At the very end of every Billy Joel concert I’ve seen, just as he leaves the stage for good, he throws a comment into the microphone, quick as a sucker punch* - ”Don’t take shit from no one.” I first assumed it represented a reaction to the tough life of performing, and/or advice from the “fatherly” side...
I grabbed this photo off the web, thanks to “asterisktom’s photostream” on Flickr. The heading states: 1967 or 1968, lower east side, Manhattan. I remember those days, and as time goes on the memories have taken on new meaning. Not just, oh what do you call it, melancholy or sadness for an era gone (for...
CARE answers the question. Escapees CARE Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (tax-exempt) corporation formed in 1992 and is under the guidance of a volunteer board of directors. Friends may offer to help, not realizing that a “little help” will become a need for extensive help with no end in sight. Is it fair to...
CAN SAVE THE WORLD – NOT Social networking – I recently (July 5, 2011) received an email purportedly from the CEO of friendster.com, announcing the sites new purpose in life now that others have taken over the social network business. One line states: “Friendster pioneered social networking…” I don’t know about that, really I...
I mean this literally – MY GOD IS: vacuum, time, and eyesight, as in sensate experience. God is what I don’t understand. I am not one of those who can say, “I know what God is.” I believe there are people who do feel they know God, and I can not address what someone...
Spoiler Notice! I haven’t seen this film, so I haven’t a clue what it’s about, other than what I see here in this promo – so, be forewarned, I have definite opinions that relate to almost nothing contained in this movie. You’ve been warned. I have been warned – my fate is...
In medical research the game of chance can be illustrated when comparing the (so-called) placebo effect with the normal cycle of disease. That is, if you run a test long enough, a positive placebo effect will most often line up with feeling OK in the normal progression of a disease – some days you feel better...
– An isolated place where people are segregated from the aristocracy or upper classes. That pretty much sums up the origin of the word, ghetto. As to motivations for creating or allowing ghettos to exist, one could argue political, social, and economic incentives – keep the undesirables under control, out of sight, and create economic dependencies either...
“I don’t know about you, but…” Well of course I don’t know about you, but as for me, I could easily trade Halloween in for another celebration, call it, “Mystery Day.” I like a fun day, as much as you perhaps, but as for me, Halloween has outlived its usefulness, contributing at least as...
Being single, I sometimes read a lot of online profiles, and many are on a site that eschews an environmentally aware status, that is, they are prominently “green.” This is a good thing, but I’m getting increasingly annoyed and baffled by many of the comments I read, sometimes plowed into one profile. Here is a quote from...
Take a simple idea – you’re going to get a haircut. Simple, common, everyday idea. Most, maybe not all, but most go outside to someone who performs this function professionally, and we pay them, and they take a mirror when done to show us the back, and we say, “Nice job,” and pay and...
Insulting, demeaning, degrading, humiliating - expressed, felt, interpreted, and reacted to in kind - radiated to and from all corners of the planet, all cultures, all societies, all eras. Insulting, and insulted, respecting no boundaries; the actions are offensive, defensive, blind, and universal. Las Vegas – the “ground zero” of surrealist cultural absurdity – now...
Hey, I mean well, but truthfully, I am busy - making a living, keeping a little hobby going so I don’t go mad while I’m looking for a reliable relationship. I barely have time to read a book, or spend time with friends, or… And, I’ve donated! To good causes. And I’m not being sarcastic...
Living sustainably – changing light bulbs, appliances, car, lowering and raising the thermostat, buying locally, taking mass transit (and of course, it’s going to take more than this). Survival – having a place to live, food to eat, water to drink, neighbors, or family, or government to help. I’m guessing, like so many...