Yesterday, I read an article in Esquire magazine about a writer digitally recording every waking second of his day for a week, by wearing what looked like an over-sized Bluetooth on his ear that was actually a camera.
You know you’re getting older when:
‘Spring forward, fall back’ is less about time changes, and more about trying to get out of bed.
You think CVS sells IPads, and that your doctor can help you with your Androids.
In breathtakingly elegant prose, the Declaration of Independence promises American citizens the pursuit of happiness, among other inalienable rights. Defiantly thumbing its nose at a feudal world, it pragmatically declares our rights to be self-evident, not ordained by mere mortals, and protected within a government of the people’s choosing. Not many documents surpass our founding declaration in understated beauty, while still setting forth it’s premises in a clear, candid manner.
I have modified this post about the ‘face off’ between Karen Anijar-Appleton and I within certain parameters; removing the fathead, but keeping the meat. I’m sorry, I am constitutionally incapable of writing this post without joking. At the end of it is my final letter to Ms. Anijar-Appleton’s attorney. It was an interesting and informative journey, and in it lies a lesson for the rest of us.
I was doing further research on the interesting subject of the First Amendment to the Constitution, when I came upon another piece of information that I found disturbing. On a link I found on KeyWiki was the discovery that Karen Anijar-Appleton signed a statement in support of Bill Ayers. The name sounded familiar, so I researched further. Seems this gent was one of the leaders of the Weather Underground, a terrorist organization, an offshoot of the SDS, formed in 1969.
Dear Red States:
We’re ticked off at the way you’ve treated California and we’ve decided we’re leaving.
We intend to form our own country and we’re taking the other Blue States with us.
In case you aren’t aware that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast.
We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation and especially to the people of the new country of New California.
I always told my mom never to commit homicide, because the Badges-That-Be would find her crumpled Kleenex somewhere at the scene, and nab her in a heartbeat. Later on, when I thought there may be a chance I would become my mother, I swore I would not be like her, and leave crumpled tissue by the sofa. As you will see, that ship has sailed. We all become our parents in one way or another. Today, we were cleaning out an old sofa we are giving away, and here is what we found in the cracks, crevices, and frame:
At least fifty crumpled tissues; two magazines; a back scratcher; pens; a bag of dried fruit; an assortment of hair accessories, and some catalogs. Also, someone’s retainer from the seventh-grade, and a little old lady from Leningrad. Ok, one of the last things wasn’t really there. We have straight teeth, and don’t need braces. We also didn’t find any spare change, or the secret to life. 
It all filled a large, empty tub of laundry detergent.
Every morning when I arise, refreshed, flushed, and beguilingly disheveled from a good night’s sleep (ahem!), one of the first things I do after I let my dog out, as she’s been doing the pee-pee dance for the last three minutes, is go into the kitchen and start making my coffee, and filling a glass of water to take all my vitamins. I clean and refill Jupie’s bowl of water. Later, I start preparing dinner. Dinner, if it involves pasta, or rice, or soup, will need water. After a workout, helped along with cold bottled water, I fill a bathtub with hot, soapy water and soak for at least twenty minutes. Every day, I brush my teeth, wash my face, and flush the toilet. I can do a load of laundry, or two, every few days. My family and I take all of this for granted.
Article first published as A Teacher Writes Living Epitaphs on Technorati.
I write almost every day, even if it’s only a ‘to-do’ list. Usually, it’s an article for my blog. I never forget someone is reading my words, and constructing their own meaning from them. Articulate, thoughtful communication is vitally important, especially in the smaller world we now inhabit. The internet is based on words, whether kind, helpful, hateful, or ridiculous- words drive it.
I taught my son through the fifth grade and was privileged to experience that feeling of awe when someone I taught actually read a word for the first time, and made meaning of it. We were reading Dr. Seuss’s ‘Green Eggs and Ham’. Once someone can read, the world is never the same again. Everything of light and dark, of good and evil, is there for the plucking. Anything a person needs or wants to know can be found in the written word, whether it’s ‘a tale told by an idiot’ or a tale told by someone they admire and respect. The books I read growing up, and the books I read today, have an influence in my life. People, whether fictional or not, who overcome great odds, or achieve great things, inspire and motivate us.
Article first published as Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright on Technorati.
I love words. That is probably why I am an English teacher. There is a myriad of ways to communicate; through art, music, facial and body expressions, and touch. Words are the ultimate way to communicate, so that each person who hears them can create meaning. ‘The Tiger’ is a famous poem by William Blake. It is beautifully written, with that unforgettable cadence of words and rhythm that brings a tiger straight to the mind’s eye.
It is not news that the tiger is in trouble. They are on the endangered list, along with so many others. If there is nobility in anything, surely there is nobility in the great creatures on our planet. I wanted to know exactly what nobility is, so I did a little research on the concept and definition. Nobility describes the elite class of people who enjoy privilege because of their birth and station in life. It also means a refusal to be enslaved.
Article first published as World’s Dumbest: Why Do I Want to Work Here? on Technorati.
I do not understand my desire to work as a host on World’s Dumbest. The name is not a scientific designation, I’ve discovered. Being the dumbest whatever in the world is strictly a matter of opinion, and is subjective. There are many other dumb things that happen that are not recorded, I’m sure of it. Some of them happen to me.
I love this show. I could watch it for hours. Sometimes, I watch while I work on the computer, sometimes I just sit and vegetate while I am watching it. I’m watching it while I write about it. It requires zero thought, and is occasionally very funny. I could say the comments are often as dumb as the incidents being shown, but that would be unfair. It can’t be easy to come up with a funny line for every video. The humor is right there in the clip, making the commenters’ job a little 
redundant. Even so, they get off some really good lines.
