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English Lessons

Maybe it's time I retire this joke: "You may be American in the kitchen, but European in the bathroom".  Nobody gets it! When it was told to me by my Greek friend, Paul, I got it right away! I'm sharp like that, but also immature. So, maybe it's just me that gets it. Paul was probably about the same age as me, but he grew up as a Greek American kid while I grew up as an All-American boy of multi-ethnic background long lost amongst my ancestors. Like most of the Greeks and Slavs I knew, he learned English at school and spoke his parent's tongue at home, translating for them because they were too busy working to make a life for their children to learn English. This is the story of America. Always has been. I think it takes a lot of guts to go to another country and try to make it. It still happens every day. People come from all over the world to be Americans. It isn't easy and they never do it fast enough to please those who think it is easy because they we...

What Are YOU Looking At?

 I lost interest in the NBA after Michael Jordan retired for good. Growing up Chicago-adjacent, it was a great time to be a Bulls fan, but with Magic and Bird in their last years too, it just wasn't must see TV for me anymore after they were all gone. I just didn't have basketball in my heart and soul like baseball, and to a lesser extent, football. When the Knicks of New York got into the finals this month, I was only mildly curious. I got a little more curious when Trump reared his ugly head and threatened to ruin it for everyone by making Gane 3 all about him. I went so far as to search my streaming services to see if I could conjure the ABC Network. Truth be told, I was kinda interested in hearing NYC boo Trump live.  You know, I couldn't? I couldn't find ABC anywhere. It's still Channel 7 in Chicago, but I'm not sure anyone can watch it unless they have a package. It's the same with CBS and NBC (2 & 5 in Chicago) All three are offered as local news,...

An End Around

  Ah, but the Bluesky is darkening, I hear. One of my favorite blue skiers, Mark Chadbourn, had a post about Bluesky looking to retool and perhaps become more Reddit-like in an attempt to win the coveted, "World's Most Dominant Social Media Platform" title that everybody just gives to Twitter anyways because it was Twitter and was once new and exciting and everybody still calls it Twitter because "X" is just a stupid name. As many commenters pointed out, Twitter is rife with bots and any comparison is tainted by this, like comparing apples to rancid oranges. It is like when Trump declares himself the greatest president- EVER and you just go with that because a) he said it, and 2) he's the president and thousands of bots and real-life idiots believe this to be true, so there you go. It's a bold statement for a sleepy-eyed fat man and the media is not here to pick winners and losers, just make them. Whether you look at social media as a modern town sq...

Bluesky, Nothin' but Bluesky

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Fear and Loathing of Women as Policy

As a penis-bearing member of this human race, I find it very disconcerting that republicans in general and this regime in particular, hate women so much. I just don't get it. I'll go out on a limb here (and trust me; I have my own saw, so I don't need any help) but I really don't see much difference between the sexes beyond the obvious physical stuff. I noted the other day that it is our brains that define us, regardless of race, gender, color, creed- whatever. There isn't really a woman's or man's mindset. There is a right and wrong mindset, and it is an equal opportunity employer.  Well, nobody wants to hear that. This is America- pick a fucking side! Well, again, I can't. And I won't! And you can't fucking make me.  There was a post this AM on BS about Trump assembling a panel of 30 men to discuss women's maternity care. I'd link it, but for whatever reason, the link went to a 404 Error, so I can't. But if you have a functioning br...

Why the Ballroom Blitz? I'm Glad You Asked!

Probably the only person who believes Trump will live to enjoy his ballroom, is Trump himself. I don't think we need to argue about how deluded he is about himself. He buys into all the memes about his Rambo-ness and quite likely sees himself as the muscled, chiseled hunk those in his creative circle jerk like to portray him as. That's a given. Slightly more rational people must look at that lump of rotting flesh and smell what The Trump is cooking. He's an old man who falls asleep at cabinet meetings in the middle of the day. Not once, but nearly every damn time.  We have to consider the bigger picture of the ballroom bunker and other crazy endeavors they have in store. Who are they really for? There is the Devil you know, and the Devil you don't know. Like, if you kill a mob boss; what if the guy who takes over is worse? Murder tends to be punishment more than change. It affects change for sure, but only temporarily. Criminal organizations tend to go on, barely skippi...

Jules and Jim

 A few days before my mom passed, we were visited by three cousins and their spouses. The occasion was, those three had attended the wake of our oldest cousin, MaryAnn. Mom had wanted to attend herself and my oldest sister (as she was wont to do) had made plans for mom to attend, but mom and I put the kibosh on that, due to the cold, icy, December weather. We made the right call. Jeff, Jules and Chris made the right call as well to surprise mom with a post-wake visit. To see the sons and daughter of two of her three cherished brothers thrilled my mom so! It was a great surprise for me too, as Jeff and Jules and I were members of "The '57 Club" (as Jules called us), having all been born within a month of each other that year. It was an awesome visit for all, but particularly for mom.  Jeff brought his wife, Mary, whom I've known for years. Mary was like another daughter to my mom. They spoke on the phone frequently and for hours at a time. Chris's wife- a true gem ...