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READING FICTION IN DECLINE?

March 26, 2026 by

Reading fiction has been in decline since the first person put a book down and said, “Not for me. Thanks.” A reader doesn’t finish every book. They don’t go into a library with the goal of reading everything. Maybe read everything one author ever wrote, but not everything from everyone. Which brings up one question:

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BORING, TRIVIAL, POINTLESS LIFE? GOOD JOB

March 17, 2026 by

Doing a good job means what? Following orders and delivering a finished product according to the highest standards of the industry? Let’s not get carried away. How about finishing on time with something that works the way it’s supposed to work? You can do that and your masterpiece at the same time. If you don’t […]

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HIDDEN SONGS OF THE OREGON COAST

March 15, 2026 by

People play their guitar in the basement alone looking for hidden songs. Hidden songs? There you are moving around the fretboard and something sounds different. You play it again. Nice. While you play you remember the old times you had when you were younger. Like yesterday.

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COLD WET OREGON WITH EXTRA WATER

March 14, 2026 by

On a cold wet Oregon day the beach was covered as far as the eye could see, and since it’s flat you can see a long way. Jelly fish, man of war, or whatever it was, it was a mass die-off of squishy critters up and down the beach, a purple carpet of goo to […]

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DO MORE? LIKE WHAT

March 13, 2026 by

You need to do more to matter? That’s what you ask yourself when someone says,  “You need to do more to matter.” Have you heard that? I still hear it and I’m not some spring chicken pecking my way around the pen. When is enough enough?

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LUNAR NEW YEAR AND MORE IN PORTLAND

March 9, 2026 by

My small group of five went to the Lunar New Year Parade in downtown Portland. Yes, that Portland. If you’ve heard about it and wonder, it’s not a smoldering city rocked by insurrection. But it was rocking. After living in bigger cities where most people visit and leave, including Portland, I was thrilled to see […]

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WE DON’T NEED NO EDUCATION, (FOR ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL)

March 8, 2026 by

From twitterX:   I get yelled at for saying this but for many hundreds of years people went to university not to get diplomas or be employable but because immersion in the humanities was considered foundational to a good life, and school must return to its original purpose: the joy of learning.   Doesn’t that […]

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OLD SONG RINGS TRUE TODAY

March 4, 2026 by

These are the opening lyrics of an old song, for what it’s worth: There’s something happening hereWhat it is ain’t exactly clearThere’s a man with a gun over thereA-telling me I got to beware   That’s the name of the song, For What It’s Worth. Click the link for the live video.

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STORY SHAPE: MORE SAG IN THE MIDDLE?

March 3, 2026 by

Story shape and physical fitness have that in common, the middle. From the beginning of ‘good fortune,’ the main character has a few moments until things dip downward. Think of the fanatical diet and exercise demon losing their edge in a Las Vegas buffet and taking off from the high dive into the Mexican, Italian, […]

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YOU TIME + ME TIME = OUR TIME

March 2, 2026 by

‘Our time’ is full of hope and promise for a better world. That’s what I learned in kindergarten and it set me on my path. Maybe it’s a baby boomer notion, or maybe it’s everyone over a certain age who feels that hope. Either way a better world has been a long time coming and […]

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