Author: Neal Ross Attinson

Neal Ross Attinson is one of those text-compulsives who feels naked without a keyboard, or at least a a pad and pen. He is unafraid of adverbs, loves astronomy and gastronomy with equally unabashed passion, and lives with/in an eclectic library in Sonoma, California.

Video: “The Monk and the Rabbi”

SOUNDS LIKE A SETUP, BUT while the speakers are lighthearted (pun intended) their topic is both serious and joyful. Brother David Steindl-Rast of http://gratefulness.org and Rabbi Lawrence Kushner (http://www.rabbikushner.org/) talk shop: specifically, mysticism and religion, but in accessible terms. (They’re…

One Conversation

WE WERE DISCUSSING SYNAGOGUE FUNDRAISERS, and I suggested an egg toss. E. G., who knows who he is but may not want you to, looked at me with the sad seriousness of the ex-military and first responder. “Eggs aren’t for…

Listen Up

TODAY IS THE NATIONAL DAY of Listening, which, if you hadn’t heard — and I hadn’t until about five minutes ago, which saddens me because it’s such a neat idea and it’s in its third year — is dedicated to…

Accented Enlightenment

SO MANY OF OUR VERBAL surroundings are invisible to us; we live like blind fish in a sea of words. Two experiments to make the background pop out: 1. Try shifting the accent on multiword phrases; e.g., “Vanity Fair” turns…

Whence Snark?

SERIOUSLY — CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL me the advantage or otherwise positive aspect to snark? Because something can’t have so infested every aspect of our culture without it being good for something. Does it help make us more patient? Wise?…