I dipped in and out of the confirmation hearings for Judge Jackson this week, because I hate myself exactly that much. I won’t dwell on it here any more than to ask you to consider the following fascinating thought experiment: If, God forbid, there were an accident and Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley were both … More When The Dog Whistle Becomes A Bull Horn

I’m no expert in…well the list is too long to leave here, but military matters and deep insights into despots number among them. But I think people who believe Putin has gone crazy do so at their peril. I mean, he is clearly a sociopath, which is a kind of insanity. But that’s not new. … More A Pedantic Few Words About Conflating Irrational and Insane

By Jack Canfora I normally post on Thursdays, but as you’ll see, I was busy. I hope you don’t mind me barging in on you like this on a Sunday. Yesterday, I stepped out the door of my childhood home for the final time. I moved there in early 1978 (I distinctly recall thinking at … More You Can’t Go Home Again (The Thought of Repacking Alone Will Stop You)

I’ll start with a tangent (can you begin with a tangent? If you’re starting with it, by definition it’s the thing your discussing. Anyway): today in the American Northeast, January is wearing the look that earned it its street cred: impossibly depressing wet snow that can’t even reach the muddy dead grass without corroding into … More Context > Texting

By Jack Canfora Ok, just to be clear, this isn’t a post debating the merits and debits of cancel culture. At all. So, let’s all take a cleansing breath to celebrate that. However, the recent passing of the peerless writer Joan Didion got me to thinking about what it takes to be a great writer … More Must Great Artists Act Like Bad People? Joan Didion Had Some Thoughts

By Jack Canfora Happy 2022! Well, let’s not put too much pressure on ourselves: happy 2022. Better. Punctuation makes such a difference. I’m a little late this week for my Thursday post, but I figure, it’s five o’clock on Thursday somewhere, right? Actually, I just googled this. Turns out that’s wrong. Still. Here are some … More 2022: Some Hopes and Predictions

By Jack Canfora (But not really – someone way better – and best of all – departed long enough to free me of any copyright issues! Besides, the letter is written to someone named Kappus, which I repeatedly misread as Krappus, so that’s comic gold right there… Rome, 23 December 1903 My dear Mr Kappus, … More A Post For Those Who Find The Holidays Challenging

Ok, buckle up; this is a long one. Here are but some of my thoughts on the recent release of the groundbreaking documentary about the Beatles in their final days, “Get Back.” Spoiler alerts ahead, BTW. First off, if you’re a casual fan of the band, if you watch this 8 1/2 hour Odyssey, I’d … More What The “Get Back” Documentary Taught Me About The Nature of Creativity and Friendship

“You make it look so easy.” “Could you tell us another piece of trivia?” “Eyes were bigger than your stomach, eh?” “What should I invest in?” “But you dance so beautifully!” “You have a mind like Aristotle’s, only funnier” “Please, just ONE more song!” “Your eyes…I can’t describe them precisely, but have you ever been … More Things No One Has Ever Said To Me

By Jack Canfora The president of Netflix (I didn’t even know they had a president; I thought they were a constitutional monarchy) once said, “Our competition isn’t the other streaming platforms; our competition is sleep.” Which, when I read that, really crystallized for me something about how we live. So many of us have become … More I Hope This Will Bore You (And Frankly, I Like My Chances)

By Jack Canfora Trigger Warning: this post has no content. Not literally, obviously. I mean, the very words “this post has no content” proves that there IS content. I mean, there’s nothing in this post in terms of, well, anything. It’s a blank canvass, minus the blankness and the canvass. This piece is pure Zen, … More Nothing Is Good (In a Good Way)

By Jack Canfora The title of this post is but one example of why I’m not as good a songwriter as Lennon and McCartney. It’s hard to hum along to that title. Oh well, I have qualities they don’t. Debt, for instance. Anyway, I’d caution you to take a step or two back, as I’m … More Love Is The Bulk of What You Need

By Jack Canfora This evening, I will have a (virtual) table read of a new play of mine. I think it has promise, but for me, and I think I’m not alone in this among playwrights, until I hear it out loud, I can’t be sure. Reading it is different from hearing. Unlike, say, novels … More What’s the Point?

By Jack Canfora I’ll start with a confession. I don’t really know if this is summer’s last hurrah. I haven’t heard it hurrah at all so far, at least I think I haven’t, but in another confession, I’ve never really heard anyone use hurrah in an unironic fashion, and basing what it would sound like … More Summer’s Last Hurrah

George Washington didn’t engage in insipid debates with those who confuse the idea of freedom with utter self-absorption. … More George Washington: Enemy of Freedom