Author Archives: John Swinburn

Nothing matters. Everything is important. Nothing is important. Everything matters. Between the those perspectives—seldom together in the same place at the same time—every question can be honestly answered. Because they are so rarely paired, with neither taking precedence over the … Continue reading →

Thunder and silk seem, to me, the perfect pair. But just for a fraction of a snippet of a tiny piece of a miniscule moment. And, then, it’s all back to lightning and milk. +++ Public transportation—whether through mass transit … Continue reading →

Something woke me. So here I am. Wondering what to do and why. There are at least two sides to me—probably many more. But the two most distinct are the loner and the poseur; the guy who keeps to himself … Continue reading →

The “right” combinations of managing both production and consumption could solve many—perhaps most—of the nagging problems facing humankind and every other species on the planet. In both cases, the underlying challenge is the management of human behaviors. I am convinced … Continue reading →

After waking for an hour this morning at 4, I returned to bed for awhile at 5; waking almost 3-1⁄2 hours later, just an hour before my appointment at the oncology lab. While getting my IV fluids and a couple … Continue reading →

The costs associated with obtaining news and entertainment that are both informative and interesting can be nothing short of prohibitive. But if they were prohibitive, the money would not be spent. Let’s just say, then, the costs are high. The … Continue reading →

Viewing or hearing or touching pieces of art, whether painting, sculpture, writing, and other outcomes of the creative process, can unleash insightful contemplation. Sometimes, musical lyrics or tunes  can summon emotional reactions that can prompt us to ask: why we … Continue reading →

Waking in darkness, which is how I want to wake each morning (and how one should wake each day), allows me to collect the energy I saved during sleep. Finally, with the return to Daylight Saving Time, I may be … Continue reading →

Tonight’s the night to Spring forward. In yet another attempt to control Nature’s affects on us, we pretend to control time. Every Spring and Fall, we artificially lose an hour or gain an hour in defiance of the natural order. … Continue reading →

Unexpected circumstances or communications can derail one’s mood, redirecting it for better or worse. Or, in some cases, both. For example, I was feeling positive, looking forward to a regularly scheduled wine dinner with friends tonight, followed by an afternoon … Continue reading →

Flames can be beautiful, but they can transform beauty into hideous ash, as well. Governments can replace chaos with structure, but they also can convert structure into compartments;  compartments into cubicles; cubicles into cells; and cells into cages. Nature can … Continue reading →

It’s not the actions…we do not fear the actions; their consequences create the fear. The potential outcome of the actions cause the distress. That is, our anticipation of what might follow the action, if it is taken, is what disturbs … Continue reading →

I was confronted with an assertion I found troubling, but possible; likely, in fact. The purpose of wakefulness is to provide fodder for our dreams. Reality exists only in unconsciousness. Sleep is actuality. Our imagination takes us to the only … Continue reading →

Long ago, I stopped assigning subject categories to my blog posts. I now wish I had not quit doing that, because I can no longer sort posts by subjects. The ability to collect posts according to topics/subjects was useful when … Continue reading →

What a terrible era in which the idiots govern the blind. ~ William Shakespeare ~ Can I withdraw from an ugly world, a world outfitted with animosity and cruelty, hidden behind a mask of fictitious empathy? Can a refusal to … Continue reading →

Crickets making artificial cricket noise. Crickets all around me. Crickets in the walls. Crickets in the ceiling. Crickets beneath my feet. Crickets inside my head. Crickets that seem deaf to stern warnings. Crickets unwilling to refrain from making the sounds … Continue reading →