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PETS AND LESS IMPORTANT THINGS

ESSAYs-2018

MAY 2018

ESSAY: SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY (25 May 2018)
​It’s not just a phrase. It’s a real thing.

AUDIO: THE CAT WHO TAUGHT THE STARLING TO DRAW (21 May 2018)
A story I’ve published before. Enjoy!

AUDIO: PICK A CARD (20 May 2018)

​First one. Hope you like it.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN THE NEXT DAY OR TWO (LISTEN FOR IT) (20 May 2018)
Tomorrow or the day after at the latest...

SIMPLE WRITING (14 May 2018)
It isn't easy. Trust me.

WRITING AS CHOPPING WOOD (13 May 2018)
It will get better. Honest.

ON WRITING EVERY DAY, BUT NOT ALWAYS POSTING EVERY DAY (5 May 2018)
Difficult times indeed

LIMITING MY MUSIC INTAKE TO ROLLING STONE FIVE STAR ALBUMS (3 May 2018)
Joan Baez, you are unworthy

ON TAKING A BREAK THAT I HOPE NEVER TO TAKE AGAIN (2 May 2018)
Stopping is not always a good idea

APRIL 2018

LETTER FROM OTIS, FORAGER SECOND CLASS, TO LAURIE AND JOE, CARETAKERS, 54 SEMINOLE AVENUE (21 April 2018)
Letter from a grateful tenant

DRINKING YERBA MATE TEA (20 April 2018)
​Big plans. Big, big plans.

LETTER FROM JUNO, EMPRESS, 31 PRATT AVENUE RE: BLAH (17 April 2018)
The bliss of negative satori

LETTER FROM SAMSON, GOODWILL AMBASSADOR, 31 PRATT AVENUE, TO MEGAN, PERSONAL FRIEND AND CONFIDANT RE: A PRODUCT I DON'T UNDERSTAND (16 April 2018)
A difference of perception

ON NOT POSTING A PIECE OF WRITING YESTERDAY (15 April 2018)
A four month streak comes to an end

LETTER FROM HOLLY, MINISTER OF AESTHETICS AND PULCHRITUDE, TO HER LOYAL VALET (13 APRIL 2018)
Three words of truth and wisdom

LETTER FROM HUGO, EMPEROR, APARTMENT 29 D1 RE: THE SCANSNAP IX 500 (12 April 2018)
A difference of perception

LETTER FROM HUGO, EMPEROR, APARTMENT 29 D1 RE: EMBRACING THE PRESENT (11 April 2018)
Sometimes the perfect moment is right in front of you...

SMOKING: A FOND REMEMBERENCE (10 April 2018)
So bad for me, but so, so good...

FROM THE BACK SEAT OF A CAR (9 April 2018)
A moment in time

WRITING SPRINT (8 April 2018)
writewritewritewritewrite

LETTER FROM HUGO, EMPEROR, APARTMENT 29 D1 RE: BEING ALONE, BUT NOT LONELY (7 April 2018)
In which a benevolent ruler tells me not to worry quite so much

AT THIS MOMENT, I SLOG (6 April 2018)
Portrait of a leaden instance in my life

IN WHICH MY FRIEND YVONNE EXTOLS THE VIRTUES OF THINKING INSIDE THE BOX (5 April 2018)
Wise advice from a brilliant person

LETTER FROM HUGO, EMPEROR, APARTMENT 29D1 RE: ZEN (4 April 2018)
A lesson in finding bliss

DISPATCH FROM THE LAND OF BLAH (3 April 2018)
We all inhabit this place from time to time

THE THREE PARTS TO AN APOLOGY (2 April 2018)
A meditation on saying "I'm sorry."

THE EVER DIMINISHING TRUNK OF IDEAS (1 April 2018)
Alas, those ideas that have been in my head are now all in my blog

MARCH 2018

THERE ARE JUST DAYS LIKE THIS (31 March 2018)
The title says it all

A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION OVER "NO SIDE TO FALL IN," BY THE RAINCOATS (WITH AN APPEARANCE BY MEGAN'S CAT PIPER) (30 March 2018)
People can't agree on everything

MICHAEL LOTITO: WORDS FAIL (29 March 2018)
Eat hearty

AN ESSAY WHOSE SOLE PURPOSE IS TO ALLOW ME TO SAY I WROTE AN ESSAY ON MARCH 28, 2018 (28 March 2018)
You really, really, really don't have to read this. Really.

ON THE DEPRESSING REALIZATION THAT, WITH VIRTUALLY EVERY PURCHASE, I AM SUBSIDIZING SLAVERY AND EXPLOITATION (27 March 2018)
The grim truth about my iPhone

MY CONFLICTED THOUGHTS ABOUT THE EFFORTS OF MEGAN’S NEIGHBOR, MARY, TO CURB THE ENTHUSIASM OF HER SHEEPDOG, LOUISA (26 March 2018)
A fierce dilemma

SAMSON AND THE ART OF THE GALUMPH (25 March 2018)
It's about the style with which you get there, not the speed

LETTER FROM HUGO, EMPEROR, APARTMENT 29 D1 RE: STRESS REDUCTION (24 March 2018)
Wise advice from a just and caring ruler

FAREWELL TO THE DONUT (23 March 2018)
​Why does this exist? Why, God, why?

​PRIVACY RICH, PRIVACY POOR (22 March 2018)
The currency of the 21st Century

ON BEING A CAT GENTLEMAN, AND THE CRUEL TYRANNY OF THE PHRASE “CAT LADY (21 March 2018)”
The sexism of the English language...brutal, I tells ya

ASHRITA FURMAN, WORLD RECORD HOLDER FOR WORLD RECORDS: AN APPRECIATION (20 March 2018)
My kind of hero

AT NOON I’M DONE (19 March 2018)
Knowing when to quit
​
MODERN TIMES, IMPATIENCE, AND BUYING MORE THINGS (18 March 2018)
Consume

MAKING READING MY WORLD (17 March 2018)
A literary suggestion

SLOW READING (16 March 2018)
On just needing a bit more time
​

A HUMBLE PROPOSAL: NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING SEASON (15 March 2018)
Slow down, you move too fast...

ON RAIN IN NEW YORK, AND SNOW IN NEW ENGLAND (14 March 2018)
A meditation on increasingly mild winters

NOTES FROM A CULTURE PACIFIST (13 March 2018)
Not all of us are Culture Warriors

THE BIT BAR, AND THE LITTLE THINGS IN A RELATIONSHIP (12 March 2018)
Small bits of magic

THE GREATEST INNOVATION OF THE 20TH CENTURY (11 March 2018)
It's all about the information

JUNO'S DYSPEPTIC LOOK (10 March 2018)
An analysis

THE CALL OF SAMSON'S SWAT ON MY SHIN (9 March 2018)
Therapy

WRITING THE SAME DAY I POST (8 March 2018)
For better or worse, fresh out the oven

CHAP STIK ADDICTION (7 March 2018)
A confession

COUNTING DOWN THE SIX YEARS AND THREE MONTHS TILL I CAN MAYBE SEE "THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED (6 March 2018)"
I can't wait

LETTER FROM HUGO, EMPEROR, APARTMENT 29D1 TO TORA AND KUMA, MINISTERS OF LUCK AND FORTUNE, 54 SEMINOLE AVENUE RE: SUPPOSED OBLIGATORY FELINE ROLES OF MISFORTUNE WITHIN A QUESTIONABLE LITERARY, SOCIAL, AND LEXICOLOGICAL CONSTRUCT (5 March 2018)
On being proud of who you are

TYPING OUT "INFINITE JEST" WORD FOR WORD (4 MARCH 2018)
I really do hope I finish this

THAT SPIKE IN WEB TRAFFIC (3 March 2018)
A little thrill each morning

ON YOUR KNOWING ME WAY BACK WHEN (2 March 2018)
What I hope is my gift to all, I don't know, two dozen of you

THE SHAGGS: NO MORE NEED BE SAID (1 March 2018)
Really...no more need be said

FEBRUARY 2018

I WRITE. I READ. I WALK (28 FEBRUARY 2018)
This is what I do

SERVING UP TASTY VOMIT (27 February 2018)
You probably don't want to be eating when you read this one...

YOU PAY ME WITH YOUR TIME (26 February 2018)
The universal currency

ON JIMMIE NICOL, THE FORGOTTEN FIFTH BEATLE (25 February 2018)
13 days of fame

THAT OTHER PART OF WRITING (24 February 2018)
Alas, it's a business as well

LETTER FROM TORA AND KUMA, MINISTERS OF LUCK AND FORTUNE, 54 SEMINOLE AVENUE, TO HUGO, EMPEROR, APARTMENT D1 (23 February 2018)
A matter of concern

SOMETHING WILL COME TO ME (22 February 2018)
Have faith...

ON A LEAF (21 February 2018)
The grace of small things...

THAT READER IN QUEZON CITY (20 February 2018)
Notes on a possible fan far, far away

DISPATCH FROM SAMSON, GOODWILL AMBASSADOR OF 31 PRATT AVENUE, BEVERLY MASSACHUSETTS TO MEGAN MILLER, FAITHFUL SERVANT AND COMPANION RE: INCESSANT BARKING (19 February 2018)
A humble explanation for decidedly unwanted behavior

DISPATCH FROM HUGO, EMPEROR OF APARTMENT D1 RE: THE OUTDOORS (18 February 2018)
First person perspective on the events of a few days ago

ON THE NECESSITY OF PLAYING GUILD WARS 2 (17 February 2018)
Man cannot live on work alone

THIS ESSAY IS PRERECORDED (16 February 2018)
Alas, not coming to you live

LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH (15 February 2018)
Sometimes, you just do it to do it. There will be many more times like this, I'm afraid

STEVE MCQUEEN, "THE COOLER KING" OF "THE GREAT ESCAPE:" AN APPRECIATION (14 February 2018)
If at first you don't succeed...

DROPS OF WATER ON THE WALL (13 February 2018)
Again, and again, and again...

DISPATCH: BERKLEE HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ FESTIVAL, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS (12 February 2018)
Those kids, I tell you...

WRITING UNDER DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES (11 February 2018)
Writing when writing isn't easy

THE FUGITIVE (10 February 2018)
Hugo!

HOW I FIND SOMETHING TO WRITE ABOUT (9 February 2018)
How it happens

ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOW IT FEELS WHEN WE DO THINGS, AND HOW IT MAKES OTHERS FEEL (8 February 2018)
Just because it doesn't feel like much doesn't mean it's not doing something

WRITING WHEN MY HEART ISN'T IN IT (7 February 2018)
When the heart is weak, the mind must be willing

SETBACK (6 February 2018)
A time that try's men's souls

A SINGLE SENTENCE THAT I WRITE ON NEARLY WORDLESS DAYS (5 February 2018)
There. I wrote something.

ON PLAYING GUITAR IN A BAND (4 February 2018)
There's a first time for everything

DISPATCH: VARGTIMMEN KING KOFFEE, EMMAUS, PENNSYLVANIA (3 February 2018)
A place I stumbled upon in my travels

PRAYING TO THE FATES (2 February 2018)
You pray to your gods, I pray to mine

THOUGHTS ON THIS PARTICULAR STEP IN THE WRITING JOURNEY (1 February 2018)
Where I am right now
JANUARY 2018
12 SECONDS IN THE FILM "A.I. (31 January 2018)"
Boy, could that kid act

WRITING AS PURE RESEARCH (30 January 2018)

Nothing may come of it today, but something may come of it tomorrow

ON A MOMENT IN THE FILM "ONCE (29 January 2018)"
You must see this film

ON A PASSPORT, AND MY WEBSITE EMAIL ADDRESS (28 January 2018)
On keeping an eye on the future

ON GOING INTERNATIONAL (27 January 2018)
On extending my reach

ON GETTING TIRED OF WRITING ABOUT NOTHING (26 January 2018)
It had to happen sooner or later

OREO MADNESS (25 January 2018)
The horror, the horror...

THE VAST WISDOM IN THE EDGE'S THOUGHTS ON THE CREATIVE PROCESS (24 January 2018)
Just keep going

ON WRITING MANY DECENT THINGS AS OPPOSED TO ONE GREAT THING (23 January 2018)
On the compromises between quantity and quality

ON THE UNWANTED THINGS IN MY WRITING AND FOOD (22 January 2018)
Write as much as I do, and you're going to have some rodent hairs in there...

HOW I WRITE (21 January 2018)
On the way I get it done

O NEGATIVE (20 January 2018)
On being the universal blood donor

FINDING IDEAS IN THE DARKNESS AND LIGHT (19 January 2018)
Finding something to write about in both ends of the spectrum

WHERE I GET MY IDEAS (OR AT LEAST THE IDEA FOR THIS ESSAY) (18 January 2018)
How it happens

ON WRITING EVERY DAY AND READING EVERY DAY (17 January 2018)
On exercising mental muscles

BLADE RUNNER 2049: A FILM THAT, MORE THAN ANY OTHER I'VE SEEN, REQUIRES A SECOND VIEWING (16 January 2018)
On completely and totally changing my mind about a film in a way I never quite have before

ON CLEANING MY READING GLASSES WITH SPIT (15 January 2018)
A confession

IT'S NOT ABOUT TRUMP...IT'S ABOUT INTERACTION (14 January 2018)
Essay by Joe Occhipinti

​ARE TRUMP'S COMMENTS RACIST? (14 January 2018)
Essay by Joe Occhipinti

JOHN MCPHEE'S WRITING PROMPT (14 JANUARY 2018)
Keep writing about the bear

ON SOMETHING GOING FROM BEING THRILLING TO DEEPLY SATISFYING (13 January 2018)
On the evolution of my writing process

WHY IT GETS COLD IN CERTAIN AREAS EVEN THOUGH THE WORLD IS GETTING HOT (12 JANUARY 2018)
A simple, calm, reasoned 800 or so word rebuttal to climate change denial

WHERE I AM NOW (11 January 2018)
On my current place in my writing journey

ON THE COMPLETE ABSENCE OF EVER AGAIN HAVING TO KNOW WHERE I'M GOING (10 January 2018)
How Google Maps has allowed part of my mind to atrophy

PUTTING MY WRITING UP FOR SALE ON EBAY (9 JANUARY 2018)
On something I said I would do for a long, long time

CHECKS AND BALANCES: A RECKONING (8 January 2018)
From writer Joe Occhipinti, thoughts on the consequences of unchecked capitalism

JOHN CAGE'S 4'33" (8 January 2018)
What is music?

ON KEEPING DAYLIGHT HOURS (7 January 2018)
The sacrifices we make for the people we love

BREAKFAST (6 January 2018)
On how I start my day

WRITING AND THE AMARGOSA OPERA HOUSE (5 January 2018)
About a pure love of what you do

NOTHING TO WRITE ABOUT (#3) (4 January 2018)
Post something every day, and there will be days like this

THE BEST PIECE OF WRITING ADVICE I EVER GOT (3 January 2018)
Twenty years later, the wisdom remains.

ON NOT BEING ABLE TO DO ANY ONE THING FOR MUCH TIME AT ALL (2 January 2018)
On darting from one thing to another

A BRIEF PIECE OF SLASH FAN FICTION INCORPORATING ELEMENTS OF “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK” AND THE STAR TREK EPISODE “THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER,” WITH APOLOGIES TO AN EPISODE OF “THE BIG BANG THEORY,” AND AN ANONYMOUS BULLETIN BOARD POST (1 January 2018)
If I'm going to attack sacred cows in the George Lucas universe, I may as well do the same to Steven Spielberg's universe as well.


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