tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55489955894361721752011-11-27T20:32:42.351-05:00The old blog was getting too personal and heavy. Time for a change.Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.comBlogger371100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-24912299411217910682011-08-26T17:19:00.003-04:002011-08-26T17:24:41.915-04:00

That didn't work out quite as I expected. I'm immersed in technology. I live it, breathe it, rely on it, love it and curse it. But sometimes I forget that it's not really like that for everyone else. Case in point: My trip to Michigan. I had intended, dear reader (I think there is at least one of you) to blog my way through the journey, but a strange thing happened on the way to the electronic

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-44269010334887190542011-08-21T13:07:00.003-04:002011-08-22T15:34:05.408-04:00

I guess you can go home again...in a way. People who spend any time around me are probably sick of hearing me wax rhaphsodic about my home state of Michigan. I think it's a very special place, and unfortunately it often gets painted with the same large brush that passes over Detroit (another place people know nothing about other than the "decay porn" that shows up on the evening news). I'm

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-28461354801618712342011-08-17T10:22:00.003-04:002011-08-17T10:23:52.871-04:00

I'm heading back to my home state of Michigan tomorrow for a week-long (and much-needed) vacation; I'll be visiting friends, family, and attending my class reunion...something I said I would never, EVER do again. Apparently, time has dulled the miserable memories. Anyway, I'll be blogging the journey as much as possible. Stay tuned, folks. Should be fun. I hope.

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-90331199593037744762011-07-17T15:24:00.000-04:002011-07-17T15:25:27.993-04:00

Went to church this morning with the family for a special service; we're sending 12 members of our congregation to Iona, Scotland on a religious pilgrimage that happens every few years in our congregation. The "pilgrims", nine teens and three chaperones, will spend two weeks in Europe, visiting a location that has held a special place in Christendom for centuries.It was hard to not be moved by

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-20323964150357812982011-06-22T21:19:00.001-04:002011-06-22T21:23:08.166-04:00

This weekend, I'll videotape a graduation ceremony, and I'll listen to another series of graduation speeches. As many as I've heard, I've never given one. I don't know why I've never been asked; after all, I'm smart, witty, and I can actually pronounce some pretty big words. That's more than some of these clowns can do.But that notwithstanding, I was once again passed over as a graduation speaker

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-91135046958321298092011-06-17T16:23:00.002-04:002011-06-17T16:26:51.439-04:00

The New York State Legislature is poised to vote on the issue of "marriage equality" soon. The House has already passed a bill, and its future in the Senate is unclear. Below is the text of an open letter to my State Senator that I posted to my facebook page; I'm reprinting it here to give it maximum exposure.-----------Dear Mr. O'Mara: If everything works out as expected, there will be a vote

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-17115099108866306982011-05-23T11:59:00.003-04:002011-05-23T12:21:01.923-04:00

Dear Corporate Management:It has come to my attention that your firm may be experiencing some temporal displacement issues; to wit, you may not be aware that the rest of the world has "moved on" and we are no longer experiencing life in 1954. I realize that this revelation may bring with it some serious cognitive dissonance, therefore I would like to assist you in whatever way possible with

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-11041398899225751062011-04-21T15:45:00.001-04:002011-04-21T15:46:49.701-04:00

OK, so I gave up blogging for the bright lights of facebook, but frankly, facebook sucks. And since everyone I know is on there, I have no anonymity whatsoever, and can't say what I really think. So I'm probably going to start blogging again, if anyone cares. Stay tuned.

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-88852226272632128652009-11-20T09:36:00.002-05:002009-11-20T09:38:50.139-05:00

I woke up from a dream where a video producer was yelling at me because he didn't like the way I was shooting an interview with the reunited Brady Bunch.And you folks wonder why I don't write more often.

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-42696349242377412512009-10-19T12:42:00.003-04:002009-10-19T12:46:29.268-04:00

...from author Michael Chrichton:"You think man can destroy the planet? What intoxicating vanity."Let me tell you about our planet. Earth is four-and-a-half-billion-years-old. There's been life on it for nearly that long, 3.8 billion years. Bacteria first; later the first multicellular life, then the first complex creatures in the sea, on the land. Then finally the great sweeping ages of animals,

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-15392789268740459152009-10-05T11:35:00.003-04:002009-10-05T11:40:02.675-04:00

If you're going to spend your life immersed in misery, open to only bad news, shutting the door every time something positive comes along, convinced that your fellow humans are miserable creatures bent only on harming you, and if you believe that the downfall of our social and economic structure is not only a potential event, but inevitable, then you are shutting yourself off from all that is

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-55863735583365730752009-09-15T16:06:00.003-04:002009-09-15T16:25:34.939-04:00

Anyone who's known me long enough has heard my rants about wedding DJs who play the same hackneyed old songs over and over again. You know the playlist: Celebration. Old Time Rock and Roll. We Are Family. Brick House. The Chicken Dance/Polka. The Electric Slide. Baby Got Back. Sweet Caroline, for crying out loud. Blah, blah, blah.But here's the thing. I've come to believe that these songs are

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-56473971020665404432009-08-31T12:36:00.003-04:002009-08-31T15:00:22.270-04:00

I received an e-mail from an old friend today (no, seriously...he's old. As in 90+ years old) regarding Senator Edward Kennedy. The e-mail was filled with the usual screed about what a jerk Kennedy is...a liar, a cheat, probably a murderer, a misogynist, and a general all-around cad.Whatever.No, I'm serious. Whatever. I'm was no fan of Kennedy's personal life. I tend to agree that a lot of what

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-55183177690650864772009-08-19T10:30:00.000-04:002009-08-19T10:31:46.020-04:00

Sing it, brotha!

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-77513362255355907512009-08-17T16:15:00.000-04:002009-08-17T17:02:05.692-04:00

I wanted to write about the death of Les Paul, but others (including some readers of this blog) wrote much more eloquently than I about his passing.Still, it infuriates me that words like "genius" are floated around in relation to a minor talent like Michael Jackson and true genius—like that of Les Paul—gets nary a mention in the popular press. The day after Les Paul died, "Entertainment Tonight"

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-49036448183296007912009-07-20T08:29:00.001-04:002009-07-20T08:29:58.572-04:00

Last night, absent any books on my nightstand, I picked up something called a "magazine".Amazing. It holds collections of stories in something called "print" on "pages" of "paper". It requires no battery, no scrolling, no mouse clicks, and it's totally portable! I read many fascinating stories until, unable to hold my eyes open any longer, I drifted off to pleasant sleep.I must further

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-52225755554784504132009-07-04T15:07:00.000-04:002009-07-04T15:26:09.093-04:00

Why should I bother to repeat what's been written before, and written better than I ever could?From Robert Short, theologian and author of "The Gospel According to Peanuts" (the entire sermon is here):I've had the privilege and pleasure of knowing Charles Schulz very closely now for a long time. And I know for a fact that the one type of "Christianity" that Schulz has absolutely no

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-25557142473302411862009-06-14T08:07:00.000-04:002009-06-14T08:08:53.429-04:00

This put a smile on my face. I bet it will for you too.

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-17112938410874967982009-06-11T09:51:00.000-04:002009-06-11T11:14:33.335-04:00

Since He's not here to ask, and the decision was left in our hands, what would YOU do?A nine-year old girl is raped by her father. Giving birth to the baby would rip her body apart.A woman will die unless her pregnancy is terminated. The fetus will never survive outside the womb.Fanatics, ask yourself this question: Why do you care about people before they're born more than you do AFTER they're

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-17714174353336488222009-06-02T17:05:00.000-04:002009-06-02T17:12:42.193-04:00

...no.But those who engage in this sort of behavior should be labeled for what they are: Christian Fundamentalist Terrorists.They do not represent the overwhelmingly vast majority of Christians, and it's time that the larger faith community separated themselves from these monsters.

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-31093851665651951512009-05-26T11:20:00.000-04:002009-05-26T11:36:16.137-04:00

Per Übermilf:For those unfamiliar, here's a recap:"Here's what I would like to do. I want to create a story that branches out in a variety of different, unexpected ways. I don't know how realistic it is, but that's what I'm aiming for. Hopefully, at least one thread of the story can make a decent number of hops before it dies out.If you are one of the carriers of this story virus (i.e. you have

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-11853166209341576972009-05-12T17:08:00.000-04:002009-05-12T17:42:42.392-04:00

Every now and then a story comes along that is so sickening, I truly wonder what's happening to the human race.Witness:Terrified residents at a Corpus Christi, Texas state school for the mentally disabled were forced to be part of a brutal "fight club" operated by night shift employees, who made videos of the sessions with their cell phones, the newly released videos show.On the videos employees

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-20543523165970058372009-05-04T12:49:00.001-04:002009-05-04T12:51:19.864-04:00

Many thanks to the person that sent this on to me. You know who you are. :-)

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-68475997136471798922009-04-27T19:18:00.000-04:002009-04-27T19:32:56.808-04:00

One year for Christmas, I got a copy of "Charlotte's Web" and a pad of light blue 3-hole punched paper. I proceeded to copy the first chapter of "Charlotte's Web" on the paper. Thus began a long love affair with words (or for the cynical, plagiarism) that continues to this day.I've wanted to be a writer as long as I can remember. I had other childhood career aspirations, including veterinarian,

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-44310704980597396242009-04-10T15:21:00.001-04:002009-04-10T15:22:22.133-04:00

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-59822556446437026302009-04-04T15:44:00.000-04:002009-04-04T12:43:06.042-04:00

So Bristol Palin's babydaddy is going on Tyra to discuss...well, who knows what. But I'm sure we can guess.And Sarah Baraccuda is angry:" 'Bristol did not even know Levi was going on the show. We're disappointed that Levi and his family, in a quest for fame, attention, and fortune, are engaging in flat-out lies, gross exaggeration, and even distortion of their relationship,' says the statement

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-18458566986089517462009-04-04T07:46:00.000-04:002009-04-04T07:46:00.345-04:00

Anyone wondering where I got my admiration for Catherine Zeta-Jones need look no further:Duh.

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-28394254273417858222009-04-03T11:58:00.001-04:002009-04-03T12:04:28.006-04:00

Yes. It's bad out there. Times are tough.But it ain't that bad everywhere. I've been saying for a while now that some companies are using the rough economy as an excuse to purge workers. People thought I was nuts.I'm not. I finally have at least a small measure of vindication:"If a deepening recession weighs down and threatens businesses, some of those businesses are undoubtedly also making

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-85663584837046857182009-03-28T14:25:00.000-04:002009-03-28T20:29:20.003-04:00

In addition to my regular day job, I also dabble in more personal creative pursuits, and recently decided to take the plunge and submit an original photo-illustration for consideration in an upcoming gallery exhibit in Corning, NY.The other day, I received notification that my work, titled "Free as a Bird" was selected for inclusion in the show.This is a first for me, and I couldn't me more

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-673438224302965312009-03-22T13:29:00.001-04:002009-03-23T14:26:38.561-04:00

"Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood..."- The AnimalsI'm probably going to make someone angry with this one, but it needs to be said. So hang on.I received the following e-mail from my daughter's middle school today:This is a message for the parents and guardians of *** Middle School girls. All girls are invited to attend Girls Night Out! Wellness Fair this Thursday, March 26th from 6:

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-3569452399281926522009-03-12T12:12:00.000-04:002009-03-12T16:20:01.936-04:00

Over on another social networking site I frequent, someone is constantly updating the world as to his incredible achievements in the gym. We hear how healthy he feels, how much weight he's losing. It works its way into every. Single. Post.And in conversation, he's quick to point out how great he feels, how he's as toned as he was when he was in the military, and how he considers this a

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-30586013609346043132009-03-11T10:37:00.001-04:002009-03-11T10:43:22.261-04:00

The town I live in is, like many Northeastern cities, struggling. Much of downtown resembles an abandoned war zone, although there are pockets of prosperity, and a lot going on. Sometimes, it's just hard to see it.I attended an entrepreneurs group meeting this morning, and I know that, while things are rough right now, this town has a lot going for it, including a very low cost of doing business,

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-404757702165235182009-03-01T12:12:00.000-05:002009-03-01T12:14:19.069-05:00

Had a bit of a scare last night as my youngest had to be admitted to the Hospital for anemia and a rapid heartbeat. Thanks to all who sent their concern. I'll keep you posted, but right now, she's in very good spirits and in good hands. Hopefully she'll be home soon.Again...THANK YOU.

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-73572114640078919062009-02-27T08:27:00.001-05:002009-02-27T08:28:33.337-05:00

Want to meet new and interesting people?Get a new phone number. Any number will do. You'll be inundated with calls from creditors looking for the person who used to have your number.Lots of fun. And when they keep calling, you can have even more fun messing with their minds.Hours of entertainment. Trust me.

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-10420525153796592842009-02-26T16:59:00.000-05:002009-02-26T17:01:00.087-05:00

Sylvester, J.J. (1814 - 1897) "So long as a man remains a gregarious and sociable being, he cannot cut himself off from the gratification of the instinct of imparting what he is learning, of propagating through others the ideas and impressions seething in his own brain, without stunting and atrophying his moral nature and drying up the surest sources of his future intellectual replenishment."

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-13449047025815608822009-02-26T11:38:00.000-05:002009-02-26T11:40:57.911-05:00

I posted this elsewhere, but it's worth repeating.-----In a recent editorial regarding the recently-passed stimulus package, our local newspaper intoned thusly:"One version of the bill had about $50 million for the National Endowment of the Arts to help cultural institutions. ... Shouldn't that act be about putting back to work the 2.6 million people that the Labor Department says lost their jobs

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548995589436172175.post-303488189467585022009-02-24T11:21:00.000-05:002009-03-11T17:26:24.427-04:00

Welcome to the new blog. I have no plans (at this point) to continue blogging over at the original "Liner Notes". I really feel like I gave too much of myself away on that blog, although I'll maintain the archives for a while. If you're here, it's because you're either really clever, or I asked you to come on over; for the time being, I'd ask you to not link publicly to this blog (although I am

Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247514848461281705noreply@blogger.com2