Well, this turned into something interesting. My home is in the upstate of South Carolina. Three days ago the entire western Carolinas region got slammed hard by Hurricane Helene. I lost power on Friday morning about 7:30 and 77 hours later it still hasn't been restored. Based on what I saw on the way to the library in downtown Spartanburg this morning, it may be days if not weeks before power is turned back on...
Monday, September 30, 2024
Sunday, September 22, 2024
First weekly book update
Almost a month ago I posted about the status of my book, something that had been on the back burner of my life for ten years now. Work on it has taken various forms, there had been progress made only for that to be tossed aside... well, it's been a mess, not to put TOO fine a point on it.Things are very, very different now and have been for much of this past year. A few months ago I had a breakthrough moment and was able to crank out...
Lost turns twenty
4 8 15 16 23 42 It was twenty years ago tonight - September 22, 2004 - that arguably the greatest television series of the new millennium premiered.Lost was an instant sensation and for six seasons its tale of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 gripped the world's consciousness. ABC's hit broke all the rules, subverted expectations, and cooked long-held tropes...
Monday, September 09, 2024
Rest in peace James Earl Jones
I got to meet him, briefly, in 2003. Amazing man, with an intellect as formidable as his voice if not more so.Ninety-three is a good run. And he definitely made his mark.Who else could make saying the alphabet so dramatic?Godspeed Mr. Jones. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us for so lo...
Sunday, August 25, 2024
Yes, I'm still writing a book...
More than a decade ago Dad persuaded me that my life story would make for something that many people would probably enjoy reading. I started writing that in 2014. And then a lot of things happened. Dad's passing. The year spent journeying across America. Four years as a mental health professional. Those things and more atop the wackiness that life had already sent barreling my way since I was a cub. And let's...
"Make Mine Freedom" from 1948: Don't drink the Ism!
So help me, I'm going to show this cartoon from almost eighty years ago until I'm blue in the face, if that's what it takes to stop people from drinking Ism!It was in 2009 when I first came across "Make Mine Freedom", a 1948 educational film produced by Harding College. I was immediately struck by how prophetic this animated short was. How it warned against the...
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
BEING BIPOLAR, Part Twelve: Report on Mixed Episode
Being Bipolar is a series that began nearly fourteen years ago in the winter of 2011. It is an occasional look at what it is like to live with bipolar disorder, or manic depression as many still call it. This blogger posts a new article whenever he feels the time is ideal to write about an aspect of bipolar disorder, so that others might have deeper understanding...
Saturday, August 10, 2024
Well, it is a fantasy movie after all...
This is one of my favorite scenes in motion picture history. From the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian. Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has just freed Subotai (Gerry Lopez) from certain death. Here we see them having dinner together.I'll let the scene speak for itself.It's two fast friends, enjoying a meal in each other's company. And the conversation turns to religion.There is no bitterness or anger. Not an iota of hatred...
Friday, August 09, 2024
Little girls... with GUNS!
Is this a trend? If it is then I hope it's a growing one!In the past few months I've found a number of young ladies - these are girls under twelve - who are not only gun enthusiasts but are also very adept with firearms. In every way pertaining to guns, from responsible gun handling to describing various ammo, each of these girls possesses more knowledge...
Monday, July 29, 2024
Dear J.D. Vance: There are no second-class citizens
Something that bothers me about vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance...He seems to insinuate in statements both past and recent that only people who are married and/or have children should be involved in this country's politics. They're the ones who most have stakes in America's future, he apparently believes.Well, what about those of us who for some reason or...
Friday, July 26, 2024
"The Dukes of MAGA" (and who I am supporting in this election... for now)
I spotted this clip yesterday and it is definitely one of the better pro-candidate videos that I've ever come across. This is the kind of thing that the more creative types of candidates' supporters should aspire toward. For a lot of reasons I really like this one.Behold "The Dukes of MAGA":So, about who I'm supporting in this election. Something I've very rarely tipped my hand about throughout the history of this blog...As many...
Thursday, July 25, 2024
A Midsummer Night's Post
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck...
Friday, July 19, 2024
"Weird Al" Yankovic releases his first single in ten years!
Right when the world needs laughter the most, Weird Al comes through for us.The last time that "Weird Al" Yankovic released a new song, other than "The Hamilton Polka" or the end credits tune from his movie, was ten years ago this week when his Mandatory Fun album dropped. That was the final album he was contracted to produce and he said at the time that he'd probably release singles via digital platforms from now on. But that...
Bob Newhart, 1929 - 2024
The man was and forever will be a legend!So much that could be said about the amazing life of Bob Newhart. Coming up in the Eighties I loved his sitcom Newhart. Then later I discovered his earlier series The Bob Newhart Show. And after that I came upon his comedy albums, like his 1960 debut The Button-Down Mind Of Bob Newhart.The guy just shined in...
Saturday, July 13, 2024
I hope y'all are watching this tonight
As my father said, when President Reagan was shot the day before my seventh birthday:"Pay attention son, this is history." &nb...
Thursday, July 11, 2024
"Say, whatever happened to Johnny Robertson?"
When four people write in over the course of a month, asking the same question, maybe that's a signal to address something.Let's set the Wayback Machine(tm) all the way to fifteen or so years ago. I used to work at WGSR, a television station in Reidsville, North Carolina. That was where my school board campaign - and those wacky campaign commercials - began in...
Tuesday, July 09, 2024
LEGO Jaws set is officially the coolest thing I've seen all summer
Just in time for the fiftieth anniversary of the movie Jaws comes the Official Jaws LEGO Set!Click on the pics to enlargen (you're gonna need a bigger browser): At a hundred and fifty bucks this is actually a pretty good deal for a LEGO set this large.Click on over to GeekTyrant for more photos of this amazing s...
