WHAT I’M READING
April 2021
• Elevation – Stephen King
• If it Bleeds – Stephen King
• Finders Keepers – Stephen King
• End of Watch – Stephen King
• Riding the Bullet – Stephen King
March 2021
• Later – Stephen King
• The Institute – Stephen King
February 2021
• The Naked Mind – Annie Grace
• Total Catastrophe Living – Jon Kabat-Zinn
January 2021
• A Time for Mercy – John Grisham
December 2020
• The Midnight Library – Matt Haig
November 2020
• A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
• Calm the F*ck Down – Sarah Knight
October 2020
• Rage – Bob Woodward
September 2020
• How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe – Charles Yu
• Becoming – Michelle Obama
August 2020
• The Darwin Affair – Tim Mason
• Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng
July 2020
• The Book of Joy – Dalai Lama & Desmond Tutu
• Educated: A Memoir – Tara Westover
June 2020
• Everything is F*cked – Mark Manson
• White Fragility – Robin Diangelo
May 2020
• The Library Book – Susan Orlean
• Beyond Anger – Thomas J. Herbin, Ph.D
April 2020
• Alexander Hamilton – Ron Chernow
February 2020
• Just Mercy • Bryan Stevenson
• Talking to Strangers • Malcolm Gladwell
January 2020
• The Great Believers • Rebecca Makkai
December 2019
• Armada – Ernest Cline
• Gulp – Mary Roach
November 2019
• Sapiens – Yuval Noah Harari
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck – Mark Manson
August 2019
• The Outsider – Stephen King
• Media Politics: A Citizen’s Guide – Shanto Iyengar
July 2019
• Atomic Habits – James Clear
• The Tattooist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris
• Believe Me – JP Delaney
June 2019
• Thinking Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
• Buddhism for Beginners – Jack Kornfield
No one said there’d be math: A cautionary tale
Math in the Real World No one said
Thoughts on the El Paso shooting
Putting aside how things are going to get better, and how that might be done, one thing is certain: El Paso will endure. Despite my relatively brief time in the area, I was struck by so many Pasenos’ endurance, internal steel and, yes, stubbornness -- traits seemingly required to live and thrive in often unforgiving landscape that is West Texas.
Courting Disaster – Vol. 1, No. 2
Welcome to the latest edition of Courting Disaster, your guide to the strange, off-beat and occasionally tragic civil filings in Miami-Dade County. This week we have (alleged) tales of woe about pernicious uncles, hangry security guards, foul tax preparers and a secret plot involving the CIA and a Miami Beach library. Let’s dig in!
Democratic debate watch party in Miami Beach
At about 9 p.m. Tuesday at Barceloneta in Miami Beach, the restaurant, crowded to near capacity with people watching the latest Democratic debate in Detroit, was interrupted by a series of yelps. Instead of a commentary on the current presidential candidates, the sound had emanated from Oliver, a service-animal Beagle. Approximately 60 people attended the event sponsored by the Miami Beach Democratic Club, the sequel to the debates that took place in Miami last month.
Solutions Journalism
The concept of Solutions Journalism is to focus on how an issue is being resolved rather than simply focusing on the issue itself. Much of impactful journalism is about a problem or a failure of someone (or something) in power to do the right thing. I use the word "impactful" because I want to differentiate it from more process-oriented pieces (e.g., dutifully reporting on a city council vote), entertainment news or commentary. Other synonyms might be "watchdog, "investigative" or "news analysis." The Solutions Journalism folks tend to call this type of piece "problems journalism."
Pink caskets and road trips
I'm writing this in the Admiral's Club in the O'Hare airport in Chicago, leg two of my July journeys. I spent most of last week in the Orlando area, talking to public records experts and journalism professors.
Courting Disaster – Vol. 1, No. 1
Welcome to the first edition of my newest writing project: Courting Disaster. This is based on a column I wrote for the San Francisco Examiner back in 2001 and 2002 of the same name that looked at the odd, offbeat and just plain strange lawsuits and other recently filed cases.
Public records in the Sunshine State
When I moved to Florida from California a bit more than three years ago, I was amazed by the difference in the public record laws. The Sunshine State has some of the most open laws in the nation. Surprisingly, though, this is not something that is formally taught at many journalism schools in the state, FIU included.
The power of habits
For better or worse, my reading list these days has been focused on the self-help variety. The latest has been "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. Though I have not finished the book, there are a few good ideas that I've picked up. One of them is something he calls "habit stacking," which is essentially adding something you want to start doing regularly into an already established routine.
PUBLISHED WORK (2018 – Present)
Broward/Palm Beach New Times
• Coral Springs Comics Shop Calls It Quits Even as D&D Thrives
Miami New Times
• Former FIU Journalism Professor Leaves Lasting Legacy of Empathy
• Dozens of People in Miami-Dade Have No Legal Name or Identity
• Miami Crew Braves Wind, Chill, and Rain to Win La TraverSeine Dragon Boat Race in Paris
• Snowbirds Vote for Klobuchar at Satellite Iowa Caucuses in Southwest Florida
Miami Herald
• Man spends more than 30 unpaid years tending to the dead at Miami Cemetery
Los Angeles Times
• Commentary: A long, bumpy ride along with the Parkland teens in search of gun reform
San Diego Union-Tribune
• Commentary: A shooting and a tax fraud scheme has me thinking about forgiveness
The Washington Post
• With Jacksonville canceled, can Trump win Florida?
Get updates about upcoming shows and published work
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