Holy. Cursed. Divine. Blighted. This juxtaposition of words characterizes two locations in Japan that share a remarkable relationship. Aokigahara Forest, in the shadow of Mt. Fuji, rises up the side of the mountain, eventually giving way to caves and bluffs that extend above the forest. The convergence of the two iconic areas not only reveals […]
Aokigahara Forest: Death in the Shadow of Mt. Fuji Read More »
As part of learning my craft as a writer, I belonged to the Rocky Mountain Writer’s Workshop in the seventies and eighties. It was an invaluable experience that took me from a bumbling wannabe to a confident albeit part-time professional. The writer-in-residence for the monthly workshop was the award winning Denver author Ed Bryant. Ed’s
George R.R. Martin’s Best Story Read More »
You can read and interpret these words because of electrical brain activity triggered by your eyes. You’re responding to sensory input in order to create meaning from this interaction with my words. I mention this because IBM and DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) have created neuromorphic silicon chips, or silicon neurons, that do something similar
Artificial Intelligence Has Arrived Read More »
If only more people knew about Blue Zones. When my mother was a young girl in Mexico, she had problems with her digestive system. Around the age of 12, she was hospitalized multiple times because of sharp pains in her abdominal area. As a result, she stopped eating, and her sickness increased. The doctors never
The Nicoya Peninsula: One of the World’s Blue Zones Read More »
Recently, I re-watched Everything Must Go, an adaptation of the very short Raymond Carver story “Why Don’t You Dance?” When I saw it for the first time back in 2011, I expected to enjoy it, but I was surprised at just how good it was. First things first: Everything Must Go stars Will Ferrell. I
Gary’s Off-the-Map Movie Pick: Everything Must Go Read More »
Let’s say something bad happens to a guy. Maybe we don’t know if he had it coming. It could be a car accident, a life-altering injury, or a terrible disease. Perhaps he loses everything he owns in a natural disaster, or worse, gets caught with his hands in a metaphorical cookie jar. One day, everything’s fine, the
Praying for a Righteous Smack Down: The Amazing Adventures of Smitey Man Read More »