Your mileage may vary.

The TaxPoodle

Category: Culture

  • Books for Looks

    Matthew Wilkinson

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    Books for Looks

    In my apartment, I have a small credenza sitting under a window that faces north and offers me a stunning view of San Gorgonio Mountain, which, at 11,500 ft., is the tallest mountain in Southern California. On the credenza sits a plant, a photo of Gordon, a tchotchke, a Mexican ironwood (the Olneya tesota tree…

  • An Ode to the Dumpling

    Matthew Wilkinson

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    An Ode to the Dumpling

    If we’re going Asian, I gotta have potstickers, gyoza in Japanese restaurants and jiaozi in Chinese eateries.  Either way, they are dumplings – made with garlicky meat or shrimp and vegetables, wrapped in a thin noodle-like wrapper with pleated edges – and they are delicious.  You can get them steamed or fried, and they are…

  • The Test

    Matthew Wilkinson

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    The Test

    80 years ago today, a man died.  He has long been a hero of mine, though I know him only from history books.  He was a disabled man who, at the age of 39, began experiencing symptoms of a paralytic illness that would confine him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.  At…

  • Cotillion

    Matthew Wilkinson

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    Cotillion

    As a young boy I showed little interest in the things boys generally show interest in.  But if there was one thing I was fascinated by, it was kitchens – the cupboards, the appliances, the counters.  While Chris, and Dave, and Brock were out riding skateboards, I was usually in my mom’s kitchen. I would…

  • A Movie Review

    Matthew Wilkinson

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    A Movie Review

    I’m not in the habit of doing movie reviews, here or anywhere else.  Mainly because people like what they like, they have their own tastes which may or may not match mine, and de gustibus non disputandum est, a Latin maxim meaning “in matters of taste, there can be no disputes.” So my telling you that I…

  • Let’s talk about porn

    Matthew Wilkinson

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    Let’s talk about porn

    It’s our third rainy day of the year here in the desert, and if the 17 years I’ve lived here are any indication, it will probably be our last.  Gordon is quite unhappy with it; not only is he frightened of the raindrops when they fall on him, but it is cold out (48 degrees)…

  • Tacos

    Matthew Wilkinson

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    Tacos

    Now I’m all about a good steak, and pairing it with a lobster tail for surf and turf is delicious.  If I’m feeling like pasta, it’s gotta be carbonara, and I’ll jump at anything with peanut sauce on a Thai menu.  I have made my affection for the French Dip sandwich known, as well as…

  • The Avolatte

    Matthew Wilkinson

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    The Avolatte

    If you’re like me, and let’s face it, not many are, then you too love the newest coffee craze taking California by storm.  Californians love their coffee.  But not a piping hot mug o’ joe at Denny’s or your local diner, served with those little thimbles of creamer.  Folgers?  Maxwell House?  Yuban?  No, I’m talking…

  • Duck You

    Matthew Wilkinson

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    Duck You

    It isn’t easy.  I resigned from my job at 41 – medical reasons and all that – which means for the last 17 years I literally had nothing I have to do.  Oh sure, there’s an appointment here and lunch with a friend there, but filling my days is a bit of a challenge.  For…

  • Finding Sunlight in Darkness

    Matthew Wilkinson

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    Finding Sunlight in Darkness

    This morning I read a press release about the “scrubbing” of LGBTQ+ resources and information from government websites by the new administration in Washington DC, and it felt like something I should write about.  I even thought of a way to write about it:  pointing out how the administration’s efforts are an attempt to “erase”…