Author Archives: John Swinburn

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 →

Once again, my oncologist decided against administering chemo treatment, based in part on a low blood pressure measurement and my ongoing and worsening congestion. She prescribed an antibiotic and steroids and said she agreed with our plan to go to … Continue reading →

This morning, mild curiosity prompted me to read the New York Times (NYT)’ obituary for Éliane Radigue, who died on Monday in Paris. That mild curiosity grew from a casual scan of online introductory headline “briefs” about news the NYT … Continue reading →

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is… ~ Albert Einstein ~ The lyrics in a song by Peter Mayer, Holy Now, seem to echo … Continue reading →

Yesterday, while Watching videos recorded earlier in the day of Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) arsonists setting fire to vehicles and gas stations, my loathing of the crimes committed by narco-terrorists spiked. In one video, armed men first dragged people … Continue reading →

Wind, as defined by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a component of the U.S. Department of Commerce, “is simply air in motion.” That definition is presented in an online  article entitled ‘Origin of Wind.’ Other ‘official’ declarations … Continue reading →

I woke to the sound a cat makes when it is about to sink its teeth and its claws into flesh. My reaction to that noise was a growl or a scream or some other audible expression of fear. That … Continue reading →

I picked up a new pair of eyeglasses yesterday. The frames and lenses are new; the age of the face and its accompanying tired eyes contrast sharply with  the spectacles. The look on my face is…what? Is it one of … Continue reading →

The beige interior walls of the house my late wife and I bought about twelve years ago, when we moved to Hot Springs Village, were not offensive. But they were not especially appealing, either. So, a few years after we … Continue reading →

My agenda for a week from tomorrow includes a PET-scan. A follow-up visit with my oncologist, six days later, will clarify the implications of the PET-scan results. Worrying about the possible results has no value, of course, so I will … Continue reading →

On February 14, Valentine’s Day, my post here mentioned a shameful eruption of my once-common volcanic anger. My animosity was directed toward someone who did not deserve such fury. Yesterday, I attempted to right the wrong. I drove to his … Continue reading →

Look up, there, at the highest branch of the nearest, tallest pine tree. See the needles at the end of that branch? Those needles are composed of a collection of molecules that, if traced back in time tens of thousands … Continue reading →

“I saw it with my own eyes!” That proclamation used to serve as reliable confirmation that something a person had seen was real. But that was before the eyes were so easily deceived. That was before anyone with a computer … Continue reading →

The “top photos of the week by AP photojournalists” give rise to emotions ranging from sorrow to compassion to rage to appreciation to awe. When I right-click to open an image in a new tab, then enlarge the resulting photo, … Continue reading →

The tragedy of the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. has already been adopted by some right-wing fanatics as evidence that “transgender people commit a disproportionate share of crimes.” The shooter has been reported to be transgender. Rather than acknowledging … Continue reading →