10.  Bono Bono, the rock-star-turned-humanitarian, has been speaking truth to power since 1999.  He has achieved near honorary statesman status and has influenced many heads of state.  Since 2002 he has become increasingly involved in campaigning for third-world debt relief and raising awareness...

The basic message of the first video below is okay – pledging oneself to acts of service that benefit our local and extended communities. But every time a video like this gets made I have to spend an extra half hour explaining to die-hard Republican relatives that I voted for Obama because I thought...

The hours are crawling away, and it’s strangely quiet up the street at the Biltmore. Well, except for the helicopters buzzing overhead. Fox News is obnoxious and I’m no fan of MSNBC, so I’ve been stuck on CNN. Big mistake. CNN’s biggest enemy seems to be technology. They’ve...

Some time ago, I posted an entry on this blog about Britney Spears and promised to stop participating in tabloid culture. And it’s gone well, a few lapses here and there…typically just forgetfulness. But part of it was we didn’t have cable television, I worked at a grocery store that...

I was at a 7-11 the other day with my friend, Sonny. He pointed to a copy of Rolling Stone with a black and white photo of Britney Spears on the cover, the words “Britney Spears: Inside an American Tragedy” emblazoned on the right cheek. “That cover story is an amazing piece,”...

For those of you who write (or want to), I recommend one book over any other: William Zinsser’s On Writing Well. It was recommended to me by Donald Miller as the Bible of writing, and it does not disappoint. I have both an audio copy and a hard copy, which I purchased at the University of Oregon...

The grocery store where I spend a lot of my working hours…the hours that actually pay the bills…is a decently posh place. It’s not a top shelf grocery store, but it’s up there. Before the current company moved in, it had been one of those nice places where the wine selection...

The grocery store where I spend a lot of my working hours…the hours that actually pay the bills…is a decently posh place. It’s not a top shelf grocery store, but it’s up there. Before the current company moved in, it had been one of those nice places where the wine selection...