The entire history of the Universe, every tumultuous, chaotic, and serendipitous event from the Big Bang to the present has led to this moment, a moment where you are now reading these words. Should you decide to leave a comment, please be nice. The Universe has been known to get cranky.
Friday, May 14, 2021
Darren or Darin
That awkward moment when while watching 1960s movies you realize that James Darren and Bobby Darin are two different people, a confusing parallel given that both men starred in movies with singer and actress Sandra Dee, who in real life was married to Bobby Darin.
Thursday, May 13, 2021
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Thursday, May 6, 2021
Avoid Quick Fixes
Most problems have a root cause that is simple but challenging to resolve. Real improvement requires effort.
Human nature tries to avoid strain. We look for a more efficient path to a solution, a quick fix. Entire industries are built around the promise a quick fix.
Dissatisfied with your golf score? Buy new clubs. Not thrilled with the photos that you’re taking? Upgrade your phone or buy new lenses for your camera. Unhappy with your social life? Buy new clothes or cosmetics. Download the latest dating app. Schedule a Botox injection, even if you’re in your twenties.
A new purchase might bring you some satisfaction, and that’s wonderful. Enjoy the boost. But if it doesn’t address the root cause of your challenges, eventually you’ll be disappointed, and you’ll be tempted to spend more money on more stuff.
Think about it. If buying things made people happy, wouldn’t everyone be happy?
If you are struggling to meet an objective that is important to you, resist the temptation of quick fixes. Identify what’s holding you back, realizing that it’s probably something simple, and put a plan into place to address it.
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
A Tawdry Limerick
A Tawdry Limerick
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Please do not read this if you are easily offended!
If you proceed despite this warning, don’t blame me!
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I was asked by a gun-toting preacher
To become the new Sunday school teacher
The interview with his wife
Was the best of my life
That woman is one horny creature!
The Enduring Lesson Of Star Wars
The enduring lesson of Star Wars is that great power resides in the darkest impulses of humanity, power that can be overcome only through tireless and courageous dedication to higher ideals.
May the Fourth be with you!
Sunday, May 2, 2021
Trans Fat
Transsexual athlete and candidate for governor Bruce Jenner wants to ban trans kids from participating in sports. I haven’t seen such hypocritical self-loathing since I watched Senator Tim Scott speak on Wednesday.
East Germany
I know someone who escaped from East Germany in the 1960s. - This is someone that I know personally, not some vague anecdotal reference. - She and her family were granted permission from the government to visit relatives in West Germany for a weekend. They were not permitted to take anything of value with them, no money, jewelry, family heirlooms, not even photographs. If they had tried to carry valuables out of East Germany, they authorities would have suspected that they were planning to defect. They were only permitted to carry out clothing and essentials for a weekend stay.
Further, they could not say goodbye to friends, neighbors, or associates. They had to pretend that they would be returning in a few days. If they had given any hint that they might not return, their neighbors would have picked up on it and informed the authorities, in which case their permission to travel would have been revoked.
This is what life was like behind the Iron Curtain. People were encouraged to spy on one another. If you suspected that one of your neighbors was going to sneak off to the freedom of the West, it was your duty to inform the police. If you knew and took no action, you, too, would get into trouble.
Keep this context in mind as read the following paragraph. Think about the horror of living in a place where neighbors are encouraged to spy on one another, where any hint of noncompliance with draconian government policies would put you into legal jeopardy.
This past week, a popular host of a Fox opinion program encouraged his viewers to confront anyone they saw wearing a mask. He suggested that they walk up to the person with the mask and demand that they remove it. The host suggested that this was necessary in order to “reclaiming the life we once knew.”
The host wasn’t finished. He made an even more dangerous suggestion about children. He claimed that having children wear a mask was “child abuse” - his exact words - and suggested that if you see children wearing masks in public, it was your duty to “call the police or child services” in order to report the parents, “and keep calling until someone shows up.”
Authoritarian communist control of East Germany ended three decades ago, but I’m sure that some of the administrators of that regime are still alive. Imagine their delight at watching a prominent political opinion personality in the United States suggest that Americans spy on one another, Iron Curtain style, and “call the authorities” on their neighbors. Because that’s what authoritarians do. It’s not what people do in a free and democratic society.
Pro Life
Former VP Mike Pence criticized the Biden Administration for “abandoning the right to life.” Think about that. The administration that ignored a global pandemic, whose ineptitude and callous disregard for human life resulted in the deaths of half a million American citizens, criticized the administration who saved countless lives by making vaccine distribution their highest priority.
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