Category Archives: Life

Mimi Alford: “Once Upon A Secret”

Long before the 2003 revelation that John F. Kennedy had been shtooping his hot little intern the whole world knew that King Arthur was shtooping just about anyone he wanted.  So, I guess the fact that we are now seeing a book penned by said intern isn’t that big of news.

On the other hand, the tell all tale certainly does offer an interesting insight into the White House during the days of Johnny K.  For example, it took the President all of 4 days to bed his mistress.  Not bad considering.  Then the wonderful news that he told her to make herself available to other men.

Ahh, great stuff.

But more interesting to me than the story, after all, it’s hardly news, right?  Is the review that the NY Times ran Wednesday:

“Once Upon a Secret” can be better appreciated for what it really is: the strangest memoir about secrets and lies since “The Politician,” by Andrew Young, exposed the delusional arrogance behind John Edwards’s presidential campaign. Like Mr. Young, Ms. Alford seems to have little idea how badly her stories reflect on herself.

In one fell swoop the Times takes the time[s] to go after two authors of a book that would dare tell all of the sordid affairs of powerful Democrat men.  I can’t say that I’ll read the book, after all – why -, but man o man is the review is brutal.

Open Question: Equality

If we were more equal in relation to each other but were less advanced as a society would you still favor more equal?

What Is A Freemason

If you ever wondered:

Running a Race

I’m gonna be running a race in March.  They call it the Tobacco Road [half] Marathon.

I’m running because I’m getting older and I’m fighting Father Time.  And I’m losing.  And I hate losing.

So I’m running.

It is my earnest desire to do better than the last race I ran in which was 5 years ago:  The Twin Cities Marathon:

I’m 4763 if you couldn’t tell.

Wish me luck!

Squinkies

My son turned 6 just some time ago.  I’m cruzin’ through the store stockin’ up on loot for the little guy.  I’m near done but wouldn’t mind a little stuffer; like a stocking stuffer but for birthdays.  I come across Squinkies.

How cool do THEY look.  Well, little did I know that these little things come as a game.  A simple game.  Start to finish like 3 minutes!  Perfect.

I’m hooked.

An excellent gateway drug to Dungeons and Dragons.

 

Who Should Work In America

From pretty early on I knew that I was going to college.  I also knew that I would be going to get a degree that would help me get a job.  By the time I was a sophomore in high school I was having conversations with the guidance counselor about degrees and programs.  There were two key metrics in the decision-making process:

  1. How much did various occupations pay.
  2. What was a day in the life.

After graduating high school I loaded up my car and was off to MIT.  For those of you who just choked on your Sweet Red Muscadine Wine, the MIT I went to was the Minnesota Institute of Technology; not the other one 😉

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Tar Heel Red Is Famous

I was shopping for some wine the other day and I decided to get a bottle for my wife; she like sherry.  While looking in what I thought was that section I came across some local stuff and found this:

I have no idea how good it is, but it’s a local wine by gawd and I’m gonna give it a shot.

But not tonight.  Not in the mood for a sweet muscadine wine right now.

Anyway, you can find the wine here.  If you’re in the mood, support the Tar Heel Red!

Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus: Two Stories

There’s a poem going through the innertubes.  I’ve seen it a number of times on my Facebook feed and finally decided to watch and listen.  I don’t enjoy the genre [never have enjoyed rap] and the lyrics are somewhat strained.  But the message……yeah man, that’s some cool stuff:

So I did a quick search and found a response.  Much less popular, but I enjoyed that message as well; perhaps more so.  I acknowledge that if I were to bow my head in prayer before a meal with a Jew, a Muslim and a Hindi, my God would hear and acknowledge each of our supplications.

It’s a crazy thing, God.  But if you have ever considered a conscience while feeling the wind on a cliff, or the sweet sound of a babies laughter, you’ve heard what I hear.

Harvard Business Review Proves I Am A Trophy Husband

I make no secret that my wife is bigger, faster, stronger, smarter and more able to survive in the wild than I am.  She is gifted, really and truly, gifted.

I am not.

And a recent stat from the Harvard Business Review reinforces what I have always believed:

I am a trophy husband!

More Older Women Marrying Younger Men

The proportion of male-female partnerships in which the woman is at least five years older than the man increased sharply in the UK and the United States in the 1980s and 1990s: Having remained at about 3% for decades, it rose to 8.3% in 2000 and is likely much higher now, say Melvyn G. Coles and Marco Francesconi of the University of Essex in the UK. Today’s wider career choices give women the opportunity to increase their desirability through financial success, an option that once was limited to males, the researchers say.

My wife is older than I am, sshhhhh, and her success in the world has afforded her the luxury of marrying me!

We Are All Collectivists: We Are All Tribal

Human beings are social animals.  We depend on groups, on tribes.  In the modern world that translates into families and villages.  And by village I mean social construct.

In short we care about those around us.  We want those near us to succeed, or, if not succeed, avoid devastating failure.  We may not want to subsidize your food bill, but we’ll rebuild your life:

Henderson, N.C. — A Henderson family that lost its home in a fire one week before Christmas said Sunday that it couldn’t be getting back on its feet without the generous outpouring of support from the Vance County community.

“People we’ve never seen in our life, people we will never meet (were) just giving to us,” said Jessica Morgan.

Donations poured in for the family following the fire, including clothing, money and rent to stay in a nearby mobile home. The biggest donation came from Schewels Furniture, which provided the family with all new furniture, free of charge.

Morgan, her two children and her fiance, Scott Weaver, lost all their belongings Dec. 18 when the Christmas tree in their living room caught fire. Five-year-old Gabriella woke the family up and Weaver helped Morgan escape out a front window with the children.

I’m just begging to explore what this means.  Why a community will rally around a family it’s never met yet, very defiantly, won’t succumb to legislation that might do the same thing.  However, I do know this, the separation exists.  There are many things that we do in our private life that we don’t want legislated.  We don’t want it even though that legislation might be as good intentioned as the charity above.

Fascinating.