We just returned from the Annenberg Space for Photography in Beverly Hills where we saw an exhibition called, “Who Shot Rock and Roll.” This featured 166 photos from the top rock photographers of the ’50’s – present, with photos of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, Boy Dylan,…
Tag: writing time
Flash Essay: Born to Clean
Today I tackled an unsightly and rather unsavory task in our 1954 Spartan Manor, aka old trailer, up in Ojai. I tracked down all the old ground squirrel nests tucked into the out-of-the-way spots in the cabinets and swept up all of their droppings. Yuck. My work required a mask, gloves, a broom and dust…
Flash Essay: A TV Series Worth Watching
I would like to highly recommend the new HBO series The Newsroom. The acting is first-rate, the dialogue real and strong, and the story lines compelling. I would not be surprised if a whole crop of young people are inspired to head off to journalism school as a result of this series. Not only does…
Flash Essay: When Inspiration Isn’t Coming
I am struggling to come up with something to write tonight. My mind is blank. I have had several false starts already, meaning I’ve picked a topic, written half a page, then deleted the whole paragraph. I don’t usually do that, but tonight appears to be one of those nights, where all ideas seem not…
Flash Essay: The Consequences of being “Nice”
When I was growing up, there was an admonition: “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.” This came mainly from my father, who arguably was an extremely decent person, and one who followed his own advice. I don’t recall him ever talking badly about anyone. My mother had her own…
Flash Essay: The Value of Being Good and Tired
it is 9:03 and I am beat. I feel as if I am always talking on this blog about how tired I am. Sorry about that. Part of the problem is that I am writing at night and my days tend to be full. The other is that I’ve never been very good at pacing…
Flash Essay: Saturday, Belief, and Ray Wylie Hubbard
Mid-afternoon here in LA on Saturday, the temperature a perfect 76 degree and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. I am sitting in the back yard so the dogs can poke around and hopefully do their business while I write. In just a bit, Ray and I are headed off to two different places:…
Flash Essay: Countdown to Sammie
It is a cool evening here in LA with grey skies and a breeze that is shaking the leaves on the avocado trees out back. I’m sitting in a little outdoor alcove, which affords privacy under a canopy of green from a twenty-foot maple tree planted near the garage. I hear honking out front, and…
Flash Essay: Two Places; One Brain
I live a schizophrenic existence: part of my time spent in a little Texas town; the other right in the heart of LA. Wow. What a contrast. We just returned from a month in Texas, a wonderful month of hard work and obvious results, neighborly chats on front porches at night, and friends to visit…
Flash Memoir: The Unexpected Joy of Cooking
Food is love. Not exactly. Not in my family when I was growing up, at least. I saw that principle applied in other families where dinner time centered on a meal lovingly prepared by a mother who might have gone out and picked fresh vegetables from her own garden, or used canned vegetables from that…
20 Minutes a Day 