When I write these stories, I always start with a title and then go rom there. The title is a reflection of what is on my mind and what resonates and sounds “catchy”. Having written 2,400 such stories over the past six and a half years, I have stumbled onto the same title more often than I care to admit. It’s a bit like seeing the edge of your imagination when it happens, but I…
Yesterday we went to see the new Steve Coogan movie called The Penguin Lessons. I must admit that I had not heard of the movie before we booked it, but I am a big fan of Steve Coogan and his co-star Jonathan Pryce. This is a true life story set in 1976 Argentina and is about a Brit named Tom Mitchell. It is directed by Peter Cattaneo, who you may remember burst on the scene…
For many years we have been advised to “Keep Calm and Carry On”. The iconic poster has become one of the most recognizable pieces of British design in history, though its journey to cultural prominence follows a fascinating path. The poster was originally designed in 1939 by the British Ministry of Information as part of a series of three motivational posters intended to boost morale during the anticipated bombing of major cities at the outbreak…
Several years ago I discovered 30% vinegar solution as a weed killer. I am not the most eco-oriented person in the world and I can’t pretend that I make choices that are only the right eco-friendly option at all times. Generally, I think that adoption of these things needs to be cost neutral or better and relatively convenient as well. When you go to Lowe’s or Home Depot at this time of year, you see…
They played us all for fools. The bullshit has gotten so regular and so deep that we frogs are way past parboiled. No one wants to or is going to come out and say it plainly, but someone must. This Yemen Signal Chat scandal isn’t a scandal because they used an unsecured app. The real scandal is that a plurality of our country (or at least the majority of our dubiously elected officials) trusted that…
We’ve all been reading about and presumably sympathizing with the medical woes of Pope Francis for the past month or so. The pope is 88 years old and has had a lifetime of respiratory issues which have finally put him in enough of a weakened state that he required a month in a Roman hospital. His physician has declared that it is a “Miracle” that he has survived this ordeal since he was apparently very…
The irony of this title is not what I intended. I had a brilliant thought in the middle of the night last night and did what I always try to do, which is write it down. I captured it in a title for a new story and then for some reason I decided I did not need to even write down one line of that story to give myself a clue as to what I…
As we arrived in San Diego yesterday, Kim got an email from Melisa telling us that she wanted to share a surprise she had found in our yard. Mike and Melisa walk their dog, Rex, several time a day and most often walk past our property in both directions. Mike is very focused on the exercise part of the walk, but Melisa is always looking about and occasionally comments to me about this or that…
One of the oldest areas of Buenos Aires is called La Boca or the mouth meaning the mouth of the river or the mouth of the village or town. In BA, this is the mouth of a small estuary called the Riochuelo River that flows into the Rio de la Plata. I like in the area to the east village of New York and that it has a certain artist quarter aspect to it with…
I am writing this with the knowledge that it will publish on the day I should be arriving home from our grand tour of what is often called the Southern Cone of South America. If all goes as planned, you will see this in your inbox as I am dragging my sorry ass off the plane in San Diego, having just gotten back from Buenos Aires. While I have been in BA many, many times,…