Found Objects: Proof That Hell Awaits

Photo by John Griswold

 

 

A moving box (SMALL / PEQUEÑA), taped shut and cut open several times, is labeled with a Sharpie: LIBRARY / KNICKKNACKS / & Watches / & Dive Challenge Coins. Inside are journals, books, and a little wicker basket holding money from several countries, the…

Found Objects: Postcard to the War Department

Photo by John Griswold

 

A yellowed postcard was found recently on page four of an old edition of Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris, the top of which begins, as a continuation of the previous page, “Fools. On that day there was to be an exhibition of fireworks in…

Independence

Newt, a study in independence. Photo by John Griswold

 

 

Newt is an orange tabby that hangs out on the extensive bike trails in St. Louis’ Metro East. Chances are, if you are walking, running, or cycling in Newt’s territory and see a group stopped ahead, they are petting…

When the Sum Comes as Surprise

“Thinker on a Rock,” by Barry Flanagan, Wash U campus. Photo by John Griswold

 

One of the few syntheses available to us is that it is hard to know what we are until we are mostly formed. Others may spot aspects of us at a glance, the way civilians…

Hard Work and the Beholder

Photo by John Griswold

 

 

My sons and I were resting while it rained. I had asked them to help me demo a damaged deck, and while I ran the saw, they carried joists and deck lumber to the curb. We had only worked a couple of hours but…

Heat

An office building in downtown Lake Charles, LA, cooled by trailer-mounted units. Photo by John Griswold

 

 

Heat, like any form of power, can be beneficial or disastrous. The sun’s heat makes life possible, but 2020’s temperatures tied for the hottest year on record, which “suggests a swift…

Explained, Explained

Title card for one episode on Netflix

 

 

We have a one-and-done attitude in our house with Netflix. We tend not to binge; we just want something to relax with for half an hour or so after dinner before going on with the night.

That can be a challenge,…

Bo Burnham’s Inside: Anything and Everything, All of the Time

A recent meme made by @aborteddreams

 

 

“Welcome to whatever this is,” comedian Bo Burnham says, a few minutes into his new Netflix special. “It’s not gonna be a normal special, because there’s no audience and there’s no crew. It’s just me and my camera, and you and your…

Master Photographers’ Advice for All Creative People

Robert Capa and John Steinbeck, 1948, via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

I received a link last week to a 60-page PDF booklet called “Wear Good Shoes: Advice from Magnum Photographers.” It is worth a look.

Magnum is the photographers cooperative founded in 1947 by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George…

Of Revision

Photo by artistmac, Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

I had a piece to write, about the Mississippi. Flat shining basins, filled with river water made to slow its roll, lay on the other shore. I chose to write it because that stretch of river made me uneasy. Facing it, you know.…

Skip to content