The maladied interpreter (also published on the New America Media blog)
While listening to Jhumpa Lahiri’s collection of short stories on my IPod, I could relate to Mr. Kapasi, the Indian interpreter/driver protagonist, in The Interpreter of Maladies. Mr. Das is driving an Indian-American family visiting Konarak, India. He finds out that Mrs. Das, his [...]

Though Amtrak doesn’t have a stellar reputation, I am Santa Barbara bound tomorrow on the Pacific Starlight. After doing a carbon calculation, I realized how bad my frequent flying is to the environment. I bought carbon offsets and thought I’d try the train to Southern California instead of flying. I will spend the night tomorrow [...]

“Nostalgia is not what it used to be”
This is the title of Simone Signoret’s autobiography. I’ve never read it. But, I’ve always liked the title. It came to mind today as I was thinking about the books I had donated to the library and how happy I am to be getting rid of momentos and [...]

In an effort to get into shape and lessen my impact on global warming, I went to get a new bike today. I’ve been shopping for one for a while. Having been out of town for a little over a week, I came home tired of moving around by airplane and changing locations and time [...]