lathe of heaven

Children being born today will inherit a very different planet from the one we have known throughout history.  The way things are going, the change they will see in their lifetimes won't be intelligently managed or even curtailed.  It will…

A while back, I read about something called a panopticon. It's a kind of building that could be used as a prison or other institution. 

Imagine rooms - cells - arranged to create the outside wall of a circular building…

Lathe of Heaven sounds religious doesn't it?  And it is, sort of.  Vaguely.  Well, almost entirely unlike religion as it turns out.  To explain... 

A favourite novel of mine is The Lathe of Heaven, by Ursula Le Guin.  While writing…

Now for one of the good guys. 

A while back, I stumbled on an extraordinary story on the BBC's 'Food Program'.  It told of an engineer, a New Yorker called Mott Green, who moved to the Caribbean island of Grenada…

So here's one of the main villains of the piece. 

There's a type of person who is without conscience, but who understands very well what comforts people, and what they'll pay good money to hear.  They present themselves as respectable…

I suppose this song is an epilogue to The Sibylline Books. 

I was thinking a about all the expressions in the English language using animals as a metaphor.  Wolves at the door, elephant's memory, eagle eyes, busy as a bee…

According to legend, Tarquinius - a pre-Christian-era king of Rome, once had a fairly disastrous haggle with a prophetess - or Sibyl, when he wanted to buy nine scrolls of precious wisdom from her.  She named a price, which he…

A while back, on the peer at Santa Monica, I saw the most useless puppeteer ever. I felt sorry for the marionette being dragged around, getting his legs tangled up. He and the puppeteer weren't making much of an impact…

Over the last few years, it's become clear to me that many people aren't interested in what's true.  What they're interested in is believing things that make themselves feel good.  This song is about those people.

Folks have the right…

When you're young, you learn about falling in love.  The resultant elation and/or despair is usually the most powerful thing that has happened to you up to that point, so it's not surprising that if you write songs, that's what…