by Mark O'Brien | Jun 18, 2015
White is the new black. I don’t know yet if black is (or can be) the new white. (All things considered, why would black people want to be white anyway?) But I do know that seriousness — like empiricism — is a dying art. I wonder: Are we grateful that we have the...
by Mark O'Brien | Jun 17, 2015
For those who don’t know his work, Frederick Exley’s passing 23 years ago today will be as the great preponderance of the world’s myriad events — unknown, unseen, unremarked. For those of us who know and love his work, his passing marked the loss of...
by Mark O'Brien | Jun 16, 2015
I don’t know Jim Durbin. But I like him already. Anyone who would write this clearly, directly, and truthfully is a man after my own heart: Cut the crap. Learn to be honest and write honestly. Talk about steady work, opportunity for advancement, well-run...
by Mark O'Brien | Jun 15, 2015
When my sons were younger, I’d take them to a pediatric ophthalmologist, Dr. Mitchell, for their periodic eye exams. During one such visit, somewhere around the time of my 40th birthday, Dr. Mitchell handed me an article about the perils of radial keratotomy....
by Mark O'Brien | Jun 12, 2015
That whooshing sound you just heard was the biggest sigh of relief I’ve ever let out, spontaneously emitted after reading this: “State of Global Development: Why 2015 is a Pivotal Year for Ending Poverty”: The outcomes of this year will help...
