The Practical Utopian

How the Dems Lost It

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 17:00 PDT

Everyone else already seems to have taken a crack at explaining how the Democrats lost so thoroughly in our last national elections — and what they need to contemplate by way of course correction — so I guess it must be my turn to weigh in.

An Appreciation for Desperados Under the Eaves

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 16:00 PST

I’ve been wondering lately why I’ve never written an appreciation for any of Warren Zevon’s songs. It’s certainly not that he didn’t give us many great tracks to choose from. Upon reflection, perhaps it’s because he wrote so many compact little gems that it’s hard to pick just one. Whatever the reason, this song of his has been haunting me lately, so it’s time to correct the omission.

A Note For Posterity

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 17:00 PDT

As one gets on in years, their thoughts turn somewhat naturally to whatever bits of wisdom they might want to document and leave behind for the edification of future generations: you know, so that all these years of living and reading and pondering might not have been in vain.

An Appreciation for Step by Step

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 17:00 PDT

I’ve been a fan of Jesse Winchester’s for a long time, but hadn’t really paid much attention to this gem until I stumbled across it a few days ago. It’s a fine addition to Winchester’s small but accomplished set of songs about god and religion.

An Appreciation for Ring Them Bells

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 17:00 PDT

This is a gem of a Dylan song: not a big, gaudy rock, but a modest yet finely wrought masterpiece. I find Dylan’s original version to be a bit slow and somnolent, but the song comes alive for me when I hear Sarah Jarosz sing it.

Five Takeaways from the First 2024 Presidential Debate

Thu, 27 Jun 2024 17:00 PDT

Everyone’s got their opinions about the debate last night, so I suppose I may as well share mine.

Some Hard Truths About Human Population Growth

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 17:00 PDT

From one billion to eight billion in two hundred years. Is it really sustainable for our planet to try to support so many people?

Reflections on the Christian Message

Sun, 03 Dec 2023 16:00 PST

As I’ve confessed on previous occasions, I don’t really think of myself as a Christian, although I was raised by at least one parent who was a reliable Methodist for most of her life. But I’ve been reflecting on the Christian message recently, and since Christmas is approaching, I suppose there’s no better time of year for this sort of contemplation. When I think of the overarching message of Christ, three central concepts stand out for me.

An Appreciation for They All Laughed

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 17:00 PDT

I first heard this song as part of the soundtrack to a movie with the same name, made by Peter Bogdanovich in 1981. The movie is worth watching, if you like quirky (as I generally do), but it was the song that stuck with me. This was really my introduction to the songs of George and Ira Gershwin, with George supplying the music, and brother Ira providing the lyrics.

Managing Our Identity Stacks

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 17:00 PDT

While reading David R. Samson’s book Our Tribal Drive I came across a new concept, called an identity stack. This seems to be a really useful way to think about our identities, and how they are constructed.

A Universal Improvement Process

Fri, 12 May 2023 17:00 PDT

These are the elements of a generalized improvement process, integrating components of natural selection, the scientific method and various disciplines for product and process improvement.

Keeping to the Cackle with AI

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 17:00 PDT

Producing speech that sounds meaningful but has no genuine thought behind it is nothing new – humans have been doing this for years, without any help from newfangled chatbots.

The Four Essential Attributes of any Organization

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 16:00 PST

In order to survive and thrive, any organization must possess the following four characteristics: Identity, Integrity, Differentiation, and Profitability.

Schembechler, Bacon and Leadership

Sun, 05 Feb 2023 16:00 PST

I have a leadership video I’d like to share with you. And then I’d like to point out several valuable leadership lessons to be gleaned from this entertaining tale of a fiery confrontation between famed football coach Bo Schembechler and one of his student athletes, as recounted by award-winning raconteur John U. Bacon.

An Appreciation for Train to Birmingham

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 16:00 PST

Southerner Thomas Wolfe, in his book You Can’t Go Home Again, wrote about our inability to travel back in time and return to our origins. John Hiatt seemed to have had much the same sentiments in mind when he penned his song “Train to Birmingham.”

Thank God for Elon Musk!

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 16:00 PST

Many people had gotten used to thinking of Twitter as a sort of public space, a digital town square where every reasonable person could find their own soapbox, and perhaps even a few people to stop and listen to them once in a while. But then Musk came along.

Why Inflation Will be Hard to Contain

Sun, 11 Dec 2022 16:00 PST

After staying at a pleasantly ignorable level for years, inflation is once again making headlines. And so the pundits and talking heads are falling over each other trying to explain what’s going on. But I still think most of them have a hold of the wrong end of the stick.

An Appreciation for Whenever Kindness Fails

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 16:00 PST

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this song by Robert Earl Keen first recorded by Joe Ely for his Love and Danger album, released in 1992. This is a song about the importance of showing care to others, through our words and our deeds. And about the implacable consequences of failures to do so.

The MAGA Bubble Finally Bursts

Sat, 12 Nov 2022 16:00 PST

Back on 7 Apr 2021 I wrote a piece titled “The Decline of the Republican Party - First Gradually and then Suddenly.” Well, for those who haven’t been paying attention lately, the suddenly part has now finally arrived. So what will the Republicans do now? They face a number of significant challenges.

An Overdue Update from The Practical Utopian

Sun, 09 Oct 2022 17:00 PDT

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted anything from The Practical Utopian, so I thought it might be time to give everyone an update on what I’ve been up to over the last couple of months, including: updates to my Mac App Notenik, the new website LexiconOfSong.org, and the reborn site PortableWisdom.org.