Friday Afternoon Time Travel It's interesting how music can transport us to certain places and events along the timelines of our lives. Long ago, before streaming and digital downloads, FM radio was the standard. There was a local DJ who played Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" every Friday during the after work drive time. I heard... Continue Reading →
Lonely or Alone?
Loneliness or Loner... There is a difference between being lonely and being alone. This is one of the topics that frequently pop in introduction to psychology classes. The discussion tends to focus on the potential health hazards concerning feelings of loneliness and depression, but seldom is there any discussion about being alone and and/or being... Continue Reading →
Spending and Sharing Time
Time, like money, is something we can spend, borrow, steal, donate, and share. Diaries and memoirs are one way for writers to share a bit of their time with us. Margaret Sartor’s Miss American Pie A Diary of Love, Secrets, and Growing Up in the 1970s can be read on a couple of levels. It... Continue Reading →
The Lust for Tragic Spectacle
Sylvia Plath's "Aftermath" and the Tragedy Lookie-Loos I am a avid reader of poetry but April, National Poetry Month, is a time for a closer look and a bit of introspection when it comes to my shelf of poetry books. I pulled Sylvia Plath's The Colossus and Other Poems the other day and thumbed through... Continue Reading →
Koba the Dread
The Pinnacle of Unpersoning In a time of unpersoning and a culture of cancelation it may serve us well to review (or study for the first time) a bit of history. There is one individual from the last century that is worth a closer look if you are interested in the concept of canceling somebody.... Continue Reading →
Getting Over is Not Getting By
When Using Others is Second Nature Hard times often call for tough decisions, but the decision to use another person is not getting by, it’s getting over. James Joyce’s short story “Two Gallants” presents the reader with two individuals who use others for their personal gain. The characters of Lenehan and Corley appear to move... Continue Reading →
The Grind of Getting By
And the Dream of Getting Ahead "What is your blood and sweat worth?" This is the question Bill Tully, an aging boxer, asks his manager in Fat City. John Huston’s 1972 movie tackles the topic of what it means and what it takes to get by. The movie's characters struggle with the everydayness of work,... Continue Reading →
Kevin Smith’s Relationship Advice
Chasing Amy as Romance for Realists This review isn’t about Clerks. Someday there will be a review about Kevin Smith’s Clerks (and the sequels) but today is not that day, but if I didn’t watch Clerks way back when I was working retail (those years spent in retail sometimes feel like a previous life) then... Continue Reading →
An Author’s Gambler
Alexi Ivanovich and the Mind of a Gambler A good number of stories that are centered on gambling tend to either glamorize or demonize. The protagonist is often portrayed as an individual we should either envy or pity. One exception to these extremes is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Gambler. Dostoevsky’s protagonist is a gambler we neither... Continue Reading →
The Beauty of Bourbon
You don't need an excuse to drink Bourbon, and nobody should ask you to provide a reason for wanting to drink bourbon on a random Friday afternoon. But if you do find yourself wanting excuses and/or feeling pressured to provide reasons "Bourbon" by Walker Percy is worth a read. Percy provides the reader with an... Continue Reading →
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