The best gift ever would be the much promised but never realized, peace on earth. Towards that goal I offer, as a gift for family or friends, or to yourself, Election 2016: The Great Divide, The Great Debate. If you're on the Red Team, give it to those you love who are Blue. Be you Blue, … Continue reading Best Gift Ever
Category: the future
Coronavirus Effect: Christmas Edition
Friday I had my Year End Review with my psych girl. It went well, I thought. I celebrated the way I do, by myself in the Magpie Cafe - eating, drinking and listening to my favorite playlists. Then I went to bed. "Merry Christmas" and a happy New Year. But in the early morning hours … Continue reading Coronavirus Effect: Christmas Edition
Metrics for Year End Review
It's coming on Christmas and then the new year. That means it's time to start reflecting on the year past. I've done this for a number of years now and have come up with a new, quantitative way, to systematically, synthesize my analysis and reflection. Hopefully this will lead to better, or at least improved, … Continue reading Metrics for Year End Review
Living at the Edge of the World: Homeless
Living at the Edge of the World is a story about a young girl who lived underground (mostly) for five years, in New York City, from 1986 to 1990. In her own words (mostly) with the help of journalist, Jamie Pastor Bolnick. President Donald Trump recently said he wants to put a woman on the moon … Continue reading Living at the Edge of the World: Homeless
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
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
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
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
What Happened to Education?
What happened to education? is a great question. Certainly books have been written, and will be written (maybe), regarding answers. My answer is both simple and extremely complex. Survival and greed, in other words: Life at work, or biology on planet earth. My Favorite People are progressives. (see them here and here and here.) However, … Continue reading What Happened to Education?