It's a sad anniversary today. Rather than comment on it directly, I thought I would post an essay I wrote for an open mic night held on September 11th, 2002.

I like to think that each generation of Americans has what I call its "where were you?" moment. Anyone in my parents' generation can describe the moment in exhaustive detail when they heard the news of Kennedy's assassination. For my grandparents it's Pearl Harbor; for their parents, perhaps the 1929 stock market...

There was a thread recently on the issue of debt, and it touched on our motivations for spending beyond our means. I feel that on one level, it stems from a starvation of the spirit; we feel isolated and fearful, and like infants we reach out to any object within our grasp for reassurance. One unintended consequence is that this infantile clinging to possessions can isolate us even further. We become infatuated with status symbols, and even get territorial. I'm not calling for a property-less world,...

This post is a test; I've never blogged before and I wanted to see how it works. In any case, the thought below would be a good starting point for a blog, so maybe I'll get back to it.

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Having blown multi-hundreds and hundreds of pounds of explosives in my distant past, firecrackers and bottle rockets now hold little interest to me.

So rather than spending time lighting fuses and counting fingers I spent the time working around the home and doing some reading and thinking. There have been seemingly a rash of deaths amongst entertainers and celebrities. Some of those lives I think are worth looking at.

Ed McMahon for instance with his booming contagious...

I've been helping my Taijiquan Teacher with his beginning class for about a year now. I call myself the Junior Assistant since my Teacher also has his 2 most senior students helping in these classes. The experience of the students in this class consists of those just starting out up to those who have learned most of the second section of the Dong Family Slow Set. Since the students started at different quarters of the year there are 3 or 4 groups at different levels.

The Summer...