One of my strongest memories of high school was my freshman, and senior, year English teacher, Mrs. Sheridan Briggs. She seemed to be a polarizing experience for my classmates and the people I knew who had her other years. She taught the Gifted-Talented English program freshman year, then the AP literature class senior year. Expectedly, … Continue reading Review of Go Set a Watchman →

Father Gurtler is probably the closest thing to a living archetype I have ever met. He is a small, careful man, I can probably count on my fingers the number of times I've seen his elbows have left his body. Well along in years, a crop of grey hair sweeps across his forehead, framing his … Continue reading Father Gary Gurtler →

Snow fell softly outside the windows, a warm glow from the sinking evening light as the sun wandered slowly down on Christmas eve. Johnny was the last person working the diner. His dad had opened the place over twenty years ago, and had sent home all the other employees to spend Christmas with their families … Continue reading Trumpet Christmas →

Today I had the great opportunity to visit the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan. A friend of mine worked for a corporate sponsor of the museum and could get a few extra tickets. The building itself is rather unusual, built by Frank Lloyd Wright sometime in the interwar period. It is primarily a large spiral which … Continue reading What the Hell is Art?! →

I’ve noticed a trend among some people, mostly arts/creative types, where they use the phrase formula “_____ as _____” such as “writing as activism” or “sculpture as architecture”. I thought I’d follow in suit, half in homage and half in irrelevant mockery.   Anyway. I’ve been thinking a lot about the internet and censorship. Following … Continue reading The Internet as Public Space →

There is a not uncommon practice among my peers, which is to justify behavior in the name of mental health. I firmly believe that mental health is something that’s very important, and that ignoring it can lead to massively detrimental consequences. I think that mental health is an integral part of personhood, whatever that sentence … Continue reading Health vs Resiliency →

So in case any of you on this blog are thus far unaware, I am a trumpet player. I started in 3rd grade, I remember the first beginner Walmart trumpet my parents got me, and taking lessons, and being a very poor player for a very long time. I think it is only through the … Continue reading On Doing Good Band →

I have a strong premonition that most of the people that read this blog know me personally. I have also not made an insignificant number of posts dealing with the subject of the trumpet. I am taking the assumption that either knowing me in person or having seen those posts on this blog are sufficient … Continue reading The Marching Arts →

It was a wonder to behold. It’s bezeled edges caught the light as he held it in his hands. In it was more computational capacity than man used to reach the moon. Its ability to access the silent waves of telecommunications enabled any knowledge, true or false, to be summoned to its lighted screen in … Continue reading Into the Dark →