Here are the most recent blog posts which I have made.
Feed The Poor
Numerous links are included in the essay so hover over the text to discover them.I think becoming a father has drastically changed the way I perceive and relate to the world. Coupled with other factors which have additionally helped motivate me to redirect my energies into more constructive avenues, I increasingly feel the need to…
Say(ing) Nice Things About Detroit … Mostly
I have been writing the bulk of the rough draft, finally. So, far it looks really good! I’ve written about John Brannon’s youth (about the first 18 years) and the same with Larissa Strickland (the first 18). With Larissa, there’s also some family history thrown in as it actually plays into the story a bit,…
It Will Never Be Finished
One of the challenges of telling a story is getting it right. This one has a lot of challenges on that front for many reasons, but there is a particular one which just keeps coming up: one of the most important voices in this story is silent. Larissa Strickland, guitarist for the Laughing Hyenas, passed…
Sick of Talk
Finally, after two years, work on Hard Times: The True Story of the Laughing Hyenas is once again underway! The past few days, I have been going through interviews and loosely transposing them, making notes as I do so. I’m actually writing a bit of the rough draft as I record the transposition, so technically…
Re-Conversion
This is going to be a lot to digest, let alone a lot to write. It’s rather intensely private and I thought about possibly not sharing something so personal in a public forum. Then, I decided that it may do someone some good and if that is enough of a reason to publish this, then…
Jersey Barriers Across Park Ave: A Tale of Two Cities
Last night, at about 3:40am, I woke to the sound of gunfire – three shots followed by a fourth. It happens so regularly that you would think I am used to it by now, but I’m not. I still get anxious, upset, irritated. Part of it is concern over bullets coming in through the walls…
To Serve, Protect, & Defend the Constitution of the United States
I take a great interest in my family history and can trace my lineage back quite a ways, but I am particularly proud of one ancestor whose story is worth briefly recounting. This individual is Ivory Clement Morrison, my third-great-grandfather, being my father’s mother’s mother’s grandfather. The featured image of this post is actually a…
In Memoriam – Rolando “Roland” Díaz-Pérez
Note: I recently published an essay on A2 Pulp discussing the life of Roland Díaz-Pérez. As the essay had to be edited for publication, I chose to retain the original essay and publish it “as is” on my blog in order to present it in its original form, for posterity’s sake. It is difficult to…
#A2undergroundmusichistoryseries Part One: The Lab
This entry is the first in what will be a series of posts dedicated to documenting the history of the Ann Arbor underground music scene in the 1990s. It should be noted that the noted experiences are the personal recollections of the author. By 1992, Ann Arbor’s underground music scene was experiencing a revival of…
Looking Back at the Ann Arbor Music Scene in the ’90s
When I now look back on the period when I was active in the underground music scene in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I am surprised by my inextinguishable passion for what we all collectively created. Though I made no money from it, gained next to no accolades for my work, and spent countless hours trying to…
Getting it Right!
Twenty years ago, I had just got back to Ann Arbor after living in Los Angeles where I had briefly been the keyboardist for the band Perplexa. I was glad to be back, as I had been gone for awhile and had began to miss A2. When I had left in the fall of 1999,…
The Top Ten
Every so often I see a trend of sharing a list of your favorite movies or records of all time. I am usually not inclined to do such things but recently I thought about sharing a blog post about the records which had the greatest influence on me. More than just share a list I…
Searching For Mythical Creatures in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Note: I recently listened to an interview that I did with Stooges’ guitarist Ron Asheton in July of 2001 where he is discussing his plans for 2002 and getting back to playing live. Ironically, a little over a year and a half later, the Stooges would reunite and as they say, they rest is history.…
Non-Violence is the Only Solution
This past weekend, there was another rally in Portland, OR where right-wing extremists gathered and attempted to intimidate the community. Counter-protesters were on hand and before long, as usual, the police who were supposed to be keeping the peace turned on the counter-protesters and violently attacked them. A near-riot breaks out and the media films…
Paths That Cross
Six years ago, I was living in New Jersey and would occasionally come home to Worcester, just to get my head on straight. Things were bad in my life. I had been bouncing around for the past several years, lost, not knowing what I was doing. Though I had grown up in Worcester, many of…
End of the Semester
Grateful to be at the end of another semester, ready for another summer of only reading books that I want to read. Like many, I have a pile of books which I have been waiting to read, as well as a few from last summer’s pile which I never got to. I am pretty excited…
Who the Hell is Andrew Haswell Green, & Why Am I Writing A Book About His Life?
Worcester is home. I have lived in a few places in this country, been fortunate enough to have seen visited a handful of spots in this country, but I always come back to where I started from. Even when I have been living somewhere else in this country, I am still always going to be…
The Role Food Plays in the Celebration of Samhain in the Traditions of Celtic Great Britain & Ireland
In America, few holidays can rival the enthusiasm that Americans muster up when they celebrate Halloween. It has become a tradition that not only makes a considerable profit for costume and candy makers each year but is also a night when American children partake in a number of customs which often become treasured memories when…
Twenty-Five Years Later: The Thayer Anarchist Collective
For a few months during the late summer/early autumn of 1991, I was living in Chicago and had befriended a group of older anarchists who regularly held meetings where we discussed the merits of anarchism. They were radical hippies, many of whom told me stories of their experiences in the 1960s and of the protests…
Loss
I have noticed that my past three blog posts have had to do with loss – two deaths and the loss of, what was for me, a special place in the woods. It makes sense that I would use my writing as a catharsis but it sort of makes me look a bit gloomy if…
Gone…
Nature is sacred. It contains the unadulterated essence of all which is holy. It is comprised of the most beautiful aspects of creation “as it is.” Nature needs no improvement from humans or any other species. It is breath-taking in its simplicity and grandeur, it is where we can truly be free. For me, there…
Dancing Obsidian Reflections 