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So much for progress
For most of my life, at least since I developed a mind of my own and thought about such things, I had two unshakeable beliefs. One was that everything will be okay. And I believed that because of the second one – that things are getting better. Progress may not be dramatic or even perceivable,…
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Oh. My. God.
I had a post all written and ready to go for today. I was just polishing it and fact checking a few assertions I had made. It was a fun one for my “curiosity” category about etiquette and how the concept of what is appropriate or proper has changed over time. For example, you’re on…
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We are all sons of Verdugo!
We call her the Jewel City of the Verdugos. Because of geography and terrain, we can see the skyline of downtown LA just over the hills of Elysian Park where Dodger stadium sits. We are the backdoor to LA’s “urban wilderness” – Griffith Park. We bridge the southland’s two great valleys, the San Gabriel and…
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Conspiracy Theories
President Donald Trump has promoted one of the most outlandish and unhinged conspiracy theories I have ever heard to his 10 million followers on Truth Social: former president Joe Biden was “executed in 2020” and replaced by robotic clones. Stop and think about that for a moment. Just that. Forget everything else you know about…
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In My Life
There are places I’ll rememberAll my life, though some have changed.Some forever, not for better;Some have gone and some remain. “In My Life” – The Beatles I hope you will indulge me, thoughtful reader. Because I would like to share a very personal moment, a milestone with you. I said goodbye to Glendale, and my…
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The Warrior Ethos?
I… um… the… it’s… but… there are no words. I’ll try though. I thought it was hilarious – ignorant, stupid, childish, petty, but hilarious – last March when Newsweek reported that pictures of “Enola Gay,” the aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan during WWII, were flagged for removal from the…
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1,112 and Counting
It is June 1st. That may not mean anything to you other than “oh yeah… summer’s here.” But to 13.9 million (13,942,200) adults in the US (number reported by the UCLA School of Law – Williams Institute, December 2023) who identify as LGBTQ+ it marks the beginning of a very significant month: the month we…
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Portmanteau
As a boy, I thought Star Trek was real. And by that I mean the original series. Not “The Next Generation” with young Wesley Crusher, upon whom I had a crush. Crusher-crush. Nah, too easy! Before you call me a dirty old man, or something worse, remember, when we first meet Wesley, in the pilot…
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The Stuffing Letter
I have kept a journal since I was 19. A “journal” is like a diary, except entries are not made daily (though they can be) and it is not meant to be a record of anything: such as, “met Ryan for coffee,” or “saw Jennifer Aniston at the Farmer’s Market.” I use my journaling (the…
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Palm Springs includes pets in its disaster plan
Back in January, as Los Angeles endured horrific devastation due to wildfires, I wrote about a subject I fear is all too often an afterthought, if it is thought of at all: in the event of a disaster, what happens to people’s pets? At the time, I observed: In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that…
Your mileage may vary.