Inspector Gadget was a bumbling, cyborg detective and the main character of the animated TV series “Inspector Gadget” that premiered in 1983. He was a clumsy, well-meaning but incompetent detective with a body full of gadgets (hence the name). He worked for a law enforcement agency that constantly battled the evil organization M.A.D. (Mean And Dirty). He was completely oblivious to danger (in the Maxwell Smart tradition), and he accidentally and regularly solved crimes while…
Everybody’s talkin’ at me…Can’t hear a word they’re sayin’…Only the echoes of my mind. It was 1969 when Midnight Cowboy hit the big screen and boy did it score big. It won Best Picture, Best Director (John Schlesinger), and Best Writing (Waldo Salt). Both stars, Jon Voight (Joe Buck) and Dustin Hoffman (Ratso Rizzo) were nominated for Best Actor, but lost to the long-time favorite of Americana, John Wayne for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn…
There are reasons why I read what I read and just this morning I am reminded about why I read the New York Times. Mostly I think I read it because it is, in my opinion, the single best voice of the America I believe in and enjoy. I chose my words carefully in stating that because there is a case to be made that perhaps something like Fox News is more representative of the…
Since I was young, I have always been against capital punishment. This is one of those beliefs that I can genuinely say was not adopted from others, but was, rather, something I very specifically and very memorably pondered while I was taking my high school courses in ethics. I learned all about situational ethics and still I concluded that man simply does not have the right to inflict a punishment with such finality and profound…
The Charlie Kirk killing has spawned a good deal of controversy, some about the underlying ideology he espoused and some about the reaction that has come forth on the event of his death. His death seems to have reawakened lots of opinions about things he has said and those thoughts have shifted from the debate stage he so enjoyed to today’s most popular forum, social media. The result has been a lashing out by the…
Traditional wedding vows have evolved over centuries and vary by religious tradition and culture. Christian/Anglican tradition (from the Book of Common Prayer, dating to 1549) is “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.” This is clearly the vow most of us know best. The Catholic tradition is somewhat different and…
I’ve never thought of myself as either a greedy bugger or a particularly jealous soul. Moses came down from Mount Sinai where he received the Ten Commandments according to the biblical account in Exodus. This occurred during the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt and after they were freed from servitude from the yoke of Pharaoh Ramesses the Great. The story describes Moses ascending the mountain where God gave him the…
Last night I had dinner with two of my favorite people in the whole world, Terry & Paula. I met Terry 27 years ago when I invested in a business he was running. I remember him telling our group of investors that his business was for $50 million. We eventually settled on investing at a $20 million valuation. Terry seems unusually dispassionate about everything during the negotiations. There was no apparent emotion in his business…
At 4am this morning, Kim caught an Uber to San Diego Airport to take the early Delta flight to NYC. I do not envy her her time in JFK Terminal 4, my least favorite airport terminal in the world. My next trip to NYC, which will be in eleven days, will be on the less convenient Jet Blue flight, which at least will put me into Terminal 5, which is far more manageable even though…
The Heart is a world premiere musical currently running at La Jolla Playhouse. Kim’s and I are members of La Jolla Playhouse and attend most performances. It is as close to Broadway as you can get on the west coast and we regularly see shows that should and sometimes do go on to Broadway since this is one of the main feeder theaters for the Great White Way. This nickname for Broadway comes from the…