Venezuela: Bolivarian Tragedy
Trump’s disregard for international, and even national, law —by bombing a country with which we were not at war and kidnapping its president — was outrageous and inexcusable, but not unimaginable, given Trump’s erratic and aggressive charcter and the US Government’s history of invading or fomenting coups to overthrow elected governments, especially in Latin America. … read more »
The year to come
My main resolution for 2026 is to continue to advance the three projects I had set out for myself in 2024: writing, language, and saving the world. So what is called for now is a progress report. But first, an explanation. 1) “Saving the world” in the face of wars and genocide, rapid climate change … read more »
Resolutions, past and present
For 2024, I posted four New Year’s resolutions as my alter ego The Man Who Can : 1, a new novel, this time set in Germany; 2, acquiring fluency in German; 3, more book reviews, and 4, getting better on guitar. I‘m part way there, on all four goals – except maybe no. 4, … read more »
Nihilistic times
Nihilistic Times: Thinking with Max Weber by Wendy Brown My rating: 5 of 5 stars What are “nihilistic times”? Our times, today, when for politicians, media hosts and other opinion leaders, nothing is sacred, there is no clear standard of right or wrong, truth or falsity that they are required to observe, and thus no … read more »
Sociological fiction
My fiction is often set amid upheavals that have changed the world — or attempted to. Revolutionary and counterrevolutionary movements in Latin America, in Welcome to My Contri; the tensions leading to the fall of the Byzantine and rise of the Ottoman Empire in A Gift for the Sultan; or the Franco-Prussian war and the … read more »