Growing up in Philadelphia in the 70s meant Bruce Springsteen was a part of my life. I’ll always remember a fan in a promotional radio b-roll clip from one of the classic rock stations saying excitedly, definitively, “He’s the best, he’s Bruce. . . He’s the Boss!” One of the earliest albums I bought was Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ. My high school girlfriend’s older brother saw every show of[…] Keep reading →

I don’t know how long it takes time for depression to take root — that is, for someone feeling fine to feeling depressed. A quick web search didn’t show anything and I’m sure it differs from person to person. I imagine it rarely happens overnight. The reason I thought about it was a conversation with a friend about sidchas and my twice-daily burpee-based calisthenics. As he put it, motion creates[…] Keep reading →

I write a lot about cold showers. They may sound crazy, but bear with me and you may find them more helpful than you could have imagined. After taking a few in Shanghai because the water took five minutes to warm up that I couldn’t stand wasting, in December of 2013, I took thirty days of cold showers. I can’t tell you how much the discipline, dedication, and so on[…] Keep reading →

An article stating that “taking one flight emits as much as many people do in a year” led me to post the following on the site that linked to it. I thought it captured my feelings on flying since then. Learning information like this finally led me to take responsibility for my actions that affected others. I challenged myself to go one year without flying. Like everyone, I have family[…] Keep reading →

Part 1: College personalities not so unique In college, I remember meeting many classmates who seemed unique. I couldn’t imagine anyone else like them. Thirty years later, I’ve seen people like each. Over and over as college classes turn over every four years. I’ve also seen them grow up to become like everyone else. There’s some variation, of course, but the differences aren’t that great. Part 2: My high school[…] Keep reading →

I don’t mean to make light of the freedom people fought and died for, but I reached an empty inbox for the first time in I don’t know how long today and it feels like freedom and liberation. Here’s a screen shot of my mail reader: Launching Initiative put my inbox count into triple digits, including many detailed messages about complicated relationships. But July 4 is about freedom and I[…] Keep reading →

I met some friends in Central Park today — teammates I went to college nationals with in 1989 — to throw a disc around. I started walking there from my place in Greenwich Village just past noon. We tossed until about 3:30, then I went food shopping (at the 4th Street Coop), and walked home from the Lower East Side. It was in the low 80s and sunny. I put[…] Keep reading →