Mark Pahlow is currently an adherent of Epicurus, seeking freedom from annoyance and ataraxia. This is not going very well for him. If you have any suggestions, email him at the link below.
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A Tribute to a Scoundrel: Pope Brock’s “Charlatan”
By Mark Pahlow
Posted in Stories and Appreciations on 3 June 2010
Stats: 1,121 views and No Comments

Once, a man named John Brinkley became very rich and famous for transplanting goat testicles into thousands of men. Even the most amazing parts of his story are true.

Guadalajara Jack and the Ghosts of the Spanish Kitchen
By Mark Pahlow
Posted in Stories and Appreciations on 16 February 2010
Stats: 716 views and 1 Comment

What was it that made Fairfax a vortex of such characters? Was it the food, the bookstores, the music, or the presence of ghosts?

Remembering Fairfax: Dachau Survivors, Bob Dylan and Falafel
By Mark Pahlow
Posted in Stories and Appreciations on 9 February 2010
Stats: 1,130 views and 3 Comments

For about five years during the 1970s, a square mile of earth in Hollywood, CA., centered around North Fairfax Avenue between Beverly and Melrose, saw an amazing confluence of people passing through.

The Root of Archie McPhee
By Mark Pahlow
Posted in Stories and Appreciations on 11 November 2009
Stats: 1,263 views and 5 Comments

Having been born and raised in Ohio, I understand boredom in a profound way. In 1963, the two most exciting things in my life were my $3.98 “Made In Japan” transistor radio with a fake leather case and Whitey, my albino hamster.

The Day of Seattle’s Parking Triffids
By Mark Pahlow
Posted in Seattle on 21 September 2009
Stats: 1,171 views and 4 Comments

One by one, the streets of Seattle are falling under alien influence. Along with robotic red-light cameras at key intersections around Seattle and around the nation, we are now faced with an invasion of robotic computer parking machines, reminiscent of Triffids.

The City of Seattle is Committing Red Light Robbery
By Mark Pahlow
Posted in Seattle on 24 August 2009
Stats: 3,826 views and 10 Comments

The role of government should not be to bleed us dry, but to deliver critical services with integrity. Yet as you read this, private companies are approaching city governments with offers they can’t refuse.

Kojak Didn’t Love Me
By Mark Pahlow
Posted in Stories and Appreciations on 3 August 2009
Stats: 1,735 views and 4 Comments

The year 1974 was a year of anxiety for me: the draft lottery, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal and my traumatizing encounter with Telly “Kojak” Savalas.