Graham Norton has admitted that he sometimes has to pretend to be more enthusiastic about a movie that one of his television show guests is promoting than he really is. On the other hand, sometimes one can tell when his excitement is real. For example, when he invites the same guest to promote the movie … Continue reading Femme
Imagine There’s No Parking
As John Lennon might sing, “Imagine there’s no parking, It’s easy if you try.” In the beginning, parking lots were created to curb chaos on the road. But climate change has turned that dynamic on its head. Since the 1920s a little-known policy called parking minimums has shaped a large facet of American life. In … Continue reading Imagine There’s No Parking
A Trip To Rite Aid
I needed to pick up a prescription so I walked over to the friendly local neighborhood Rite Aid where there were a couple folks ahead of me in the prescription line. So I decided to wait. When the second person got to the window, it soon became clear that she had gone to the wrong … Continue reading A Trip To Rite Aid
Happy Turkey Day!
I’m thankful that I’ve lived during a period of rapid technological change in many areas of our lives. To point out just a few, there’s the Internet, which I first encountered in the mid 80s, long before the web browsers turned it into a visual medium. But then browsers did come along in the 90s, … Continue reading Happy Turkey Day!
Pear Cake
I found some great pears on Ninth Street the other day, so with Thanksgiving nigh upon us, I decided to bake a traditional pear cake. Well, I’m sure it’s a tradition somewhere. The recipe calls for peeled pears, but I don’t bother as I don’t notice the peels once they’re baked. Also, I like to … Continue reading Pear Cake
Got To Get You Into My Life
Perhaps the most joyous song ever penned by The Beatles, “Got To Get You Into My Life” was a “pastiche of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s recent hits for The Supremes” according to Ian MacDonald in Revolution in the Head. Slightly out of his neighbourhood in this idiom, McCartney seems to have had no firm idea of how he wanted … Continue reading Got To Get You Into My Life
A Trip to the State Store
I needed to replenish the vermouth so I went to the local state store. In Pennsylvania the state has a monopoly on hard liquor sales, so most everyone calls the liquor stores, which are owned and operated by the state, state stores. I knew where the vermouth was stocked, but I found that although they … Continue reading A Trip to the State Store
Not the Beginning
So play the game Existence to the end…Of the beginning— John Lennon, “Tomorrow Never Knows” In Greek mythology Pandora or “gift of all” is given gifts such as beauty, charm, etc., from all the gods, and she is also given a box that she is commanded never to open. But open it she does, and … Continue reading Not the Beginning
Isaac Asimov vs Religious People
Here’s a short excerpt from one of Isaac Asimov’s many appearances on Dick Cavett’s show:
What Did Jesus Say…?
In an article about senior citizens choosing to self-medicate with marijuana I came across this passage: Steve Hickerson, who lives in Laguna Woods, Calif., wants to sleep better. He used cannabis sublingual drops but said they didn’t help, so he’s trying gummies, “which seem to work much better.” In the past, he felt using mind-altering … Continue reading What Did Jesus Say…?