• A republic, if you can keep it

    A republic, if you can keep it

    Donald Trump didn’t get the memo. After weeks of Republican complaints about violent political rhetoric on the Left in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, he fired off a Truth Social post with an AI-created video showing himself wearing a crown, flying a fighter jet emblazoned with the phrase “KING TRUMP” on it, and bombing…

  • John and his Ajax

    John and his Ajax

    Is it a euphemism or slang?  I think it is both.  We are naturally averse to talking about bodily functions in polite company.  So we employ euphemisms that say what we need to say without coming right out and saying it.  Nowhere is this more true than with #1 and #2, or “wee wee” and…

  • Lorem ipsum

    Lorem ipsum

    I began my senior year at St. Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge, CA, as the editor-in-chief of the school’s yearbook.  Being more of a writer, and yearbooks being more visual (pictures and all), I had wanted to be on the school newspaper, which had a very clever name.  Our sporting teams were called…

  • A plug for Matt

    A plug for Matt

    Modern life is nothing less than amazing. Take a look around the room you’re sat in right now. You are surrounded by more technology than accompanied Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon! I think that is remarkable. But one thing that is undeniable is these wonderous things which make our lives…

  • Learning something new every day

    Learning something new every day

    It is said you should learn something new every day. And I really believe that. At 59, I’ve been retired for 19 years, so I have a lot of time on my hands, and I try to make some kind of productive use of it rather than sit around and watch television all day. What…

  • It’s only Tylenol!

    It’s only Tylenol!

    I don’t want to mislead you with that title.  This post is not about autism.  The Buffoon-in-Chief, flanked by his Secretary of Health and Human Services (Bobby Brain Worm) and the head of Medicare/Medicaid (TV’s Doctor Oz), declared that taking Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism.  It does not.  I am not a doctor or a…

  • Show me the money

    Show me the money

    To be honest, I begin this post in somewhat of a quandary. I know where I want to get with it, but as I gave that some thought, it occurred to me that many people do not understand the difference between a “head of state” and a “head of government,” and so I should touch…

  • Directing Traffic

    Directing Traffic

    “Hollywood” as an industry goes through cycles.  Of course, you have the big studios which each have the facilities to complete an entire television show or film “in house.”  But economic conditions sometimes dictate outsourcing to specialty studios that can often provide work at a more cost-effective price point.  It was during one of these…

  • A Sisyphean Reflection

    A Sisyphean Reflection

    This may seem counterintuitive, but I don’t like to stand out in a crowd.  I’d much rather just blend in, be one of the guys, and enjoy a kind of social anonymity.  I don’t want to be in charge of the thing, the expert on…, or the guy who knows the answer.  But life has…

  • Breakthrough

    Breakthrough

    There are two fronts in the global fright against HIV and AIDS.  Obviously, treating those infected is one.  But equally important is preventing new infections.  Since the early part of the last decade we have had the “preventative” drug regimen known as PrEP or “pre-exposure prophylaxis.”  PrEP refers to medication used by an HIV-negative person…