A Dog’s (After) Life?
Schubert, the un-evil spawn of a now unfashionable puppy mill, neared his demise. A Boston terrier and a product of Pharaoh-like inbreeding, his days were numbered from the start. His hips were displaced. His tongue untowardly wry. His demeanor difficult, demanding. (Much like a Greek Ptolemaic dynastic.) Schubert’s healthcare cost a fortune. When he was a playful puppy–the expense of castration and tail cutting were but minor...
The Cloud! It Came from Cyberspace!
The Cloud! It Came from Cyberspace! Far worse than The Blob, an ever accreting molten meteor that devoured every carbon-based life form it encountered, The Cloud appeared among unsuspecting earthlings. Initially, I was a little foggy about The Cloud. Everyone was. I knew something of clouds—cirrus, cumulus, nimbus, stratus, but a little knowledge is, as always, dangerous. Once, I saw a cloud in the image of the Virgin Mary. (She had...
Third Hand Smoke and the Churchill Room
Third Hand Smoke and the Churchill Room at the George V in Paris. First there was first hand smoke, then second hand and now third hand. Zut alors, how can one keep abreast of modern medical manias? A noted North American medical institution offers this wisdom: “Third hand smoke is generally considered to be residual nicotine and other chemicals left on a variety of indoor surfaces by tobacco smoke. This residue is thought to...
Top 5 Things to Do During The Superbowl
Top 5 Things to Do During The Superbowl. In the USA, the Superbowl, originally a clever commercial construct, has become a de facto national holiday—and a celebration of commerce beyond the pale. Columbus Day (or Invasion Day, depending on one’s genotype) is old hat—let the helmeted game begin. For those not so easily amused, one can use this to his advantage by visiting normally congested venues during game time. It’s a good way to...
Gotterdammerung: Lost Chariots of the gods…
Gotterdammerung: Lost Chariots of the gods… Somewhere south of seventh heaven, north of the ninth ring of hell is in an undisclosed location in the next world. It’s the abode of forlorn, forsaken gods. Once they commanded worship, sacrifice and devotion of countless acolytes. Now, they sit in the dustbin of religious history. Zeus is boltless, baffled. Baal bewildered. Thor is flummoxed. Quetzalcoatl’s feathers are ruffled. Horus is...
Modernity’s Torments, Trials, Travails
Modernity’s Torments, Trials, Travails I was attempting to purchase produce. “For me,” I said to the unhearing automated check-out device at the grocery store as I frantically searched for the for a pic of the apposite avocado cultivar (Hass? Florida?) “this self-service is getting a bit too selfie.” As a youngster, I had calculatedly observed that ringing-up and bagging groceries was not a ticket to the top. Aptitude with an NCR...
Hook-up how-to! Japanese acting student?
Hook-up how-to! Japanese acting student? Anyone can split an occasional infinitive or confuse an adjective with an adverb. To more than merely say, one should not feel too badly. It happens. In the course of daily life, these are but minor infractions. An inter-office e-mail containing a confusion of the case or tense amounts to naught. Yet, as with most things, it all depends on context. In the wrong place, at the wrong time, a...