Category: News

  • Random Pictures

    Busy day, and trouble finding a topic, so how about the last five pictures off my phone.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Tottenham, Valentines Day, and The Resistance

    (‘Cause she’s heart and soul…)

    I don’t think I am a fair-weather fan, but I have to admit that Tottenham Hotspur’s season is over. I wish it wasn’t, but it is time to throw in the towel. Nothing has gone right after the first month, and even with two wins over Man City, they still can’t seem to get their act together. This doesn’t mean that I will stop watching their matches – no, I will be there for every one – but this does mean that I will stop the believing in the hope that they will turn things around. Things will not be turned around. There will be no extra play next season, and if they don’t put on the brakes soon, they could slide right out of the league. They are only 10 points off from the bottom three, though I think relegation is unlikely for them, I also thought they’d finish in the top four this season. Shows you what I know. Hey’s to next season!

    We are not a big Valentines Day family. We get treats for the kid, but for me and the wife, it has never been an important date on our relationship calendar. But! We do get cards for each other. And we play a game where we wait to the last minute to buy the cards at a local drug store. The more picked over the card section the better. It’s fun to get a card that was meant for a grandmother, or one thanking you for your support in my time of need. Technically, these sentiments are not inncorrect.

    I didn’t have my money on the US Attorneys in the Southern District and Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section being the first lead actors in the Resistance, but I sure am glad they have integrity and a backbone.

  • What a World, Right?

    Say! Is it me or does 2025 suck a whole lot?

    I’m trying to stay positive, but three weeks into this year, and I feel like I have been hit by several body blows.

    The L.A. fires and its aftermath continue to be nothing but awful. I had one friend and his partner lose their house, which is just gut wrenching to one’s core. Come to find out that I have way more friends in Los Angles than I thought. Some close to the fires, some way out of harm’s way, but all of them chipping in and trying to help out those in need.

    Then I have been dealing with several friends who all lost a parent in the past month; one which I wrote about last week. In all of those situations, my heart breaks for each one of them. Some were close with their parent, others weren’t, but in all of their situations, it has become a stark moment of change and reflection. How I wish I give them each a hug.

    And then there was Trump yesterday, doing all his Trump things. Nothing he did surprised me, and though I tried to ignore it all, I allowed a low-grade simmer of infuriation to start burning in me. (I am still unsure if that is a good or bad thing.) I hope I am wrong, and I hope am over reacting, and Trump doesn’t do anything awful, or maybe even makes things better. But I don’t trust him, especially after the J6 pardons. No, this will be four years (PLEASE GOD, LET IT ONLY BE FOUR YEARS!!!) of having to push back, and stand our ground. Because, “The struggle of today, is not altogether for today – it is for a vast future also.” – A. Lincoln

    It’s still early yet. There is a whole lot of this year left to go. Things could change – as things always change. I try not to forget that when things get bad, really awful, that people do show up to help. People do care, and know what the right thing to do is. Darkness can seem encompassing, never ending even, but it only takes the slightest bit of the light of hope to dissipate what once felt overwhelming.

  • There Goes the Social Neighborhood

    So, Zuck just bent the knee and kissed the ring.

    You know, I got off Twitter because of Elon, moving over to Threads… I guess I need to get my BlueSky account going. Sadly, I will have to keep Facebook, because that’s the only way I can communicate with anyone I know over the age of 60. I like my Instagram account, yet it will have to be a causality in the social media wars.

    All of this makes me wonder if my Myspace and Tumblr accounts are still active?

    I hated hearing people use the phrase, “post-truth world” as it seemed like such a melodramatic phrase. Now…

    And this isn’t about free speech and expression. One side will be given carte blanche while the other will be pushed out of the algorithm rotation. Just look at what Elon did to Twitter. On that platform there is only one side of the debate, and it’s his.

    As old media slowly dies off, through market forces or by investment firms’ system of strangulation, social media will play a larger role in the flow of information, and what will be considered the truth.

  • ODDS and ENDS: God Bless The Onion, Sports, Wildfires, and Christmas Gifts

    (Would it be too much to ask of you…)

    It has been a pretty dismal news cycle for like the past two weeks. And then God smiled on all of us! The Onion bought the InfoWars website. Sweet Lord in Heaven, please let this happen! There are so many reasons it should. Sadly, the judge put the sale on hold to review if the correct process was followed. So you know, the CEO of The Onion put out a statement on why they bought the InfoWars site. On one level, it’s just good to stick it to Alex Jones, as he has brought so much hate and anguish into this world for no reason other to make money. And also, if the sale goes through, I find it wonderful poetic justice that this site of so much evil will end up being a place of laughter.

    Honestly, Tottenham is driving me up the wall with all in the inconsistent play. They go and beat Man City, then turn around and drop one to Ipswich. Is this because Madison and van de Ven are hurt? Are those two guys the lynchpin of the team. I know the International Break is underway, and couldn’t have come at a better time. Let’s figure out what the problem is. It’s not like I was expecting Spurs to win the League, but it was reasonable to believe that they would qualify for the Champions League. Now, I’m not so sure.

    There are wildfires in New York City. Not around the City, as we do have that as well, but actually in the City. Anywhere there is a park, there is a chance that it could go up in flames. Last night, Inwood Park had a fire, and this morning, when I walked out the door, it smelled like a camp fire. It’s an experience that I would have never thought I would have here. Upstate, or in New England, sure I could believe it. But NYC?

    If you are looking for a fun Christmas Gift, may I suggest some Merch from My Store. These are fun, nostalgic, and quirky gifts that everyone on your list will love. Also, all proceeds go to me.