Month: August 2013

Fifty years ago today I was pooping in a diaper and eating yummy mommy milk. In other words I was not contributing much to society. Such could not be said about Dr. Martin Luther King. I have written about him before. Not many people know that without Dr. King Star Trek may not have been worth watching. Simply put, no Uhura = no famous kiss which would probably mean no syndication and reruns. Also I’ve written how, froa strictly critical point of view, he actually write some better speeches than…

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We do live in a world of unintended consequences. You paint sections of your back yard gentle yellows and plant pretty flowers to attract birds and insects only to discover you’ve created a raccoon magnet. And then you discover that they’re nowhere near as cute as they are in TV commercials. Well, this story here today exemplifies that only without the traditional tragic ending. In fact the idea was so poorly planned out as to be glorious in its execution. And, bonus for all, it ended up making a lot…

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Elmore Leonard died this week. The internationally famous crime novelist was the master of the terse phrase. No florid, purple, prose for him or his characters. Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News once said “The next best thing to reading Elmore Leonard is re-reading him.” So, in his honor (Elmore’s, not Mike’s), I’m going to keep things brief yet, hopefully, interesting. This week a variety of news stories have hit my desk that have left me kind of baffled. They all featured headlines that seemed to require no…

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Most people have, at one time or another, had sex. It’s part of our genetic makeup. Hell, it’s how we got our genetic makeup. Granted, there is a small percentage, under 1%, of humanity that considers themselves asexual, and that’s fine. That just leaves 99% for the rest of us. In fact, no matter how promiscuous you have been or may be, there are still billions of people you haven’t boinked. So don’t get too down on yourself. Still, our part of the world seems confused by sex. The TSA…

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I admit to having my fair share of quirks. Some are socially acceptable others are not. That puts me on par with pretty much everyone else. The trick we learn as we grow up is when it’s okay to share those charming tidbits of your personality. For example, it is considered impolite to share your epic fart making ability in church. It is, however, a skill well lauded at a frat party. In France one has to draw a fine line between what is and is not acceptable. It is…

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When people think of Mormons, if they do so at all, they tend to think of staggeringly dull people like Mitt Romney. Or, if you’re a fan of musical theater you might imagine socially inept clueless people who have no business in Africa. But there is much more to consider. Orson Scott Card is a Mormon. He wrote a fun loving series of wildly popular books, called Ender’s Game, that are based on the government weaopnizing children so they can commit genocide. Stephenie Meyer is a Mormon. She wrote a…

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I’ve been single for a few years now. And, yes, I have dipped my toe in the dating waters. One thing that hasn’t changed since I was younger is that some people feel the need to shade the truth a little or couch the truth in phrases that make things seem different than they are. For example, I went on a date with a woman who said “legally separated” but I heard “still married.” She said “new job” and I heard “unemployed for years.” She said “small family” and I…

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