In that DaVinci class I teach, we encourage our students to explore a wide range of interests, prompting them with ploymaths like George Washington Carver and, of course, Leonardo da Vinci.  This has also been a problem of mine. Wide-ranging and far-reaching exploration of things, especially novel interests, is always…

It is an interesting thing, when you reach a certain age, and mortality seems to stop its slow creep and begin its rapid approach. Nothing about the aging process ever really speeds up or slows down, but some level of expediency comes from thinking about it more often. After my…

True, I have, once again, wandered off for a bit. Truth be told, my usual October swoon extended well into November–far longer than usual–and there is still a rank residue of it clinging to me today. Though December has started and, usually, that shift to the “12” on the calendar…

On my personal e-mail, I have a small set of unopened messages. I am normally a ruthless trimmer of digital archives. No need to keep what is past expiration and utility. I suppose I am like this in other facets of life, as well. I do not have a large…

Just about a week ago, the bubble finally disappeared from my eye. The surgeon said it would happen. My colleague who had a retina repair of his own recalled how he looked around one day and the bubble was gone, though he could not recall how long it had been…

My car stereo system, which mostly works since the upgrade my wife and daughters secured for me for Father’s Day a few years ago, will sometimes disagree with my phone. You see, the old system worked just fine, but the CD player was selective in when it played, warped, and…

The school year began 47 days ago. That is also about the amount of time I have spent away from this site. Away from this site and, mostly, away from writing. Up until this week, I have kept on with nightly writing before bed, and morning art in a sketchbook….

Three days ago, I started to get that feeling. The one where I feel the new school year creeping in and impinging on my time to create. So, I will try something I have never done: look back at what I did this summer, with a dash of what I…

Ironically titled, considering my most recent post. I have been thinking a lot about something Austin Kleon has written about a few times, regarding “echo chambers.” I often realize I have burrowed down into one after some time has passed, but it always takes some time. Maybe this is the…

Six days ago, I had my second eye surgery of the summer.  Since then, until a few hours ago, I have had to keep my head down, eyes down. When you spend that long looking only at people’s shoes, their shins, and the backs of their ankles, you enjoy the…