[...] if I asked you about art you could give me the skinny on every art book ever written… Michelangelo? You know a lot about him I bet. Life’s work, criticisms, political aspirations. But you couldn’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You’ve never stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling. And if I asked you about women I’m sure you could give me a syllabus of your personal favorites, and maybe you’ve been laid a few times too. But you couldn’t tell me how it feels to wake up next to a woman and be truly happy. If I asked you about war you could refer me to a bevy of fictional and non-fictional material, but you’ve never been in one. You’ve never held your best friend’s head in your lap and watched him draw his last breath, looking to you for help. And if I asked you about love I’d get a sonnet, but you’ve never looked at a woman and been truly vulnerable. Known that someone could kill you with a look. [...]
Robin Williams as Sean, in the movie “Good Will Hunting”

Elsewhere:

Whose essay is it anyway?--This is more like a spec for essays, in software-speak, and you'll find as you read through this (if you read through this), that I'll keep stepping in and out of describing a good essay [...]

Fighting comment spam--After an hour of cleaning up comment spam, I've installed reCAPTCHA. From the website: A CAPTCHA is a program that can tell whether its user is a human or a computer. You've probably seen them — [...]

A theory of Potterdom--You can't escape it, can ya? It's like potholes on Indian roads--all over the place. And you'll run into one whether you like it or not, whether you see it or not, whether you approve [...]

Talentless and soporific--What does a talentless, soporific New Age writer do when he realizes he is all three? Simple: he points elsewhere. Abnormal Returns: I'm not a fan of talentless, soporific New Age writers who point somewhere else, [...]

Living the 24 hour day--Long, long back (it does not matter when), I read this book by Arnold Bennett called How to Live on 24 Hours a Day. Some snippets: We go to the theatre and laugh; but between [...]