My  name is J.W. Ocker. OTIS is a chronicle of my visits to the unusual ...oddities of nature, art, science, and culture. I also write books...

November 3, 2021 — I read my brother’s suicide note for the first time inside a chapel in Portugal made of human bones. I learned about his...

October 4, 2021— My wife had been at the fair for a good 20 hours when I and my two youngest daughters met her at the gate. She didn’t look ...

October 1, 2021 — It’s the day that I both love and loathe. October 1. I love it because now the season kicks into second gear. Or first gea...

September 30, 2021 — Anthony Bourdain sat here. Where I was sitting. Not the exact seat, but just down the short counter of this tiny diner ...