The Passion of Christopher Pierznik

There Is No Debate: LeBron James Is the NBA Player of the Decade

On Christmas day, The New York Times published an editorial in which it asked some of its sportswriters who the NBA’s best player of the decade was and the nod went to Stephen Curry.

While the Times conceded the only other possibility was LeBron James, Curry won “in a landslide.”

My Very Best Writing of 2019

Is it really going to be 2020?

The Ten Words That Changed My Life

For the first time in my career, I wa s f ailing.

Personality Over Policy: An American Tradition – "The Problem of Democracy" Reviewed

Of all the hand-wringing about our current state of politics, a major complaint is that today’s voters choose personality and attitude over policy and ability. However, students of history know that this has been the case for centuries in America, almost from its inception.

A Dream Shattered

It’s after 1 a.m. on a Saturday night/Sunday morning and while I’m ostensibly doing work for a class I’m taking, I can’t stop thinking about a phone call I received today. The bottle of wine I just finished is helping with the deep reflection, just FYI.

A Perfect Moment in an Imperfect Life

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”
— Emily Brontë

As a parent and homeowner, it can be difficult to not become a slave to tasks.

“On Writing” for the Hip-Hop Culture: Rakim’s “Sweat the Technique” Reviewed

In most cases, progress and evolution happen slowly, over a period of time marked by small, incremental changes. Occasionally, however, a seismic shift occurs and a culture transforms overnight.

That is what happened in 1986 when a young man with a voice that sounded like it was from outer space came in the door and changed the game forever with “Eric B. Is President,” the first single from Eric B. & Rakim. The latter half of that duo was still in high school when he introduced a “new era of rhyme style” with complex internal rhymes full of multisyllabic words and a relaxed, composed delivery that was more conversational than shouting.

It was a new day in hip-hop.

I Approach Writing the Same Way the Coen Brothers Approach Movies

What genre of films do the Coen brothers make?