Soundtrack for “Uncertainty Principles” Featuring Werner Heisenberg

The songs in the following imaginary soundtrack were chosen by the characters in Uncertainty Principles. The choices were  in no way unanimous — except for the bonus track, “Heisenberg Sings”, which is not to be missed. Track 1. “Dare to Believe” by Boyce Avenue “Don’t keep holding out while the innocent die.”   Track 2. “Closer

Things I Want My Niece to Know/Be/Do

There are some things we figure out the hard way, and maybe that’s what makes them meaningful. But if there is ever a chance for me to spare my niece some tears on her way to a full and happy life, then I will offer these bits of advice:   1) Push through the difficulties

Watching Baseball

I like to watch baseball, especially the post-season, for the suspense, of course, but also to see grown men with the excitement of little boys. It never fails to make me smile. Even in professional baseball, with the many millions of dollars in talent who have worked hundreds and hundreds of games, all the players–even

Crazy cat ladies and mad cows

Over the summer, I celebrated my birthday with a single cupcake and a can of tuna for my two cats. Shortly thereafter I read an article about how crazy cat ladies have a higher risk of suicide. After wondering if my tax dollars paid for that study, I became slightly alarmed. Does a person know

Animal Stories: Moose plus Music Soundtrack

The fifth and final installment of the video and music preview series for Reflections and Tails was supposed to be about moose. However, it was surprisingly difficult to find moose videos that appropriately captured their essence in the story, and the genre of moose music is meager at best. So, I decided instead I would

Animal Stories: Book Cover Revealed and Wolves

As promised, today we reveal the book cover!   Of course today’s music and video hints are all about wolves. The secret is out; they have many sides. So, starting with the fairy tales we know by heart, I take you back to the big, bad wolf of childhood then to the fine line between the

Animal Stories: Dads and Dude Ranches

This third set of video hints about the upcoming e-book (title to be revealed in the next post) is about horses. Or rather, it is about a particular human experience with horses, namely the dude ranch. The first 25-second video shows the ranch that my family visited when I was in high school, and it

Animal Stories: About Vampires?

Post #2 in the video/music hint series is about vampires. Well, vampire bats, anyway. They are cute, they are delicate, they are misunderstood. Just watch the first video of a bat grooming his ears like a cat and feel the “awwww” well up inside you. If that doesn’t do it for you, watch the second

Animal Stories: About Sheep

I am excited to be working with an artist on an illustrated e-book of animal stories for grown-ups, to be released early this summer. Stay tuned for the title and the book cover, but in the meantime, the series of posts to follow will feature animal-related music and videos that hint, however obliquely, at the

Everyday Utopia

My 6-year-old niece announced one day, “Whatever is good for Krista is good for everyone.” If only that were true…    – Everyone would know how to swing dance.    – We’d only say please and thank you and sorry when we meant it.    – Each political party would assume the other party is