neomerkins
Death, murder, hatred, bigots, slogans, tiki torches, dog whistling, tacit defenses, arrogant bravado. The last several days have rivaled November 8th and soon thereafter in tumult and unrest with the...
View Articleits meaning has not been erased
There are times when I really don't know what to write, but I feel that I should write something if for no other reason than I might look back on it some day to recall my thoughts (it's highly unlikely...
View Articleroute 91 harvest fest
There's nothing that I can write. We've lost each other. We have to find each other.
View Articleden leader
My six year old boy just joined the Cub Scouts. He's pretty pumped to do something with his friends and with me -- the accidental den leader. Benefits are high, risks are low but logistics are...
View Articlegrowling at the world
Slider K. Shaftacular is angry at the world. Why? None of y'all mofos told Slider K. Shaftacular that growlers of beer had to be consumed within three days for optimal tasting experience. Admittedly...
View Articlenovember nth + 1
A year ago tonight I was restless and terrified. Those horrible electometers at The New York Times flailing wildly. It was really happening. Reason had died jumping off the blue wall. My wife. My...
View Articleholier than thou
Bill Clinton: I regret that I didn't care enough. Bill Cosby: I resent that I lament the erasure of a comic genius. Bill O'Reilly: I'm content that if it wasn't one thing it would be another.Donald...
View Articlefascist plate
Dear Representative Steve King,I find your world view and vision for my country to be antiquated and bigoted. I will not get angry. I will not be offended. Every word you utter binds you more...
View Articlepractical jedi
If we're going to start this, I should probably give you some context.Many years ago, a man named George Lucas, fascinated with the hero's journey, made a movie called Star Wars. This movie told the...
View Articlepractical jedi 2
In Star Wars: the Last Jedi the compelling conflict is the evil First Order bearing down on the remnants of the outgunned Resistance (soon to be the new Rebellion). The might of a terrible armada...
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As a series of movies, the Star Wars saga explores many emotions: hope, love, anger, revenge, isolation, bereavement, greed, pity, fealty and self-doubt. One emotion that none of the movies ever...
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The most powerful Jedi of Star Wars (to date) is certainly a Skywalker. But the most noble and determined Jedi revealed on screen is certainly Obi-Wan Kenobi. The drifter wizard in the desert of...
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In Revenge of the Sith, Master Kenobi, completing his pursuit of the vile General Grievous, is forced of necessity to use a blaster for the kill shots. Drolly disappointed in himself, Kenobi quips "so...
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Romantic love is a complicated thing in the Star Wars universe. Princess Leia and Han Solo were flirty, feisty and largely off-screen and it was quite effective. Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker...
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Grand Moff Tarkin declares to Vader early on that "The Jedi are extinct. Their fire has gone out of the universe. You, my friend, are all that's left of their religion." Han Solo later in the same...
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Over the noon hour today, I was celebrating the break in the deep cold snap by walking along the neighborhood streets behind my clinic. As I walked down a hill into the next neighborhood, I passed the...
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Palpatine craved unlimited power. Anakin Skywalker sought galactic order. Ben Solo's motives are murkier but seem to be a combination of the former with an additional desire for perfect isolation....
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I very much dislike the term "Force ghost". It's a very commonly used description in the wake of The Last Jedi. I find the term trite when considering modern use of ghost to mean something of...
View Articlepractical jedi 11
In the Star Wars universe, money is never associated with power but rather a consolation prize for those who don't have power. Watto, a slaveholding junk dealer on Tatooine, is motivated by money but...
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