Dr Essai

Dr Essai

Essayist, photographer, walker, ciotóg.
Mar
15
Shame on you, Atticus Finch!

Shame on you, Atticus Finch!

The blue jay is a magnificent bird, the punk rocker of the feeder with its crest of blue feathers standing straight up on its head, brash and raucous as it takes the stage, loud as the Ramones.
2 min read
Mar
11
You’re good to go, Cortés; you too, John Winthrop

You’re good to go, Cortés; you too, John Winthrop

Viking raiders in the 8th and 9th centuries left no evidence that they ever bothered to rationalize pillaging the British Isles. Seven centuries later, something had changed.
4 min read
Mar
03
The book report for February 2023

The book report for February 2023

Or, seriously, Tao Te Ching twice? Lingering covid-19 symptoms, plus a new cold and possibly bronchitis, provided Dr Essai with
2 min read
Feb
27
G-L-O-R-EYE-EYE-EYE

G-L-O-R-EYE-EYE-EYE

Coiled in the 2:37 of that track was all the explosive energy and carnal appetite and wild joy that the grownups in charge had been trying to tamp down since Plymouth Rock.
4 min read
Feb
14
Happy break-a-tooth-on-a-hard-candy-heart day

Happy break-a-tooth-on-a-hard-candy-heart day

A Christian martyr named Valentine was executed around 270 CE by Emperor Claudius II Gothicus, despite having healed his jailer’s daughter of blindness. Talk about ingratitude.
2 min read
Feb
07
In the Reactocene, no one can hear you scream

In the Reactocene, no one can hear you scream

Dr Essai observes that digital technology, plus the tireless and unselfish work of cynical opportunists in politics and business, has ushered in a new social epoch.
5 min read
Feb
01
“He always has his nose in a book,” said his mother

“He always has his nose in a book,” said his mother

Nothing increases one's literary consumption like a coronavirus.
3 min read
Jan
26
We have all been there before

We have all been there before

In his 60s and 70s, David Crosby stared himself down, squared up to what he had become, got clean and as healthy as he was going to get, and forged the most artistically productive years of his life.
6 min read
Jan
18
Just an image and an explanation

Just an image and an explanation

Dr Essai’s amanuensis writes: It’s like this. I was away with my wife on a four-day road trip
1 min read
Jan
11
Grumps produce the best lists

Grumps produce the best lists

Whatever your age, the rest of your life is all you’ve got, so it’s worth thinking about. We embrace a core paradox: Though life has no intrinsic meaning, we can and should lead meaningful lives. If you have any hope of living a meaningful adult life, the one vital question is, “How do I live?”
4 min read