I just read an incredibly long piece by Allison Hope Weiner, titled “A Journalist’s Plea On 10th Anniversary Of ‘The Passion Of The Christ’: Hollywood, Take Mel Gibson Off Your Blacklist.” Ms. Weiner says that she misjudged Gibson, that he isn’t an anti-Semite, and she now considers him a friend. Right off the bat, I’ll…
The mirror is my harshest critic
March 12, 2014
In 2006 I corresponded with a famous writer about a Christian peace activist who went to Iraq to protest the war. He was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by terrorists. I told the writer that the dead man’s approach reminded me of the 1951 movie The Thing From Another World. If you’re not familiar with that…
They made movies about my life
March 12, 2014
Well, I don’t mean that someone actually based their movies on me. But there are several films that parallel my experiences so perfectly that it’s eerie. I’m sure you’ve had the same feeling. They made movies about my life, but they made them about yours too. Another caveat is that the two movies I’m going…
The problem with politics
March 11, 2014
I never discuss politics publicly. Unfortunately, everything in American culture is now politicized, so my statements are viewed as political even when they’re not. That’s the problem with politics. Too many people personalize their political views, so having a different opinion from them is seen as a repudiation of their entire being. But facts don’t…
The eternal question of forgiveness
March 10, 2014
I expect to write about the question of forgiveness for the rest of my life. It’s all right. I don’t mind. The subject interests me. A well-meaning friend sent me the following quote from a Holocaust survivor. Forgiveness is more than “letting go.” It is proactive rather than passive. We become victims involuntarily, when a…
No pain at all
March 9, 2014
Recently a very angry, quite insane person demanded to know how I could write so much, since I have arthritis in both hands. Well, here’s a news bulletin: It hurts. But my alternatives are limited. I could try this, I suppose. Or this. When it comes to the electric bass, though, I’m without options. I…
Podsnappery
March 7, 2014
I like to research things, just for fun. A few days ago, I decided to look up Victorian American slang. No reason; it was just something I wanted to know about. I’m glad I took the time, because I learned an extremely useful word. Podsnappery: noun. Willful, complacent determination to ignore the objectionable or inconvenient, at…
My interview with Fanfare
March 5, 2014
Fanfare has published a very long interview with me. The deal was they’d send me copies of the magazine and tell me when the interview would go on the Website. Neither promise was kept. Color me SHOCKED!!!!!!!!! The interviewer was Robert Schulslaper. Note that it’s a classical-music publication. The was Mike Albee’s idea of publicity….
Grampa can say anything
March 5, 2014
I have far too many bizarre physical problems to list. Here are the major ones. Three kidneys, three cowlicks, a baby tooth with no permanent tooth under it, no gastrocnemius on my right calf, the longest ear canals in medical history, and Meniere’s disease. The weirdest issue is that when I shave, the skin on…
