The basis of any spiritual system is the recognition of something greater than yourself: something beyond you that also includes… Read more The Existence of a Higher Power
Author: Rick
My life-long passion is in the arts: music, theater, visual arts, and literature. I graduated from Cal Arts in 1985 with a degree in music composition. After a career in Human Resources with the AIDS Project Los Angeles and as a parish minister for Unitarian Universalist churches in the Los Angeles area, I retired in 2025 and pursued my artistic work: drawing, painting, composing, and creative writing.
Sergei Prokofiev: A Biography
Sergei Prokofiev: A Biography, by Harlow Robinson I’m always happy to read books recommended by friends. This is a book… Read more Sergei Prokofiev: A Biography
Hello, Again!
This morning I’ll say, “Hello” for the first time to most of you. But we already know each other in… Read more Hello, Again!
Playing the Palace
Playing the Palace by Paul Rudnick Paul Rudnick is perhaps best known for his 1993 play, Jeffrey, and for writing… Read more Playing the Palace
Ready, Set…
I’m excited to get started with this new (for me) ministry with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Kern County. Though… Read more Ready, Set…
Galapagos
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut After I recently re-read Slaughter-House Five, I shared that I had read all of Vonnegut’s early… Read more Galapagos
Hemingway Short Stories
The Hemingway Stories by Ernest Hemingway, selected and introduced by Tobias Wolff I am embarrassed by how little Hemingway I… Read more Hemingway Short Stories
2021
Eustace Chisholm and the Works
Eustace Chisholm and the Works by James Purdy Jonathan Franzen wishes you would read this novel. In a speech in… Read more Eustace Chisholm and the Works
Malcolm
Malcolm by James Purdy I’ve been hearing about James Purdy for years. An American author, born in Hicksville, Ohio in… Read more Malcolm