A Eulogy For My Father: All We Have Is Love

An hour or so ago, right as I sat down to write a post today, I got word that my father had passed away. (I apologize in advance if this post contains more information than you ever needed about my personal life.) Today, let me show you how weird people can get about love, and yet how precious it is for all the weirdness that erupts around it.

Interlude: Farewell to a Princess.

When I heard about Carrie Fisher’s heart attack, I was shocked–and very hopeful that she would survive despite the desperate circumstances around it. But instead, the news reported shortly afterward that she had in fact passed away. She joins a constellation of amazing, talented people that we have lost this year. For those who are maybe a bit young for her iconic starring turn in Star Wars, it’s hard to put into words just what she means for my generation–and what her role as Princess Leia Organa gave the world.

Election 2016: The Cult of Ideological Purity, Backfiring.

The whole reason that Trump came to power was that he tapped into the roaring, blazing rage of the Religious Right, and now the whole reason he is falling is that the Religious Right simply doesn’t hold the power that it once claimed. But the kind of people who still support him are also the kind of people who take a little longer to see the writing on the wall when there’s been a massive sea change in circumstances. Weirdly enough, the same attempted justification is being used by both his supporters and the defectors from his banner. It backfires both times.