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Foundations of Poodlism – Mirth
Mirth is one of those words that sounds like it ought to be wearing a waistcoat. It has a polite little lilt to it, like it might tip its hat as it passes you on the street. “Good day! I am Mirth. I brought a chuckle and perhaps a mildly undignified snort.” It’s not quite…
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Where’s my flying car?
The 1960s were an amazing time to be born, if only for the television programs. And growing up in the 70s meant those programs found their way into syndication and were a kindof “life primer” for a young boy like me in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Flipping between channel 11 (KTTV) and channel 13…
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People are stupid
When I was growing up in Los Angeles in the 70s, every car had two things inside: the Fleetwood Mac album Rumours on 8-track tape, and a copy of the Thomas Guide. The Thomas Guide was a paperback, spiral-bound atlas featuring detailed street maps of the city; it was such a fixture of life in…
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Poodle Lent
Poodle Lent is my adaptation of the traditional Christian season of Lent, reframed for people who are not religious but still value intentional periods of reflection, discipline, and renewal. While its structure mirrors the roughly 40-day observance practiced in many Christian traditions, especially the Catholic Church, Poodle Lent removes the theological framework and focuses instead…
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TaxPoodle’s guide to the sick day call/text
To begin, I think we need to agree on the term. We are describing the act of communicating with your boss, supervisor, manager, whatever-he-or-she-calls-him/herself that you cannot (or will not) perform the agreed upon labor you are employed to accomplish in return for financial remuneration for a period of time, which is usually unspecified but…
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Poodlism
The 19th century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, an influence on Nietzsche and a contemporary of Hegel, was known for his philosophical Pessimism. I should explain. To a student of Philosophy, pessimism does not mean negativity or expecting the worse; rather, it is an outlook that views the world as aimless and our existence as one of…
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On Enduring Pain
I had a rough day yesterday. It was one of those days where all I could do was get from my bed to my recliner, and then just sit. Even feeding Gordon his doggie breakfast was a chore; it took about an hour of sitting still and staring off into space to recover from that.…
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The fearsome Wolf of Gubbio
I have a complicated relationship with the holy man of Assisi, St. Francis. I no longer profess to be a Catholic, but I was a member of the Catholic religious order Francis founded in the 13th century, the Franciscans, for five years, from the time I was 19 until I was 24. Before that, I…
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Who knew?
A little over a year ago, I was referred to a nephrologist. If you don’t know what that is, you’re not alone – neither did I; when I first got the referral, I assumed a nephrologist was a historian that specialized in ancient Egypt, specifically on Nefertiti, queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt…
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An unexpected surprise
Thinking about that title, aren’t all surprises “unexpected?” Hmm, well let’s not get bogged down in semantics. As an adult, I know that if I’m to pass along a food or beverage recommendation, it should be about a restaurant with a delicious grown-up entree (like the Corn Chowder Fettuccine at Grand Central at La Plaza…
Your mileage may vary.