WPA poster, 1936-1938 quacksalver PRONUNCIATION: (KWAK-sal-vuhr)  MEANING: noun : A quack: one pretending to have sk...

Jean-Étienne Liotard:  La Chocolatiere , 1743-1745 I could stare at that portrait all night long. The pink of her cap and cheeks, the f...

So, a couple of weeks ago I revealed a picture of our new backyard, grass-stripped and re-designed with drought-tolerant and California ...

My monthly column at Gratefulness.org is up. You can read it here. A Chorus of Thank Yous

from Mimi and Dona a documentary by Sophie Sartain My college friend Sophie Sartain's new documentary is set to air on Monday, Nove...

We've ripped up our front and back yards and replaced the grass with planting beds, California native plants and mulch. It's bee...

Splendor in the Grass Well, we had quite a brouhaha when I posted earlier about my Syrian relatives. One of my cousins was extremely u...

Grateful for these guys. Along with the other Brother, they keep my head on straight, are testament to me doing something right. Or m...

La Dolce Vita (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding As I walk through This wicked world Searchin...

My Syrian Grandfather My Syrian Relatives, Part Two Wow. A lot has happened since I posted about my Syrian relatives in early Septembe...

First off, I should say that I've never been a Patti Smith person. If you're a Patti Smith person, you know exactly what I mea...

I know I've said it before, but it'd be great if we could end epilepsy, stop seizures from happening, change lives, etc. by s...

Henry No, things don't usually go on as if nothing ever happened, because something did happen and more will probably happen and u...

Anything Can Happen After Horace, Odes, I, 34 Anything can happen. You know how Jupiter Will mostly wait for clouds to gather head ...