By David Himmel

• Come on. We all knew Alec Baldwin had it in him to accidentally shoot someone. The tragedy far outweighs the surprise. 

• An unfinished manuscript can haunt you like a ghost. An unpublished book can devour your brain like a hungry zombie.

• If you’re having a bad morning, turn on anything by the band America. America makes everything better. The band, I mean. The country, well, we saw what happened with Afghanistan.

• If I consumed books the way I consume podcasts I’d be a much better writer. Although, consuming podcasts like I do hasn’t made me a better listener.

• That most democrats are so committed to giving a diplomatic position to disgraced former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel—a famously celebrated anti-diplomat—says everything you need to know about the Democratic Party. They are big on cronyism, have little regard for character, and could not care less about We the People. Just ask Sen. Tim Kaine. You remember Sen. Kaine… the guy we almost elected to be our vice president; the feckless weirdo brought on to the Hillary ticket so she could install her own crony to run the DNC to ensure a win that never came.

• The passing of time breeds anxiety. But the ticking of a clock calms me down.