Yeah, so, well… Want to help me out? This is a big ask. Click on the image below and it will take you to bookrix.com where you can read and vote for my short story “Two North”. You will need to sign up for a (quick, free) membership to do it. Please click through and read the story before voting. […]

I have an iTunes playlist of over 250 Christmas/holiday songs and some of my favorites are what I consider to be “out of the ordinary” — songs you won’t likely hear on the radio. Below are some of my favorites along with a brief review of each. Enjoy and here’s wishing a very Happy Holiday season to all my friends! […]

I wasn’t sure how to break THIS NEWS to my two dogs. [S]pecialists in sustainable living at Victoria University of Wellington, analysed popular brands of pet food and calculated that a medium-sized dog eats around 164 kilos (360 pounds) of meat and 95 kilos of cereal a year. Combine the land required to generate its food and a “medium” sized […]

To paraphrase Roberto Clemente (and Garret Morris), Michigan summers have been berry, berry good to us. For years now, my wife and I spend time each summer picking black raspberry, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, peaches and other fruits from Michigan’s wonderful summer bounty. Then, each fall we process them into homemade jams and yesterday was such a day. [All photos by […]

One of the things I am absolutely the most thankful for in my life is my mom. She’s passed now, taken by cancer and a short lifetime of living on the edge. Some of her story can be found at my blog Eclectacopia. “Two North” is a story about one Christmas when my mom was spending time on the psychiatric […]

Mrs. E and I spent all of last week in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We spent one night at the Blind Sucker Flooding State Forest Campground where we saw two bald eagles and a black bear. We spent three absolutely fabulous days backpacking on Grand Island, a National Recreation Area where we had a campsite right on the beach […]

Dang. It’s been a looo-ooong time since I posted. In the past 6 weeks I’ve been to British Columbia three times and to Edmonton, Alberta as well, usually for four days at a crack. That on top of household chores, our enormous garden and, for the first time in way too long, a social life, I haven’t had time to […]

Back in March, I posted a blog entry about a trip my wife and I took to our beloved Arbor Brewing Company on St. Patrick’s Day. Unbeknownst to me, it was picked up by a local online newspaper called The Ann Arbor Chronicle and was on their front page for several days under their “New Media Watch” section. I happened […]

It’s a bright sunny day in southeastern Michigan today. Yeah, we’re reeling from 12+% unemployment. Yeah, our automotive companies are the latest whipping boy for what’s wrong with the U.S economy. Yeah, our two biggest newspapers are not even delivering every day of the week anymore. But today, for one day (or hopefully TWO!), we’re putting that all aside to […]

My wife and I moved about two and half years ago to be nearer to Ann Arbor because it’s truly one of the most awesome Midwest towns. It combines the excitement of a university town with progressive liberal politics and sprinkles the whole thing with awesome restaurants, pubs, and places to shop. One of our favorite hangouts is the Arbor […]

Mrs. E has put together an AMAZING slideshow using her own photos (with a few of mine) and music and recordings we made during our trip. It’s 20 minutes long but I think you’ll enjoy it. Grab a beverage and enjoy… (Click the image below and it will take you to a new page where you’ll need to hit the […]