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…
Category: Essays
The Question is Why?
Leave it to the likes of Shell Oil and The Economist Magazine to pose this inanity: “Do we need nature?” This question was the topic of their annual essay writing contest this summer. The question is one children are too…
Perpetual Political Autopoiesis
I recently read a paper by John H. Little of Troy State University called ‘Autopoietic Social Systems And Self-Referential Government: How Unlikely Is Democracy?’. It’s too bad the paper was so laden with complicated jargon, because from what I could…
Against the War or Support Our Troops — A View on the War in Iraq
Or email the author directly. This piece was included in Pieces of War: A Mosaic of Views on the War in Iraq, a special section that appeared in the first and only issue of Mosaic: A Magazine of Arts, Sciences…
First Things First — A View on the War in Iraq
This piece was the introduction to Pieces of War: A Mosaic of Views on the War in Iraq, a special section that appeared in the first and only issue of Mosaic: A Magazine of Arts, Sciences & Everything in Between,…
Tipping the Scales of Delusion — A View on the War in Iraq
This piece was included in Pieces of War: A Mosaic of Views on the War in Iraq, a special section that appeared in the first and only issue of Mosaic: A Magazine of Arts, Sciences & Everything in Between, which…
Post Rescinded
A piece that appeared in the first and only issue of Mosaic: A Magazine of Arts, Sciences & Everything in Between, which later evolved into this website, was originally published here. It has since been rescinded at the request of…
The Game of Community
Below are the notes to a speech given to the Rotary Club of Red Hook, NY. Speech Notes Red Hook — from NYC almost 3 years ago — bought home — more for your $ — but also to set…
Why “Sostenuto”
Sostenuto is an Italian word meaning “sustained.” It is used in music in two ways. In general, it simply suggests a sustaining of duration, somtimes implying a slowing in tempo. It is also the name of the center pedal of…
The Sostenuto Perspective
Sostenuto hopes to bring a systems-thinking approach to every aspect of culture. By its nature, this approach keeps an open mind, acknowledging that it can never know everything about anything. At the same time, inherent in this approach is the…