Category Archives: Uncategorized

So Many Words

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Jim Blackwood Jr

When I finished my 40th noclock.org essay, I did the math. Authors work in word counts not pages. I had written a total of almost 50,000 words. Yikes, that’s a lot of words. I wondered what that really meant. Google told … Continue reading →

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The Chief

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Jim Blackwood Jr

The tiny round table was already overloaded with 6 empty beer bottles.  She had waved away the offer of glasses.  We met at the little bar beneath the office tower where I was currently robbing an insurance company as a … Continue reading →

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Voting from the Middle

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Jim Blackwood Jr

The mailman just delivered our property tax bill and mail-in ballots.  With my larger project well underway, this inspires me to take a pause and consider the mid-term elections.   A few years into my time working in Portland City … Continue reading →

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Many Nights at the Ballpark

Posted on August 19, 2018 by Jim Blackwood Jr

I have seen 21 live baseball games this season.  16 Pickles games.  4 Major League games and 1 minor league game.  The season isn’t over but I have most likely seen my last live game for the summer.  The local … Continue reading →

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Where Are You From? Two Houses

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Jim Blackwood Jr

  While the memory of such things can be tricky, I have lived in 14 different places.  West coast to east coast.  Up and down the Pacific coast.  I think this fluidity of movement is a very American thing.  I … Continue reading →

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Why Helsinki Will End Trump’s Long Con

Posted on July 17, 2018 by Jim Blackwood Jr

Watching Trump’s news conference with Putin yesterday the last lines of Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” came to mind. “…you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the … Continue reading →

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The Chair — How We Decide Our Politics

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Jim Blackwood Jr

  Tell me where someone gets their information and I can tell you what they think.   Well, maybe not what they think, but how they think.  When you turn on the radio, what station comes on?  When you fire … Continue reading →

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A Family History — In Cars

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Jim Blackwood Jr

I am a gearhead.  I love cars.  I like to drive fun cars.  I like to read about cars.  I have subscriptions to 2 car magazines.  (Actual magazines.)  I like to see cars go fast.  I love the sound of … Continue reading →

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Anthony Bourdain: The Traveling Brother I Never Met

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Jim Blackwood Jr

I don’t do celebrity but I did Anthony Bourdain.  His death by suicide this morning was a gut punch.   Like most folks, I met him via his book Kitchen Confidential.  He immediately seemed like a fellow traveler.  Punk as an … Continue reading →

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Mozy Revisited: Learning From Our Blind Dog

Posted on June 5, 2018 by Jim Blackwood Jr

Sally and I were crushed when our golden collie mix Mozy lost her sight.  It was a strange process from thinking she had a problem with her legs to realizing her eyes were failing.  There is more than a little … Continue reading →

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