I was skeptical when major league baseball announced its plan to play a sixty game "regular" season and then the "Fall Frenzy" playoff format. Really, I thought. What with all the craziness of 2020 - Who cares?. The season began July 23rd, with the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers being featured on ESPN. Because … Continue reading Baseball 2020: Fall Frenzy
Category: Coronavirus Effect
PROZAC diary
Lauren Slater has been on Prozac since it burst on the scene in 1988. PROZAC diary (1998) is her book recounting the first ten years of the drug and how it affected and saved her life. That's not an exaggeration. She was twenty-five and suffering debilitating OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). Slater had been hospitalized five times beginning … Continue reading PROZAC diary
Lying
Lying is a thing people do. It has been a subject and action, central to my understanding of communication, between and within persons nearly all my life. Because of reasons not pertinent to this review. Lying (2000) is a memoir by Lauren Slater published twenty years ago, when she was 37. It's a beautiful, fascinating story. … Continue reading Lying
The Pursuit Of Happiness
At a recent session with my psych-girl, she closed with three "suggestions": Lower your expectations Reduce your drinking Censor yourself Is there a better prescription for unhappiness? Or is it one for happiness? Christopher Hitchens once said: It's not true that you shouldn't drink alone; these can be the happiest glasses you ever drain. I … Continue reading The Pursuit Of Happiness
Election 2020: The Campaign Begins
I am a lonely visitor, I came too late to cause a stir, but I campaigned all my life toward that goal. Neil Young, 1969. "Campaigner" The 2020 campaign for POTUS began yesterday, at the summer solstice, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. President Donald J. Trump held an indoor, public rally, against the wishes and guidance … Continue reading Election 2020: The Campaign Begins
Health & Well-Being Inventory
The Health & Well-Being Inventory is an assessment tool to quantify the health and well-being of an individual in comparison to their nation. I break down "health" into six categories: physical, mental, psychological, emotional, social, and economic. An individual, or nation, is scored using a typical five-letter grading system - A to F. An A … Continue reading Health & Well-Being Inventory
Drinking With Men
Drinking With Men is the title of memoir written by Rosie Schaap. (I've c&p'd my review below.) Today is "Happy Hour Friday" with my bff. I can hardly wait to get his call via FaceTime. He's said as much to me - that he looks forward to HHF every week. My Drinking I've chronicled in … Continue reading Drinking With Men
Fear, Anger, Riots, & Death
Go deeper. In other words - more reductionism, not less. Back to the beginning. Anger. "We" (humans) don't learn because what we are taught (at the highest levels) is simple rhetorical bullshit. It's a power play. "We" have not "evolved". Not consciously, and especially, unconsciously - in some 40,000 years. Anger is still a secondary … Continue reading Fear, Anger, Riots, & Death
Joe Biden’s Revenge
"Joe Biden's revenge" is a phrase I lifted from Hunter Thompson's 1985-88 collection of essays chronicled in the book Generation of Swine. It refers to Biden heading a committee to vet Judge Robert Bork for nomination to the US Supreme Court. Biden, at the time, had just been "disgraced" for "cribbing a few lines on some obscure … Continue reading Joe Biden’s Revenge
The Perfect Storm
The Perfect Storm was a phrase made popular by journalist Sebastian Junger, with his 1997 novel and subsequent major motion picture. The subtitle is: A True Story Of Men Against The Sea. I think the phrase applies now as then. You can read my review of the book here. The perfect storm describes a confluence of circumstance … Continue reading The Perfect Storm