Confessions of a Conservative Atheist
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Big Sky Country is home to some of the most awe-inspiring vistas on the planet, from mountains to lakes and prairies, and some of the most amazing animals in the United States, but nature cannot hide the poverty plaguing small towns like Browning. Glacier National Park occupies 1,583 square miles in the northwestern corner of… Continue reading Montana’s breathtaking beauty and heartbreaking poverty, plus our encounter with a grizzly bear
The past is memory, memory is a ghost and also a dream, the dream is a lie, and yet we still cannot stop ourselves from trying. “The River” isn’t a happy song, but that doesn’t preclude the possibility of redemption in some unforeseen future. Bruce Springsteen’s “The River” isn’t a happy song. The music, complete… Continue reading Springsteen’s “The River” and the ghost of redemption
Sometimes, you can learn a lot about yourself, your country, and the world at large on vacation in what might as well be half a world away, but the lessons aren’t always positive. Paris in particular and France in general has never been high on my list of countries to visit. This is not based… Continue reading Springsteen in Paris, a Fiat 500 Hybrid in the Alps, and an America that no longer works
There are few places on Earth where you can arrive in the wrong city in the middle of the night and still find a nice hotel room and a hot meal in less than twenty minutes. India is one of them and much, much more. After well over 20 hours of travel, I arrived in India… Continue reading The magic of India, the world’s largest country and democracy, home of some of the world’s oldest languages
Poets may claim that love conquers all, but back in the real world there are forces beyond your control that can easily tear a relationship apart. Many people fear the future, fueled by jealousy and doubt, but sometimes things simply work out if you’re only hopeful enough to see it. My wife and I didn’t… Continue reading Livin’ in the Future: The first Springsteen song for me and my wife
This will likely be my last post for several weeks, not because I am abandoning this project, far from it. Instead, I will be undertaking a hopefully epic journey that is only possible in the modern world, covering some 25,000 miles in less than a month. This will likely be my last post for several… Continue reading The miracle and madness of travel in the modern age
A 73 year old rocker and his equally old band are still playing close-to three hour shows, doubling the length and intensity of acts half their age. We’re in uncharted territory and few things illustrate it better than a live performance of “Jungleland” at Madison Square Garden. Last Saturday, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street… Continue reading Bruce Springsteen has no equal or even an apt comparison
More than twenty years ago, Steven Spielberg completed Stanley Kubrick’s final passion project, a film about artificial intelligence and machines that is equal parts prophetic from a modern perspective, uneven as a movie, and unfulfilled as a work of art. Today, everyone is talking about Artificial Intelligence. The emergence of ChatGPT and subsequent competitors capable… Continue reading Spielberg’s thought provoking bastardization of Kubrick, A.I. Artificial Intelligence
After seven years, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band begin their world tour tonight in Tampa. It’s been a short eternity for die-hard fans, prompting a little reminiscing about prior concerts, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and the magic inherent in the live performance of rock and roll. Bruce Springsteen and the… Continue reading Bruce Springsteen is back and a little reminiscing across over thirty concerts is in order
The Boss’ new album will be composed of entirely culturally appropriated songs, a collection of “soul music” covers, but that is inherently a good thing. Harold Bloom’s seminal The Anxiety of Influence reveals why all art, if not all ideas entirely, can be seen as the product of cultural appropriation. Bruce Springsteen is just the… Continue reading Bruce Springsteen and the artistic necessity of cultural appropriation
Confessions of a Conservative Atheist 