For this week’s “Every Picture Has A Story”, I give you Starry Night by Vincent Van Gough. The story behind the picture is very emotional for me. I don’t really remember when I first saw the picture above, but it immediately drew me in. It was just something about all the crude swirls. When I read about Van Gough’s life the hook went in deeper. … Continue reading EPS#3 – Starry Night & A Mini Meltdown
For this Artsy Saturday let’s step back and look at the broader view of things. Artsy Saturday is a part of the trilogy of new projects I am starting at RJsCorner. The banner above shows the other two. For the most part, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays are now dedicated to becoming a better artist, storyteller, and thinker. Part of my “Never Stop Learning” mantra is … Continue reading About Artsy Saturdays (and other such things)
Yesterday’s post was about one of the two things I am doing to basically change where I am going with RetComLife. Today’s post is the second shoe I don’t want to be one of those people who simply complains about things, but yes, I do find many things to complain about here on RJsCorner. One of the categories that houses the most complaints is likely … Continue reading RetComLife – The Second Shoe – Making Things Better
I now have over 40 posts in the category of RetComLife (retirement community life), so I have decided to now forego the numbers in the title line. My RetComLife posts up until now, have been about the “dos and don’ts” and possible choices of selecting a place to live in our senior years, or finding the right place for a loved one. After much search, … Continue reading RetComLife – Stories About Fitting In (aka becoming one of the gang)
The last ten years of my wife’s life, I was in the caretaker mode. That became a bigger burden as the years went by. Towards the end I started dreaming of being able to use the rest of my life as I finally wanted. But, now that more than a year has passed since her death, I have come to realize that She wasn’t holding … Continue reading I Thought She Was Holding Me Back…
I have let you know at least a couple of times that one of the things I enjoy the most about my RetCom (retirement community) is the three-quarter-mile walkway that runs along the perimeter of the property. One reason is that it gives me daily cardio-exercise. The other is that it gives me time to think, really think. To go along with my new special … Continue reading The Thing About Walks…
At first glance philosophy appears for the most part to be esoteric. It is mysterious, cryptic, and obscure. Some of the things that are debated make no sense at all. But, then along comes something that is essential to our existence. I just went through a book by Bertrand Russell entitled The Problems of Philosophy. In that book, he shows some of what I think … Continue reading Philosophy of Life #4 – Is Philosophy Esoteric?
The Story – Calming The Savage Beast My late wife was a picture puzzle addict from the get go. Over our 35-year marriage, there was almost no time that there wasn’t picture puzzle pieces strewn across her “puzzle table”. Yes, she had a table specifically in her hobby room for that purpose. Frequently during those 35 years she tried to convince me to take up … Continue reading EPS #2 – Every Picture Has a Story… A Picture In Pieces
The title of this post sounds kind of mysterious, doesn’t it? But it has a lot to do in the practice of sketching. Let’s talk about that first, then some exercises. This week I got through the 39 pages of the book. The first part was about the mental side of sketching. Liron, the author, assured me that I can learn to be a passable … Continue reading Artsy#4 – Sketching Is A Mind Game…
I am a forward thinker, and rarely a status-quo type guy. That often gets me in trouble here at my retirement community. All of my life I have been in the “Mr. Fix-It” mode. I am always looking to how to make things better. In my mind, there is no situation that can’t stand improvement. I think many of us baby boomers grew up with … Continue reading RetComLife – I Am A Forward Thinker…
They say that envy is one of the most common emotions. There is even a commandment about it. I never thought of myself as having envy, but in reality I have probably lived with it most of my life, and sometimes it even seems to drive my life. Except for my electronic gadgets, I am not much of a “things” person, so I don’t envy … Continue reading I Am Secretly Covered With Envy…
In the last year, I have spent a lot of time trying to discover the source of happiness, or maybe it is the source of unhappiness. Solve one and the other solves itself. I have even put out a ten-post series on the subject. Many of my other current focuses are indirectly related to this search. I know that China is not so much in … Continue reading The Real Secret To Happiness
I recently read a post over at TheMedium.com where the author stated nine reasons why Neurotypicals (NT) don’t like people with Autism. I don’t really agree with her basic premise that most NTs just don’t like us. Yes, I do come across some of those types, but for the most part, NTs just don’t care to know much about us. They have enough troubles of … Continue reading Oh, Poor Misunderstood Me…
Let’s start off this post with a broad definition of philosophy. At its core philosophy literally means “The Love of Wisdom”. In its broadest sense it is an activity people undertake when they seek to understand fundamental truths about themselves, and the world in which they live. That seems to be at the core of RJsCorner, so maybe I am a philosopher? 😎 I certainly … Continue reading Philosophy Of Life #3 – Just What Is Philosophy?
To my regular readers (God bless you), it is pretty obvious that I love my special projects. And from your responses, I pretty sure you do too. Special Projects are where I can let my Aspie traits shine. I love studying things in detail, and Special Projects is where I do multiple posts about the same subject. Some of my Special Projects have run their … Continue reading Every Picture Has A Story (EPS)#1 – An Introduction
Let’s face it, anything that is worth doing takes practice. If you want to learn how to play a guitar, as I did in my teen years, it takes hours and hours of practice. The more you practice, the better you get. It’s as simple as that. During those years, I became a folk song fanatic. I loved all the usual stars of the 1960s. … Continue reading Artsy Fartsy #3 – It’s ALL About Practice…
Here we are facing another massacre of children by a person who had a vendetta against one thing or another. In just about any other country in the world a person would be complaining but would not have the ability to do what this guy, or the next guy, or the next guy did. Our fixation with guns is world-famous. The first thing many people … Continue reading Guns Make Little People Feel Big
When I write each daily post here at RJsCorner, I start out putting the initial “idea” down on virtual paper. Then comes the redoes, edits if you will. That usually happens two to three times before it is posted in the “publish” queue. Every time I review a post there are almost certainly words that I change, They were just not right, and needed to … Continue reading Having Redoes
It’s been a while since I posted in the RetComLife project. Sorry… If there is one lesson I can get you to realize in my RetComLife series it is, if you are an active senior you should probably seek out an “active” retirement community for your first retirement home. During my exploration of retirement communities in the last year, I can tell you that the … Continue reading RetComLife #40 -“Active” Retirement Communities
You’re going to forget 90% of what you hear or read because it’s usually single exposure. If you really want to learn something, keep going back to it. I don’t know who said this quote, but there is a lot of truth to it. In preparation for the upcoming Philosophy of Life special project I am currently putting together, I have downloaded copies of several … Continue reading Keep Going Back To It…
After looking at last Monday’s post about Bertrand Russell I have decided that I have been thinking too narrowly about this new special project. So, I am going to expand its scope to include lessons on life learned from several philosophers, thus the new icon above. Philosophy is a hard topic for many to really get interested in. I don’t know why I got hooked … Continue reading The Philosophy Of Life #2 – Why?
For this Creativity Sunday, I give you an artwork I found at the Eskenazi Museum of Art recently. To me, it is a pretty good representation of what my mind might look like. Maybe you can’t see it, but there is order to this apparent chaos. Take away one piece and the whole thing might collapse 🫣 Continue reading There Is A Certain Order In Chaos
Ok, I got it wrong out of the gate. The novice that I am, I just assumed that a sketch was a drawing!🤪 So, I basically started out with the wrong book. (sorry Bob). While the book I first bought (Drawing for the absolute beginner) will be useful down the road, it proved to be not what I needed out of the gate. So, I … Continue reading Artsy Fartsy#2 A Sketch Is Not A Drawing
I am a lifelong dreamer. I seem to constantly be thinking about how my world could be better if only… But, if you spend too much time dreaming, can that eventually become your reality? That is what this post is all about. Nothing too ambitions huh? By not going down a road, it will always remain a road ahead. A personal example of that is … Continue reading Can Dreams Become Reality?
There is innocence in youth, unclouded by history, politics, and conflict. And maybe more so, the emotional baggage we carry through life strips us of our innocence? Even with purposefully trying to avoid it, the politics of these current times is weighing on me. I can see so many of the gains my generation made being stripped away, even before I am gone. We should … Continue reading There Is Innocence In Youth…
Each one of us has a story sometimes filled with mourning and grief along with occasionally happiness. Isn’t that what life is all about. It is not a stagnant thing that stops because of a loss or embarrassment. We simply can’t, nor should we want to stop time. Like a surfer on a big wave, Life carries us on to make room for tomorrow and … Continue reading Life Carries Us On…
Good patches come and go, but in the end it is all about laying in the sun. Of course, the quote above came from an avid sunbather, but it does have a more profound meaning. Presently, I am suffering from some not-so-good times. Too many memories flooding my consciousness. Too many realities that are not so pleasant. I barely knew him, but I miss my … Continue reading Good Patches Come And Go…
If there were only a surefire handbook by the above title, life would be simpler. Unfortunately, everyone with more than an ounce of brains thinks they have discovered this secret and if you give them $12.99 they will let you in on it. I am an armchair philosopher, so I read quite a few books on that subject. Bertrand Russell makes the most sense to … Continue reading Rules For A Better Life
My Amazon Photos app told me that I took this picture 11 years ago today, so I thought I would give it to you one more round. It is one of my favorite photos in my portfolio. At that bottom of this post you will see some of the variations I have published of this photo in the past. 🥸 Click Here if you want … Continue reading The St. Lawrence Fisherman…
Let me start off this post with a cop out. I was expecting to give you my first “piece of art” sketch, but I just didn’t get around to it. I promise I will do better in the weeks ahead. There was just too much stuff happening in my life this week. But, that is one of the joys of my senior years, if something … Continue reading Artsy Fartsy #1 – Lots Of Tools…
Now that my “Love of my Life” series is completed, I want to end this week’s posts on a related topic. Almost everyone knows the old saying Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die to get here I read that to say that we are afraid we won’t stack up to the qualifications to pass the pearly gates. Or maybe, … Continue reading Without Death, Living Would Be Unbearable.
Today is the first anniversary of my wife’s death. I still think of her everyday, but maybe a little less often now. Just before we got married, she asked me if we were making the right decision? I told her “only time would tell”. Well, we lasted for 34 years, I guess I can say it was a good decision. When I went deaf two … Continue reading Remembering The Love Of My Life – Alone Together…
In the last few weeks before her death in hospice, my wife and I managed to have a serious conversation about coping with life, particularly mine after she is gone. It was fortunate that the conversation happened when it did as she soon thereafter she sank into a malaise and was unable to communicate via signing or anything else. I had several Aspie meltdowns in … Continue reading Remembering The Love Of My Life – Advice & A Secret Revealed
My wife was just not a person of action. She would rather just enjoy each day as they came along. Her card and board games, picture puzzles, naps, and TV shows were her daily activities throughout our married life. She hated change, and when I forced it upon her, she didn’t appreciate it at all! But, after it happened, she most often grudgingly admitted she … Continue reading Remembering The Love Of My Life – GDL & New Jersey
It was a year ago this Thursday that my wife drew her last breath. Of course, I am having some serious emotions about that. I decided that to commemorate her life, I will write some heartfelt posts about her this week that will allow you to get to know her. Writing is what I do best, so I think that is the most appropriate way … Continue reading Remembering The Love Of My Life – Her Early Years
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I am dedicating the weekend posts here at RJsCorner to artistic endeavors. Saturdays are dedicated to my Artsy Fartsy project and Sundays will be to my photos and morphing apps. The origin of this post was a picture I took off my deck at my retirement community home this Spring. Continue reading Spring Robins
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