Author Archives: paulefallon

About paulefallon

Greetings reader. I am a writer, architect, cyclist and father from Cambridge, MA. My primary blog, theawkwardpose.com is an archive of all my published writing. The title refers to a sequence of three yoga positions that increase focus and build strength by shifting the body’s center of gravity. The objective is balance without stability. My writing addresses opposing tension in our world, and my attempt to find balance through understanding that opposition. During 2015-2106 I am cycling through all 48 mainland United States and asking the question "How will we live tomorrow?" That journey is chronicled in a dedicated blog, www.howwillwelivetomorrw.com, that includes personal writing related to my adventure as well as others' responses to my question. Thank you for visiting.

First Kiss Girl / First Kiss Boy

Posted on 04/02/2019 by paulefallon

I woke this morning to the memories of first kiss; a rather pleasant way to greet the day. My first real kiss arrived unexpectedly in 1971. My family had recently moved to Oklahoma; I was invited to a party … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | Tagged first kiss, gay rights, kiss, men kissing | Leave a comment

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Posted on 03/26/2019 by paulefallon

If you take everything we know about good television and do the exact opposite, the result is Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Low resolution, cheap sets, slow pacing. Same holds for the recent documentary, Won’t You Be My Neighbor, similarly slow moving … Continue reading →

Posted in United States | Tagged Fred Rogers, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, self-esteem, Whitney Houston | 2 Comments

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Posted on 03/19/2019 by paulefallon

The longer I live, the less I understand religion. I don’t understand why humans crave order and answers so much that we proclaim as truths what are, at best, idealized fables; why we hate our fellow man and why we … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston | Leave a comment

If You’re Going to Steal our Title, at Least Give Us the Bucks

Posted on 03/12/2019 by paulefallon

According to Work + Money Magazine, six of the ten highest paid jobs of 2017 have one thing in common. That’s in addition to the fact that they are male-dominated techie-jobs with elusive descriptions that didn’t exist a generation ago. … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | Tagged Architect, Architect salaries, Money + Work | 6 Comments

Behind the Pane of Empty Storefronts

Posted on 03/05/2019 by paulefallon

Are you a Cambridge resident? Go online and vote for your favorite empty storefront art by March 8, 2019. __________ What do Americans buy with our affluence? Privacy. Single-family houses in gated communities, automobiles for every driver in the family, … Continue reading →

Posted in United States | Tagged ART, Cambridge MA, City of Cambridge, retail, street art, vacant storefronts | Leave a comment

Thanks to the Academy…

Posted on 02/19/2019 by paulefallon

This Sunday night, the Oscars will be broadcast across America, across the World. The Academy Awards are our cultural State of the Union. The annual pulchritude parade reflects our social and aesthetic coherence—and dissonance—by applauding achievement in that squiggly gap … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | Tagged 2019 Oscars, Academy Awards, Bob Hope, Brokeback Mountain, Crash, Hollywood, If Beals Street Could Talk, In the Heat of the Night, Kevin Hart, Mary Poppins, Midnight Cowboy, Mystic River, Oliver!, Oscar, Patton, Roma, The Artist, The Hours, The Sound of Music | 1 Comment

Sherlock’s Last Case: Holding a Magnifying Glass Up to Changing Theater

Posted on 02/12/2019 by paulefallon

Everybody was there. Actors, house managers, directors. Folks I’ve met in and around Boston theater over the past twenty years. So many theater insiders lent an expectant buzz to the Huntington Theater’s opening production of Sherlock’s Last Case. I wondered … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | Tagged Delicate Particle Logic, Flat Earth Theater, Huntington Theater, Jennifer Blackmer, Sherlock's Last Case, theater | Leave a comment

Roma Contrarian

Posted on 02/05/2019 by paulefallon

First impressions matter. When the camera finally pans up from the luscious opening visual of water on stone, more water on stone, even more water on stone; my imagination stirs at the wondrous places it might lift us up to. … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | Tagged Academy Awards, Cuaron, Mudbound, Roma | Leave a comment

In the Auto Zone

Posted on 01/31/2019 by paulefallon

My recipe for a happy life includes: giving no credence to Breaking News in the moment; being curious of all things natural, technical, and human; and finding humor, rather than fear, in the many things I do not understand. Therefore, … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | Tagged Auto Zone, car culture | Leave a comment

A Soft Landing: Social Insurance

Posted on 01/29/2019 by paulefallon

This is the twelfth essay in the series, A Soft Landing, which explores how we might achieve a more just, equitable society without violent revolution. As this series evolves, I ricochet between launching test balloons for specific ideas (new Constitution, … Continue reading →

Posted in A Soft Landing | Tagged insurance, Medicare, single payer system | Leave a comment