Category Archives: Writing & Social Commentary

On The Lighter Side

True educational stories from three levels: grammar school, junior high, and high school. 1950, Hillside [...]

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Strange Human Behavior / Beliefs

Suicide Bombers in Paradise Legend has it that if you are martyred as a suicide [...]

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Hooray for SB128!

California is getting closer to joining Oregon and other forward looking states in allowing people [...]

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A Magical Photo at the US Supreme Court

As Assistant Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin, my sister-in-law, Maureen McGlynn Flanagan, was [...]

Challenging Fraternity Conformity: The Story of John Lopez

Fraternities have been getting a bad rap in the news lately, in some cases, well [...]

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In a Coma, They Really Can Hear You: Last Words to John Cope

(N.B. If raw sexual humor is offensive to you, please do not read this article.) [...]

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Gloria Steinem autographs photo for McGlynn sisters

  When I met with Gloria Steinem I brought along a photo of Mary and [...]

What To Do With Your Great Photos

So, you ignored my advice to stay the hell away from digital photography (see: http://rickgilbert.net/#/n_1487). [...]

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Bob Dylan Does the American Songbook

Interviewer: Don’t you think this album is risky? Fans will say you can’t touch Sinatra’s [...]

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Photo contest with the theme of architecture

I’ve just entered a photo contest with the theme of architecture. To see some of [...]

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Gloria Steinem Quotes

Here are my favorite Gloria Steinem quotes from the San Miguel Writers’ Conference…   It’s [...]

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“Slithering into Decrepitude”

  What I like most about doing this blog is the great responses I get [...]

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Writing Workshop Stories

I recently attended a writing workshop given by Ellen Sussman. Here are two  stories from [...]

Funny Meeting You Here…

It really was a dark and stormy night. My friend and Chief of the ER [...]

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Patriotism 101: The Naturalization of Markus Zirn

“We will read the name of each country represented here today. As your country is [...]

My Pubic Mohawk

“Do you know you have varicocele?” the doctor said, matter-of-factly. I said, “Huh? What is [...]

The Investiture of Troop 23

  “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”  – William Faulkner   Fifteen [...]

C.S. Lewis and a Life-Changing Event

I was attending a speech writers’ conference in New York. At the end of day one, [...]

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Terrific TV Commercials

 “You are good at a lot of things, but parallel parking isn’t one of them.” [...]

History of PowerSpeaking, Inc.

Every time we brought on a new employee or trainer, we told the same old [...]

Saying Goodbye to Dena

Like many people, my childhood attempts to learn music had been painful affairs. For example, [...]

Photography: the Shortest Distance Between Two Hearts

Talk about connecting two hearts. My friend Harlan Crowder got this amazing shot in Cuba [...]

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Fitness is a journey

This is disgusting! Unfortunately, this is how I looked in September. The writing on my [...]

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Photography: The Shortest Distance Between Two Hearts

Cal vs Washington, October 11, 2014 Berkeley, Sproul Plaza, 2:00PM. First, in came the cheerleaders, [...]

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