Anatomy Of A Photo: Gram's Grave, My Pick

Gram Parsons was a musical pioneer, multi instrumentalist, and fellow Georgian. The creator of Cosmic American Music left a strong impression in his short career, and the music he made continues to inspire. I visited his grave in New Orleans some years ago (getting directions to his grave site from a lady assisting at a funeral, who saw him perform with the Flying Burrito Brothers - opening for the Grateful Dead at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco, no less - was an experience I'll never forget). It was decorated with shells and small keepsakes from fans, and this time I brought my own: a pale blue guitar pick I'd had since the late 80's when I was bassist in a garage band. Not sure where to place it, I went for the most natural choice, between the thumb and index finger on the marker. It fit perfectly.

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In Memorium: Shaun Mullen, A Most Generous Man

Author, editor, blogger, and so much more Shaun Mullen has passed. Noting his blog Kiko's House hadn't been updated in a while, I did a search and discovered his obituary . My friendship with Shaun goes back to 2006. While living in Australia, I'd discovered his blog when searching for informed commentary on US foreign policy in the Middle East. Sadly, much of that policy remains unchanged 14 years later, but that is for another post. Shaun had noticed that his blog wasn't rendering correctly in Internet Explorer and asked if anyone could suggest a fix. I, being a bit of a tech head at the time, suggested Firefox or similar browser, and the problem was solved. We kept in and out of touch, finding common ground in music (I mentioned my love for the Grateful Dead and Shaun sent a dozen CDs of concert recordings. By International mail. The man was generous to a fault.), worldview, and more. My old site got its greatest number of hits when Shaun linked to a few of m

Quote Of The Day, Kafka Edition

I usually solve problems by letting them devour me. - Franz Kafka

The World In Which We Live: Premature Reopening Edition

I don't even know where to begin. Despite there being no effective treatment, vaccination, or the much-discussed herd immunity, many states are relaxing social restrictions put in place to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. My home state of Georgia was among the first to do so (my sense of timing and location is impeccable). Instead of a state economy charging out of the gates like a racehorse, we get this: An 83% increase of confirmed cases in my county, which is mostly rural with a small industrial base, 90 miles from Atlanta. But freedom, amiright? I find it utterly amazing that people find being instructed to stay in their homes and take extra precautions to prevent becoming infected with a fatal disease a form of tyranny. When did "Wear a mask and wash your hands regularly" become equal to tanks in the streets? I understand wanting a haircut; Hell, I need one but don't want to kill my barber, a nice guy who fits nicely into the at-risk category. Do

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