 2006
Morenike Akinlawon in Rhode Island
Out Of Africa, Into Rhode Island So here I am to introduce myself. How does one do that without sounding boastful or egotistical? What facts do you reveal? Do you lie a little to make …
February 2, 2006
Nixon to Barnstorm Texas
"I need to help my friend Kinky Friedman get elected governor of Texas," says Mojo Nixon, whose last live performance was at 2004's South by Southwest music fest. Friedman, the musician/politician who calls himself the …
January 19, 2006
Fogueira Kwan Zheng Dao in Texas
It's the hellidays. I can tell because the globally warmed weather went from 85 to 34 yesterday and revved the locals to cut in front of each other on the freeway at breakneck speeds. Shopping …
December 29, 2005
Fogueira Kwan Zheng Dao in Texas
An Actual Waist I'm formerly fat. There once was a book entitled A Thin Book by a Formerly Fat Psychiatrist . I went to therapy from the age of 13 until 40 and the bulge …
December 22, 2005
Fogueira Kwan Zheng Dao in Texas
The Swedish Connection There are two things that give me an ecstatic thrill. One of them is photography. The other is learning a new language. It is better than sex, because it's the alleged reason …
December 15, 2005
Fogueira Kwan Zheng Dao in Texas
Boxes of Stereotype Yesterday I had a stomach flu. The sudden weather change from 108 degrees to 55 with rain did not help. They don't have seasons in the seventh circle of hell, but immediate …
December 8, 2005
Fogueira Kwan Zheng Dao in Texas
Floodwaters You wouldn't know about me unless you have read some exposition to get a sense of who I am, what I do, where I live -- that sort of thing. Problem is, I don't …
December 1, 2005
Devil Went Down to Georgia
While in rural northern Georgia during the first weekend of October, I learned that Hammerfest 2005 would take place nearby. The event would include Fallbrook resident Tom Metzger performing karaoke between sets by Whitelaw, Kremator, …
October 13, 2005
The Restless Sleep: Inside New York City’s Cold Case Squad
The Restless Sleep: Inside New York City's Cold Case Squad by Stacy Horn. Viking/Penguin, 2005; $24.95; 320 pages. FROM THE DUST JACKET: Between 1985 and 2004, 8,894 unsolved homicides were committed in New York City. …
A Place Called Paradise: Culture and Community in Northampton, Massachusetts, 1654–2004
A Place Called Paradise: Culture & Community In Northampton, Massachusetts, 1654-2004. Edited by Kerry W. Buckley. Historic Northampton's Museum and Education Center, published in association with the University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst and Boston, 2004; …
September 22, 2005
Envy: A Novel
Envy: A Novel by Kathryn Harrison. Random House, 2005; $24.95; 301 pages FROM THE DUST JACKET: Will, a Brooklyn psychoanalyst and almost-identical twin, has a good sex life-with the woman he married. So why then …