Anyone who has spent much time on this blog knows that I am a big fan of Wikipedia. I give them at least a couple of donations every year to support their efforts. It was only recently that I discovered Wikimedia Commons. Click on the graphic to the right to go there. Wikimedia Commons has literally thousands of public domain media for all you bloggers out there. You don’t have to worry about infringement of copyrights when you used any of their images. Try them out. You won’t be disappointed and if you like them or Wikipedia give them a … Continue reading About Wikimedia Commons….

I can remember in my younger years how when I came across older people who didn’t know some of the things I did I automatically thought they were just senile old folks who were no longer living in the “real” world.  They were simply out of tune with the times. They just didn’t see the world as I did. Of course now that I am one of those “old” folks I can understand their “ignorance”. In fact I am most like them now. I am just out of tune when it comes to anything in the music area. I have … Continue reading Out Of Tune…..

Looking at all the religious oligarchies around the world I am thankful that the U.S. is not a Christian nation. Without exception those countries that adhere to a strict religious dogma are plagued with strife, war, and are constantly battling with their neighbors. I am totally convinced that the reason that the U.S. is what it is today because of our diversity. We are a nation of immigrants from hundreds of countries and religious beliefs.  I can easily see that the diversity level in the blue States is glaringly higher than in most red States. Maybe this accounts for some … Continue reading Being Thankful That The United States Is Not A Christian Nation….

I spent the first couple decades of my life as a Catholic. That was the dogma that my parents chose for me. They, for the most part, were not “real” Catholics but for whatever reason they thought that we kids should be.  One of the things I thought was kind of neat about being a Catholic was that there seemed to be a patron saint for almost anything you could think of. In some ways the Catholic church is kind of like their Jewish bretheran in that they have a strict list of rules for things like making saints as … Continue reading Patron Saints….

When I was a kid I often heard that the USA was the great American melting pot. That implied that when people came to this country they gave up all their traditions and heritage and merged seamlessly into the American ethic. I was a pretty naive farm boy in my youth so it was years before I realized that the melting pot was not as homogeneous as I thought. Those who grew up in large metropolitan areas very much realize that American is more of a stew than a melting pot. Take any major city and you will find “Little … Continue reading A Melting Pot vs. A Stew….

I am going to talk about a “below the belt” issue here so all you prudes out there take warning.  Also take warning to not take what I say here too serious. I am kind of poking fun at this issue so don’t flame me too much.  :) Some read the Bible to say that the only purpose of having a sexual relations is for procreation.  But if that is the case then why did God make having sex so pleasurable? Why didn’t he make it more of an undesirable chore rather than a joy? Why don’t we say to … Continue reading Below The Belt…

I have come to  recent insight that there is really no such thing as a grownup. We all carry our basic insecurities and fears with us throughout our lives. They might not have the intensity they once had but they never disappear. Let’s face it none of us ever really grows up. Especially as far as our parents are concerned.  I was always somewhat embarrassed when my father would introduce me, his fifty year old son, to some of his friends as “This is my boy”. Somewhat embarrassed but to a degree also proud. Dad never showed many feelings but … Continue reading There Is No Such Thing As A Grownup…..

For those of you who have read some of the classics of the past I”m sure you will finish this post title with “Walter Mitty”.  I think all of us at one level or another live our own Walter Mitty lives in our minds.  There are those missed opportunities where we could have made fundamentally different choices that might have radically changed who we are.  Regrettably most of us cower during those times and then can only live that alternate choice in the depths of our minds. I am certainly one such person. Here I am getting toward the end … Continue reading The Secret Life Of…..

As we age we become more aware of who we are, and we have more time to enjoy the smaller, ordinary things that fill our days. These words or something like them fill a myriad of books about living a fulfilling retirement. But on some level this seems to me to be a cop-out of not trying to do something to live out remaining dreams. It is just easier to say we enjoy the simple things now than it is to get off our butts and fully live the life we have left. Is “carpe diem” just an unfulfilled dream … Continue reading Savoring vs. Seizing….

Half of American adults ages 18 to 33 are self-described political independents, according to a survey out Friday, but at the same time half of these so-called millennials are Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, the highest share for any age group over the last decade. In addition, young adults tend to be single and churchless — turning away from their predecessors’ proclivity for religion and marriage, according the Pew Research Center survey. Almost two-thirds don’t classify themselves as “a religious person.” And when it comes to tying the knot: Only about 1 in 4 millennials is married. Almost … Continue reading Many millennials are skipping church, marriage and political affiliations…

THIS JUST IN… Louisiana Judge orders Glenn Ford to be released after 30 years on death row. Glenn is African American convicted by an all-white jury, and lost 30 years of his life and was nearly executed for a crime he did not do. Huge news, hopefully moving us one step closer to abolition of the death penalty. Louisiana Judge Ramona Emanuel ordered Glenn Ford to be “unconditionally released from the custody of the Louisiana Department of Corrections.” (KTAL NBC News, Mar. 11, 2014). Glenn Ford, who has spent 30 years on Louisiana’s death row is likely to be freed … Continue reading Released after 30 years on Death Row…