Author Archives: John Swinburn

Some mornings, words flow like water from a freshly-charged underground spring. Other mornings, language drips from my fingers onto the keyboard in excruciating slow motion, as if I had dipped my hands in hot tar and then plunged them into … Continue reading →

Where does one’s energy go when it goes missing? The law of conservation of energy, also known as the first law of thermodynamics, states that the energy of a closed system must remain constant—it can neither increase nor decrease without … Continue reading →

I awoke at 3:51 this morning, earlier than usual, but not by a wide margin. I thought, at that hour, I would have a couple of hours of absolute solitude; not so, in that my wife was up less than … Continue reading →

It should have come as no surprise to me that listening to certain pieces of music early in the morning can have very different effects on my psyche. But I was surprised, nonetheless—when I listened to Ravel’s Bolero and Debussy’s … Continue reading →

A few days ago, I mentioned to my sister-in-law that I remembered, years ago, having thought it would be cool to have an app that could identify birds by listening to their songs, sort of like Shazam does with music. … Continue reading →

I started the day by writing about the Unabomber. I then switched gears, locating and saving images that might complement my presentation on the transformative power of words. From there, I made a breakfast consisting of a flour tortilla, refried … Continue reading →

Darkness leaves early of late. Light pours in over the horizon like a silent nighttime flood, with no warning, until it is too late to wallow in the absence of light. The only symptom of the flood is the too-late-noticed … Continue reading →

This bright, cool, rapidly-warming morning invites me outdoors. But I am back inside, dedicating myself to writing a presentation I will make to an empty sanctuary in the coming several days. Before I started writing this morning, I spent some … Continue reading →

I’ve been awake, off and on, since 1:30. About four hours ago. I almost got up for the day at 1:30, but fortunately I looked carefully at the clock before I made the commitment to get up and get dressed. … Continue reading →

The dictionary might define thunder as follows: A loud, explosive, resounding noise produced by the violent expansion of air heated by a lightning discharge. I have a different idea about thunder. It is a mystical, magical, wondrous CRACK!, followed by … Continue reading →

Yesterday, I wanted to express my frustrations with the world around me by writing a scathing rebuke of humankind.  But I just could not force myself to the keyboard. Instead, I did as I sometimes do when my emotions are … Continue reading →

If the universe treated me with the respect I deserve, it would permit me to return to a place I have never visited and again become a person I never was. The universe would allow me to escape to Abbotsford, … Continue reading →

Responsible members of any society have an obligation to pay attention to what is going on around them. They have an obligation to protest injustice and to warn others when they see or hear or otherwise learn about dangers that … Continue reading →

Last night’s storms shredded leaves and tore branches from trees. Leaves and twigs and broken limbs litter the streets this morning. The forest floor outside my window, normally a sea of brown leaves, is speckled with green leaves and sprigs, … Continue reading →

I quote from a post I wrote five years ago; my opinions have not changed: Memorial Day is dedicated to the men and women who lost their lives in defense of the USA, it is not a celebratory welcoming of … Continue reading →

Yesterday’s muted grey milieu proved the perfect atmosphere for working outside the confines of the walls of the house. The cloud cover remained for most of the morning and into mid-afternoon, sheltering me from the sun’s brutal rays while I … Continue reading →

Even on this drab morning, when the sky is a muted, muddy grey, the sounds of birds singing lifts my spirits. When I awoke, much later than normal at around 6, darkness had already been washed from the sky, leaving … Continue reading →

It’s only 6:30, yet I am three hours into my Saturday. The gods of heaven and earth, at war earlier in the day, woke me from a troubled sleep during which I emptied a pistol into a substitute teacher who … Continue reading →