For this artsy Saturday, I want to give you one of my favorite facades. I would love to hear the history of this building. I found the building a few miles north of Iroquois Illinois during my first uRV trip of 2018.. (Click on the pic to see a larger view) Continue reading The Stories It Could Tell…
It seems there are many people who always want more and more. Of course, that is basically the foundation for our economic system here in the US. Given the fact that our population has plateaued in recent decades, each of us buying more is the only way for our GDP to constantly increase year over year especially now that our government is doing everything they can to prevent others from coming to our country. Let’s look at a few glaring examples of this syndrome of always wanting more and more. I see more and more of those restaurants that want … Continue reading More Is Not Always Better.
I think its time to pull one of the header quotes from Will for this post. “Do the best you can and don’t take life too serious.” I discovered this quote several years ago and practicing it has helped me cope with daily life. I don’t think I am unusual in taking my personal life too seriously. If we were to concentrate on what our FaceBook friends say, we can become convinced that we are the only ones struggling. But once we realize that the FB media is a facade and doesn’t reflect any deeper meaning, we can dispell that … Continue reading Don’t Take Life Too Serious…
I heard the quote in the title above on an IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) segment of the PBS Newshour. It was basically linked to another quote that is pretty common in the art world, “Separate the Art from the Artist”. The first thing that came to my mind was Bill Cosby. Looking at his various TV series it is hard to even imagine that the star was a habitual sexual abuser. But, given that big egos are part of this trait it is looking back understandable. Getting to the point of the post, should we be able to view … Continue reading Bad People Can Make Beautiful Things.
I just decided to play hooky today. Too many summer chores that need to be done and too little time to do both blogging and them. :) Continue reading Playing Hooky
For this artsy Saturday, I want to give you a picture I took this week at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Michigan of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. This was my fourth trip there but the last time was over 30 years ago so a lot has changed. More on that in a near future post. Continue reading WienerMobile..
“You are not alone” is one of my Ten Pillars of life. The thought is that no matter what adversities you face, there is always someone who has had them before you and they can help you learn how to cope. Asking for help is a hard thing to do for many of us. We just don’t want to admit to ourselves that we sometimes struggle through life, let alone broadcast that fact to the world! It takes a brave person to do that. One of those brave people is Michelle over at the Green Study. She recently came out … Continue reading The Cutting Room Floor
There have been quite a few negative comments about Christianity here on RJsCorner and many of them were from me. I want to make it clear with this post that I lament what has become of Christianity not what it is at its core. When Jesus was asked what it the most important thing about being one of his followers he gave us two commands: Love God and Love Each Other He was very adamant that these two eclipsed everything else. In this case, like my Evangelical friends claim they do for every biblical thing, I take his words literally. It … Continue reading At Its Core…
In Will’s days checking your phone meant going into the parlor to see if it was ringing or maybe if someone else on the party line was using it. Phones were pretty valuable in those days and they didn’t cost $800 like many do today, especially since $800 was pretty much what a successful fellow made a year in Will’s time. But, I guess I better get to the point here. I read something recently that said that researchers have found that folks who are constantly checking their cell phones have higher levels of boredom and worse overall moods. I … Continue reading Checking Those Phones…
It is sad to see that suicide is on the rise in the US. A couple of prominent people have brought it to the forefront. As noted below a part of the problem is the lack of proper healthcare here in America. It is hard to believe that over 45,000 people committed suicide last year alone. The stigma of mental illness causes too many to not seek help when they are severely depressed and that is the major cause of it. I go through some pretty significant periods of depression myself but never to the point of thinking life is … Continue reading Rising US suicide rates…
For this artsy Saturday, I want to give you a picture looking out the dining room window of the Giant City Lodge State Park in southern Illinois. The park is not big and “Giant City” is nowhere to be found but it reminds me of Yellow Stone and other national park lodges. The CCC statues there is to honor all those who built the lodge in the 1930s. Continue reading Giant City Lodge
It’s been a few days since I visited a Will Rogers quote, so I spent hours going through my archives looking for just the right one to say what I currently feel. Well, actually, it took about one minute before I found one that grabbed me. But, spending hours just seemed more dramatical. I am not so much lately but for most of my life, I have been an avid reader. Except for my initial introduction to this novels and such via the Hardy Boys, Steinbeck, London, and a few others I have just not been that interested in fiction. … Continue reading Three Kinds Of Men…
No, I’m not going to have a countdown of my top ten list but I did just establish a new set of categories entitled “My 10 Pillars” in the header menu here at RJsCorner to reflect the new direction I recently took for this blog. They are not in rank order as each is just as important to me as the other. In the past, many of my posts were political in nature but since that venue is now totally in the gutter I have for the most part chosen a new track. I know this is not the first time … Continue reading The Top Ten…
In Will Rogers’ day during the Great Depression soup kitchens were where millions got their daily meal if they got one at all. I know a thing or two about soup kitchens as I volunteered in one for over eleven years. It was a very rewarding and eye-opening time for me I am not a “meat & potatoes” guy, but $1,000 for dinner seems pretty excessive. I guess if you are a billionaire or a CEO it probably only means an hour or so of work. The new remodeled Eleven Madison Park restaurant is now charging that and reservation are made months ahead! Eleven … Continue reading $1,000 Dinner!
For as long as I can remember California has been at the forefront of every significant social change. All change in this country just seems to seep into the west coast and then dredge across the country until eventually, all those Northeasterners have adopted it. The Southerners seem to always be the holdouts until they finally are forced into it. Here are some words from the New York Times to show you that California is doing it again. They are teaching us how to reinvent ourselves in the Post-Trump era. The new California, back from years of financial trouble, has … Continue reading (WS) As Goes California…
I know, there are probably several of you out there who might not agree that the photo below is beautiful. But, for a guy who made plastic models like this one in his youth, seeing the real thing in my old age is beautiful indeed. So, for this artsy Saturday, I give you the American Hotrod. Continue reading The Orange Beast
Fear is what drives far too many of us in the US right now. The majority of the most fearful live in the less populated rural areas of the country. You only need to look at the red/blue map to see that reality. Here are some causes as I see it of this inordinate fear: For many of these folks fear is due to just not knowing others different than themselves. Due to their isolated conditions, they just have a much smaller worldview than many of us. Education is another factor. Almost twice as many urban Americans have college degrees … Continue reading Being Afraid of Minorities… Why??
Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment – Will Rogers It’s time I put out a post on the new quote in the header above. I think experience and wisdom often go hand in hand and as Will says learning from mistakes is a big part of it. I personally think I can remember more details of the things I got wrong than the things I got right. Due to my Aspie characteristics, I made a lot of social mistakes. Looking back I can see where opportunities were presented to me that I … Continue reading Good Judgment
I have to give Mark Twain credit for the quote in the title above. Something happened recently to make this quote “How did I get inside this old body” jump in front of me. In my youth, when I visited my grandmother the thing I noticed first was the line of pill bottles that were on her dresser. She seemed to always be taking her medicine. Fast forward to today, and given the fact that one of the most lucrative businesses to be in is pharmaceuticals, it is no surprise that many people over 60 have medicine cabinets that dwarf my … Continue reading How did I get inside this old body
For this artsy Saturday, I want to give you a simplistic display of textures and colors. They were found in Madison Indiana a few years ago. Continue reading Feast of Textures & Colors
I read a statistic the other day that almost half the folks under forty say their primary news source is Facebook? That totally astounded me. Yes, Facebook is a nice tool to keep up with family and friends, and even some not-so-friends but a primary news source? But maybe I am old-school when it comes to where I get my news. I want my news to be verifiable and truthful, not just someone’s personal feelings. I want it fact-checked before it is presented to me. It takes a lot of effort to accomplish this and that takes resources and organization. Hearing … Continue reading Getting Your News From Facebook?
I think just about all of us can pretty quickly recall some of our worst times in our lives. For me, one of those times was the damage done to my wife when the small Evangelical congregation we belonged revoked my membership due to my failure to align with the belief that, among other things, the earth is only 6,000 year old and any seeming proof otherwise is just God trying to trick us. My wife, who was recuperating from cancer surgery, was devastated by the rejection but even more so by the sudden loss of so-called friends there. It … Continue reading The Best Thing About The Worst Time…
I seem to often get Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day mixed up. Aren’t they both primarily to recognize our American soldiers? I think maybe it is time to broaden the concept of one of those days. We need to recognize others outside our military who provide us with valuable services. That is what this post is all about. Just what is the definition of “memorial”? Isn’t it as shown here to recognize meritorious service to our community. Surely no one can argue that meritorious service is provided only by our soldiers. Shouldn’t we be also recognizing others on this day? When … Continue reading Thank You For Your Service…
I know this is Sunday and that is usually where I do my weekly Squawk, but for this week I will squawk tomorrow, Memorial Day, on a topic that needs extended words. All the blog pundits say to always include enticing pictures with each of my posts. But is that really necessary? I see the opposite in some blogs I follow. One in particular always has a half dozen or so stock images strewn throughout the text. In my opinion, this blogger is a very talented writer and the images do nothing but distract from the story she is telling. I … Continue reading Without Pictures
For this artsy Saturday, I thought I would give you a long-armed selfie from 30+ years ago. It’s kind of out of focus but it is one of my favorite early pictures of my hubby and me. I really don’t remember where or exactly when it was taken but that doesn’t matter. I know that you primarily know me by my avatar on my comments and blog posts. I wanted to show you that have not always been bald or had a white goatee. :) Continue reading Long-armed Selfie?
“It doesn’t matter how sleazy they are if they are part of your tribe you support them.” Has our politics degraded to this? Some of the pundits say it has but I think it might not be so I was in college in the 1960’s and I can remember that the nightly news was all about campus protests and sit-ins. If you believed the reports back then every kid who was in college was a pot-smoking hippie. The reality of it, for at least Purdue University, was that the vast majority of us were just going to classes and doing … Continue reading Part Of The Tribe…
I know the title of this post is a worn out cliche but it does kinda make sense for this post about WalMart taking on Amazon in the online market. Another worn out cliche that fits this scenario is “Better late than never”. It is still kind of hard to think of Walmart as “old-school”. I can remember when there were none of them around. I think of McDonald’s in the same vein. Both are trying to hold on to the dominance they once had in their markets while others are quickly eating their dinner so to speak. McDonald’s, at … Continue reading Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks
This post is in honor of the new Will Roger’s quote in the header above. For those folks who might be viewing the post from the archive in the future, I will put the words here too. There are some folks in the country that seem to believe that our best days are behind us and if we could just bring them back we would be in great shape. As Will tells us, the trouble with that is that they want to find that point in time and then just sit there forever. That simply won’t work as time has the … Continue reading Just Sitting There…
Sante Fe Texas joins the list of tragedies in local high schools. The scenario is all too familiar. A disgruntled teen is depressed and wants to go out in a flash of attention. This time he got his weapons from his father’s stash but he could have just as easily bought them himself. This national tragedy that very rarely happens in other countries continues… It seems that a very real reality for teenagers now is to consider the possibility that they will be shot dead before they graduate. I can’t imagine having that feeling when I was their age! But … Continue reading They Won’t Listen…
I am once again trying to get you to understand my obsession with writing. Or maybe it is to help me understand myself, I don’t know. But, here goes. I am such a writer. It’s not even funny. I’m rarely blocked. If anything, I have more material to write, than I have time to write. That’s been the prevailing theme of my life: So many words, so little time. And some of the words are actually pretty decent. I devote my waking hours to noticing things and thinking about them in ways that few other people do. When other people … Continue reading I Am A Writer…
In my recent theme for artsy Saturday of simplicity, I want to give a salute to the American tractor. Two hundred years ago almost 90% of us were farmers who grew our own food. Even a hundred years ago about 40% of us were in that same state. It took industrialization to drastically change those numbers. Today, less than 2% of us are needed in that category. So, this picture is to celebrate the American farm and the Ford tractor. Continue reading The American Tractor
I truly believe that we are coming to a point in our country’s history where some very basic changes are about to happen. One of those changes is the realignment of our political parties. Another is that we will finally reject the idea that our best days are behind us. Today, after the financial crisis, the shrinking of the middle class, the partisan warfare, a scarcity mind-set is dominant: Resources are limited. The world is dangerous. Group conflict is inevitable. It’s us versus them. If they win, we’re ruined, therefore, let’s stick with our tribe. The ends justify the means… … Continue reading Scarcity Mentality…
I know the quote above from Will and the title of the post seem kinda disjointed but hear me out before you pass judgment. :) I have always been a dreamer in life. One of my favorite things in my youth was to lay back on the lawn on a clear night and gaze unendingly at the stars and dream of what my future life would be about. I had high expectations in those years. I was abruptly introduced to the idea that your dreams and expectations are never as good as you hope or as bad at you dread. Marriage … Continue reading Coping With Dissappointments
Are you a worrier? Do you worry about what other people think about you? If so, it just might be preventing you from being who you were meant to be. According to many studies, people driven by worry are some of the least happy people in the world. About the only thing that does more damage to your personal life than worry is an irrational fear. Worrying about what others think of you will prevent you from being real. It will prevent you from taking risks that will make you a better person. It will prevent you from being what others … Continue reading What Other People Think About You…
“Spin” is very dominant in the world today. Marketers and con-artist, not that they are one always in the same, both have those who make “spin” their occupation’s purpose. Spinsters take a topic and try to weave a narrow vision scenario. Spin becomes a “filtered version of the truth”. Thanks to a commentor on a recent post, I have the perfect example to use on this Squawk post. Yes, it definitely depends on where you grew up. If you know history, you know that unions were one of the primary reasons we have a middle-class today. In the midst of the Industrial … Continue reading (WS) A Filtered Version Of The Truth…
For this artsy Saturday, I want to once again keep it simple. How often you do take the time anymore just to look up. No, I don’t mean at the ceiling, but instead the sky. There is a lot of beauty there if you take the time to see it. Lord knows there is enough ugliness in your world today that we certainly need a regular dose of beauty. Continue reading Looking Up…
I want to start off this Cackle with the thought that we need to welcome a much higher number of people to our country than we presently are. Our immigration quotes are shamefully low. Being a self-proclaimed progressive liberal, it might be a surprise to you that I am not as entrenched in the immigration debate as I’m supposed to be. I can see some logic in both sides of the argument. One thing I ran across recently that pushed me a little to the conservative side is the following quote: Giving amnesty to the “Dreamers” is like allowing the … Continue reading A Country of Immigrants…
I don’t try to understand how my mind works. But, I am totally happy that I get quick broad streaks of inspiration on a regular basis. Sometimes I get quick mental flashes that interrupt whatever I was doing that demands my immediate attention. In the past, I would most likely decide to write it down when I got back to my desk. But, of course, most often the thought would vanish as quickly as it appeared. So, now I immediately jot them down. Getting to the point of the post, I have always admired those who can take a pencil/pen/brush and create … Continue reading Wild Inspirations…
I don’t know if I invented the phrase in the title above, I kinda doubt it, but it does pretty much describe how I feel about the subject. Getting to the very core of this subject I wish I had learned most of my lessons earlier in life. What good is that wisdom now that I am out of the mainstream and heading downhill? If I had just learned some lessons earlier I could have more successfully addressed the problems in my life. I like to think that I am a better person as a result of looking at the world … Continue reading Wisdom Is Wasted On The Eldery
Since I was a teenager in the 1960s, one of my favorite musical groups was Simon & Garfunkel. One of their most popular songs was “I am a Rock”. Due to my Aspie traits, I was somewhat of a loner back then so this song just “spoke” to me. My mother had abandoned me a few years before, so that probably had something to do with it too. The song is basically about a desire to avoid pain and heartbreak. In order to avoid being hurt by relationships, the subject of the song refuses to make friends or fall in love. … Continue reading I Am A Rock…
For this artsy Saturday, I want to give you a taste of Spring. This picture was taken about a year ago at the Prophetstown State Park here in Indiana. It is beautiful to me because of its simplicity… Continue reading Spring Has Sprung!! Hallelujah
Will Rogers is my favorite source for quotes but sometimes I discover wisdom elsewhere. :) In this case, it is Socrates. For those who might not know the guy, he lived 2500 years ago and is credited with being the founder of Western Philosophy. His words above are probably more relevant today than when he originally spoke them. Now I know this message is very counter to capitalism and if it were fully practiced in the USA our current economic foundation would likely collapse. Our economy depends on each of us spending more and more, so developing the capacity to enjoy … Continue reading The Capacity To Enjoy Less…
I have never been a person who patiently waits in a line. It has always seemed like a total waste to me. I will most often do anything to keep from having to stand behind other people. Now that I have taken the “One day at a time” approach to life, I want to live what I have left of life as fully as I can. Waiting in line is just not in that scenario. And as Will said in the quote above many things just aren’t worth the wait. Most of my grocery shopping occurs during the early hours when the store … Continue reading Waiting In Line…
The topic of this post is the new quote in the header above. I imagine everyone with an IQ above a cucumber knows who I am talking about. #CO3 thinks he is the greatest human being ever to walk the earth! But, I guess there are also some around, who do have the IQ of a cucumber who agree with him. I’m sorry Will, but I gotta improve what you said here with some similar words of my own. This one just seems more appropriate to today’s primary situation, doesn’t it? If my quote is applied, #CO3’s greatness is about … Continue reading No Man Is Great If He Thinks He Is – Will Rogers
You know the old saying that “money can’t buy happiness”, and happiness is the most sought-after thing in life for most of us. Happiness is even embedded in our constitution, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. So, the question is just what does bring on happiness. Obviously, money is not the answer so what is? To answer that question we need to find the happiest people in the world and ask them that question. In the March 30, 2018 edition of The Week magazine, they identified Finland, closely followed by Norway and Denmark as the happiest people. That just doesn’t make sense? For … Continue reading The Happiest People in the World?
