Monthly Archives April 2022

Little Beasts

I am not myself today. It isn’t because I am awash in all variety of ruination — that my 17 year-old dog, Luna, died in my arms last Wednesday or that my 100 year-old senile grandmother — of whom I am the only grandchild — called me Herman (her long deceased brother’s name), and told me to milk the cows (I consented, hundreds of miles from the nearest bovine utter)….

Heat is Murder

Hell is hot for many reasons. Punishment, by itself, is not the only consideration. Dante’s thermostat may be in the red for inspiration…or as a forewarning…or as a symbol of passion to motivate us up here on the upper crust of planet earth. But sitting in the summer heat of an un-airconditioned doctor’s office yesterday, I was convinced that, at the very least, hell is real. My visit to Dr….

The Enlightened Phlebotomist

Every year, my personal physician wants to drain blood out of me for testing.  I oblige and the results, so far, have been excellent.  On the other hand, my visit to the phlebotomist — the one who draws my blood — makes me ill at ease.  Since I’ve never been a diabetic or a junkie, jelly popping needles into my blood vessels isn’t something I’m comfortable with.  It’s not that…

The Patron Saint of Obscenity

The other day, my cousin Wayne — who, by his own admission, is a very religious man — told me I’d go to hell because of the language I use. He was half serious and half right. I do use language that could get me in trouble. Let me explain. The podcast broadcast you’re listening to is designated as “explicit” on iTunes. One definition for the word “explicit” is “precisely…

The Treason of Images

I’ve waved it, hung it, and ran it up a pole.   I’ve “pledged allegiance” to it — to freedoms that include the right to criticize and to think freely.  The American flag is a symbol of my government — a fabric rectangle, red, white, blue, stars and stripes — the representation, but not the foundation, on which we stand. Anyone can fly the flag and anyone can hide behind it.   

Black Market Cheese

Black Market Cheese

On this week’s episode, Nathan, Mike, and Mahler talk about invisible art, trophy animals, the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker, saving water, your father the rapist, the San Bernardino County sheriff’s marijuana pay-off, forged COVID cards, the Santa Ana Police copyright infringement trap, bull testicles, and so on.