It still astounds me that a gruesome, haphazard series of killings ordered by a short, racist, hustler convict is, to this day, THE seismic cultural event in the whole history of Los Angeles. I’ve always though the notion that it was some biblically (by way of The Beatles) inspired attempt to start a race war was largely bullshit, peddled by a smug prosecutor out for fame, and is likely why the deaths of those seven people still loom like a…

“Darling, please, we need the rug…”

The reality about tradecraft is that it is more about people in dark rooms talking, thinking, and manipulating than it is globe trotting in Aston Martins with a gleaming Walther PPK in hand, seducing sacrificial femme fatales in the name of national security. Carrying out the morally questionable business of state is often hushed, dispassionate, and about everything below the surface. Lying is sanctioned in the name of a greater good, and loyalty is…

In high school you’re always looking for places to hide. For an introvert, everything and everyone felt like they were gonna eat me alive, so coloring within the lines was not a real survival strategy. I did my best to blend in anywhere, a kind of public education Zelig, and was able to make friends in a lot of different groups without exposing myself too completely to any single one of them. It was more in my writing and creative…