NOTES TO CARL | LESSONS IN MEDIOCRITY
Randy Seaver, a grumpy old guy, offers advice to his grandson and howls at the moon
I am a journalist, and I love making lists. So, it should come as no surprise that I woke up at 3:30 a.m. yesterday with the idea that I should make a list of my favorite journalists – people who have inspired me, people I have worked with and even people I have worked for.
“So I turned myself to face me But I've never caught a glimpse How the others must see the faker I'm much too fast to take that test” -- David Bowie, Changes (1971) Today – almost 44 years later – I still enjoy telling the story about the first time something that I wrote was … Continue reading A Change Will Do You Good
I think Stephen King would probably agree with me when I say that the very best horror stories are the ones that are based on a true story. Despite my childhood proclivity for lying, the story you are about to read is, unfortunately, true. It happened on a very hot day in the summer of … Continue reading Angels and Demons: The best lie I ever told
Over the just the past few days, two journalists have reached out to me in order to criticize some things I’ve said on social media. Ted Cohen, a former and respected reporter from the Portland Press Herald, and Ed Pierce, now the editor of the weekly Windham Eagle, both think I need some guidance. Cohen … Continue reading Stop Making Sense: the birth and resurrection of a monster in Biddeford
Not too long ago, a very well-known and respected Boston Globe columnist opined that there are some good reasons why a growing number of Americans no longer “trust the media.” In his Nov. 29, 2022 opinion column, Jeff Jacoby pointed to a recent Gallup report, which revealed that just one out of three Americans claimed … Continue reading Achtung, Baby
NOTES TO CARL | LESSONS IN MEDIOCRITY 