Musician ....+.... Author ....+.... Autism Dad.
I wrote this back in Sept 2009, but I have no reason to believe Kayne West or Congressman Joe Wilson have gotten more polite over the last four years. – R The world used to be a more civilized, more respectful, more courteous place. Now, extreme displays of public rudeness are becoming commonplace and an [...]
Congratulations to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on his primary day victory yesterday. Early into Christie’s first term, I predicted he’d be a one-and-done governor. But now it looks like he’ll easily win re-election this fall, and might even end up in the White House some day. People seem to like his style. Obviously, I [...]
I took our dogs out around 10 pm recently, and our Chihuahua started barking her head off. She stared at a spot beyond our fence, near the garbage cans. I couldn’t see anything…just shifting black shadows against a black background. And then I saw a dim patch of tan fur. I grabbed the Chihuahua under [...]
My son’s name is Rocco, but Conan the Destroyer would be more apt. The boy has an appetite for destruction, and he’s always hungry. Rocco’s autism is a factor in his destructive behavior. He often uses items in inappropriate ways, like raiding my wallet and using the credit cards in an origami display (the plastic [...]
I had the pleasure/confusion of sharing an elevator with Kurt Vonnegut in September 2005, about 18 months before he died. Here’s what happened … There was an old guy wandering around the lobby of the office building where I work in Manhattan. He looked vaguely familiar, but I didn’t place him until the desk clerk [...]
Hey, I wrote a novel. It’s called Hangman’s Jam, and it’s awesome, probably the best book ever written, and definitely the best book you will ever read. It’s packed with love, sex, death, murder, music, mayhem, and cosmic monsters. Check it out for yourself. I also published an article on why my debut novel sucks, [...]
Both of my kids had a delayed opening today due to two inches of slush. Wimpy! This was first published in June 2008 ,but it works just as well in March 2013. My cell phone rang just after 9:30 on Sunday night, as I was putting my son to bed. It was an automated message [...]
I originally published this column back in October 2010, but I was inspired to post it today by my friend’s Carmen Bastante’s creepy spider encounter. His body is the size of a quarter, fatter than a Concord grape, and with his legs extended he’s almost as big as a silver dollar. He’s unquestionably one of [...]
I had the pleasure/confusion of sharing an elevator with Kurt Vonnegut in September 2005, about 18 months before he died. Here’s what happened … There was an old guy wandering around the lobby of the office building where I work in Manhattan. He looked vaguely familiar, but I didn’t place him until the desk clerk [...]
Check out my new book! @ Smashwords @ Barnes & Noble @ Amazon You should buy this book. You should buy all my books.You should build a shrine to my books in your home. Then write positive reviews about them, and tell everyone you know — total strangers, even — about how awe-inspiring they are. [...]
Hot off the press … in November 1996! My review of Stephen King’s Desperation and Richard Bachman’s The Regulators.
My last column was about the demise of cursive writing, how many school districts are phasing out longhand in favor of teaching kids how to type on keyboards. I’ll begrudging admit it makes sense – everybody needs to know computer basics these days. But it got me thinking about other changes that are needed in [...]
I took our dogs out around 10 pm recently, and our Chihuahua started barking her head off. She stared at a spot beyond our fence, near the garbage cans. I couldn’t see anything…just shifting black shadows against a black background. And then I saw a dim patch of tan fur. I grabbed the Chihuahua under [...]