Local Competency Restoration
As humans we are hardwired to quickly detect when another person’s behavior appears outside the norm. It’s an aspect of human intuition…
Thanks for Nothing, Hippies
In the interest of full disclosure, yes, I was a hippie, and yes, I was at Woodstock. I’ve spent most of the…
My Grandmother’s Tercel
The last car my grandmother bought herself was a new 1984 Toyota Tercel. I thought it was too small and an ugly…
Dorothy Parker in New York
During my first trip to New York, just as if I had been a Syrian arriving in Nero’s Rome, it was necessary…
The 1906 SF Earthquake & Fire
In the spring of 1906 I was finishing my junior year at the University of California at Berkeley. I was living on…
A Whale of a Time on the California Coast
“Save the Whales!” Who hasn’t heard the cry that’s now timelier than ever before? It’s not only the commercial hunting of whales…
Do You Have A Mission?
“Do you have a mission?” He startled me with his point-blank question. I had just entered the room. As part of my…
Dr. Pace Lands in Lake County
Last week former Mendocino County Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace accepted Lake County’s offer to fill its equivalent public health position on…
Learning Curve
[Ed note: We were saddened to learn that our long-time correspondent, Bruce Brady, died on Wednesday, July 17th, at a care home…
Hiking the Burns
In late July I spent four days backpacking in the Marble Mountains, entering the wilderness at the Haypress Meadow trailhead. Getting to…
I Am the Target of a Hate Group & You Might Be, Too
Last month I wrote an article about the 1970s group, Weather Underground, which was published in Tablet magazine. It prompted a response…
Paul Krassner Dead at 87
The tabloid he founded in the 1950s, The Realist, violated every taboo. If you discovered Mad in your early teens, at 17…