Archive for July 2010
Mired in hip-waggling and scat
My wife and I spent the evening listening to one of her former students, now a senior in college, perform with her jazz quartet. I left the bar mystified as to why anyone would want to be a jazz singer. This young lady was clearly talented and she and her quartet put on an outstanding…
Read MoreLacking less-than-vital information
There is a person named Lindsay Lohan and she is going to jail soon. I know that Lindsay Lohan is a famous person, but I do not know why she is famous. As far as I know, I have never seen her in a movie or on a television show or heard her sing a…
Read MoreOrgan swapping?
How about this for an idea? Every year thousands of people die waiting for kidney and other organ transplants. It’s tragic considering how many of us have an extra kidney just waiting to be transplanted. Even more tragic: Think about the number of perfectly good kidneys that are lost when patients die while waiting for…
Read MoreIt’s fine to be a slightly insane parent. Just don’t pretend that you’re not.
I have friends whose daughter slept in a tiny bed at the foot of their own bed until she was five years old. Today that little girl is eight years old and is finally sleeping in her own room, but it took a long time to get there. Probably not the best way to raise…
Read MoreThe world is slightly less interesting today
Scientists claim to have answered the question that has confounded philosophers for centuries: Which came first? The chicken or the egg? It was, they say, indisputably the chicken. A team from Warwick and Sheffield universities examined the formation of a chicken’s egg in microscopic detail and discovered that the shell was made from a protein…
Read MoreThe Vatican is nothing if not consistent
It’s the lack of consistency that often annoys me when it comes to religious tradition and belief. It most often occurs with the strict adherence to certain lines of Scripture that conveniently validate one’s personal beliefs while ignoring other line of Scripture altogether. Leviticus 18:22, for example, forbids homosexuality and is viewed as the infallible…
Read MoreThere is never a need to make Journey songs more accessible to children
This morning, I brought Clara to her gym class and was subjected to the musical styling of a Journey cover band that transformed classic songs such as Don’t Stop Believin’ and Any Way You Want It into dorky versions of the same song thanks to the addition of a oh-shucks-golly-gee-wilikers lead singer. Same words. Same…
Read MoreHow to write like a simpleton
One of the joyous aspects of becoming a published author has been watching people in my life take a crack at writing as well. If that idiot can do it, maybe I can do it. I agree. Today was an especially busy day in this regard. In the span of three hours, I met with…
Read MoreRumble seats?
The 1970’s were a strange time in America. Disaster movies were quite popular throughout the decade. Movies like Poseidon Adventure, Airport, and The Towering Inferno were well received by audiences and critics alike. But no movie was stranger than Earthquake, which was shown with Sensurroud, a series of large speakers and a 1,500 watt amplifier,…
Read More2007 was not a good year
2007 proved to be a hell of a tough year for me. As the clock struck twelve and 2007 passed into history, I recall kissing Elysha on a dance floor and sighing, “We survived.” Yes we did. But barely. The highlights from 2007 include: The death of my mother The disappearance of my brother (who…
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