Posts under ‘Essays’

The proper critics will scoff — I remember my Environmental Sociology professor being horrified that I was going to go through Titanic in chronological order rather than thematically. After seeing the look on her face, I did a rewrite, and I admit it’s a better way to write criticism and analysis. But chronological is exactly [...]

(If you haven’t read the introductory Lost, Found post, you might get some value from doing so, but maybe not, it’s up to you!)
Right out of the gate, in only the first half of the pilot episode, we are exposed to most of the main themes and ideas that will run through the series. As [...]

I’d resisted watching Lost for a very long time. Television had become less important in my life, and other things demanded my time. Taking on another hour-long series just didn’t seem wise. I’d hear about it. And what I’d hear was intriguing. But I’d never seen J.J. Abrams’ other lauded television work — like Felicity, [...]

There is a movement in Africa to bolster pride in the continent by debunking European myths about ‘wild Africa,’ i.e. that before Europeans arrived here there was no civilization. This effort is attempting not only to reveal the truth about that period, but also build local pride in the ancient civilizations there. But, given the actual impact that human civilizations have had on the planet and on people outside any given society, is civilization really something to build pride upon? How we understand this history has impacts on not only Africans but people of all civilizations - the way we perceive ourselves and the future directions we take. For this piece I have drawn on my own observations of Ghana, my visit to Ghana’s Mole National Park, interviews with a tour company operator, recent developments regarding the San (Bush People) of Botswana and that country’s recent Supreme Court decision to allow them back onto their tribal lands but with strict conditions imposed, and extensive secondary research into African politics and history.

As I’ve begun to have a go at making a living as a musician and artist, I’ve thought at times about how difficult it seems for people who try this. So many struggling artists, starving artists, nobodies trying to become somebody, so little opportunity to make it into much more than a hobby, such [...]

This piece began in the Spring of 2002 as an essay that I thought would provide a compelling new understanding of the Star Wars films. After writing more than a dozen versions, I had yet to produce something that met with the approval of an editor I was working with. Frustrated, I put the piece [...]

Ayn Rand made a pretty good living and quite a reputation convincing people to resent how the “common” masses resent the “special” few and then strive to cut those special people down to common size. Rand believed that special people deserve to remain special, while the common people should simply accept their own mediocrity, especially [...]

When they die, many people have embalming fluid fill their bodies to keep them from rotting. The body then goes into fine clothing and sometimes makeup. The clothed body, sometimes accompanied by other personal property, then lies within plush padding. The padding is built into a coffin made of steel and wood that has been [...]

The year 2004. A multiple of four. That means at least three things. A leap year, the Summer Olympics, and the U.S. Presidential election.
As for leap year, though it certainly applies this year, it actually doesn’t happen every multiple of four — and it isn’t really that big a deal anyway, is it?
Once upon a [...]

On January 24, 2004, Mark submitted a letter to Mother Earth News about population and construction, two topics he’d read about recently in that publication. An editor there quickly informed him that his letter would be published and then invited him to write an outline for a Viewpoint piece about the issue of food supply [...]