when Krishnamurti, head of the Theosophical Order of the Star, dissolved that organization, he disavowed allegiance to any nation, caste, religion, or philosophy, and spent the rest of his life devoted to the liberation of the individual from all cages and fears Paramahansa Yogananda appointed no successors to his ancient yogic lineage, declaring…

I’ve been struggling with this, meaning this. What you’re reading. What you haven’t been reading for the last couple of weeks. I’m struggling, personally and artistically. Ha! As if I’m an artist. (I decided a few days ago that I’m an “illustrator,“ not an artist.) I’ve been wanting to write…

Design as Art by Bruno Munari is as insufferable as it is inspiring. My experience as a graphic designer is long, not deep. I’ve been designing part-time for more than twenty years but sporadically and not to the degree that I could call myself more than a novice. I love…

All that we need is all that we have. — In the 1991 movie, City Slickers, the grizzled old cowboy Curly (Jack Palance) asks city slicker Mitch (Billy Crystal), “Do you know what the secret to life is?” Mitch shrugs and says, “No, what?” Curly raises his black-gloved index finger and says, “This.” “Your finger?” “Just one thing. You stick…

A few weeks ago I went all gushy about Obsidian and how it was The Killer Writing App I’d been looking for. On my way to discovering it, I have spent time in a lot of other writing apps, many of which are wonderful, even if I’ve abandoned them for…

Dreaming up the story about being in an accident that mutilated my penis was not the only time I imagined being injured. Not by a long shot. I have always had fantasies of being injured. As a young boy, I was simultaneously terrified and fascinated by thoughts of being hospitalized…

Depression runs in my family but I don’t know if that’s true. I’ve been in therapy sporadically since I was a teenager. I have been depressed since I was a child. I don’t know if that’s true. I have been told many times that depression is in my brain and…