A penetrating and courageous television program from Germany opened me up recently. It was what Stefan Kolditz, who wrote the screenplay, called a "non-ideological access" to a tragedy. Not just their tragedy. My tragedy. Yours, too, maybe.

This is all about One Thing, and for me it's the core. It didn't take Melanchthon to teach it to me, nor Thomas Cranmer. No. It took Burton Cummings to teach me. And life. So Stand Tall; and for God's sake, don't do something foolish.

Well, the glass ceiling is finally breaking, and it's taking place right in front of our eyes. But Aretha's going to help us see the "Kehrseite", with a boost from wonderful Lesley Gore. "Come and See" (John 1:46).

Meister Eckhart, meet Burton Cummings. And Randy Bachman. And me.

"No use calling, 'cause the sky is falling, and I'm getting pretty near the end." This is in further explanation of (near-)death and its practical consequences for "Everyday People" (Sly & co.). Therefore...

It's getting bigger. Bigger, at least, from where I sit. The Contraption, I mean. And thank you, Karen Young! And thank you, Mike Francis! Episode 163 is dedicated to the Minister of Edits.

Thinking about Obamacare, the circular argument of the century, got me onto this. But it's not about Obamacare! It's about Reality. And Guess What?

That's Percy Bysshe Shelley, with a little help from Eric Burdon, and from B.T.O., and from John Harris Harper. And MAY this meditation on termination not be half-baked.

Our hero, again incarnated as the Queen of Thessaly, heads south, only to still find happiness.