Somebody in my household loves to do puzzles – words, numbers, it doesn’t matter. For spelling bees and crosswords, I’m the closer. Cryptograms don’t usually interest me, but he solved one recently that struck me. It said “summer used to last forever when you were a kid. Now it’s only 12 weeks.” And this one […]
Dorothy Parker, that famous doyenne of the literary Round Table and master of the pithy putdown, had a very challenging life. And personality. Reading a bio took some of the shine off her image, but she also had a brilliant way with words even when not being funny. This particular quote resonated strongly for me: […]
Turns out one of my favorite sayings actually has a name – Hanlon’s Razor. It says “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” An article in The Economist recently recommended using it to squelch the urge for revenge against annoying or deceitful colleagues. Having found that advice to be useful over […]
There are undeniably many sources of anxiety in our world today, and reasons to be depressed. It’s one of those laugh or cry situations, and I’d generally rather laugh. But how? A couple of recent articles provided some guidance. Psychology Today talks about purpose in terms of little p versus Big P. People often feel […]
Need a bit of uplifting? Perhaps some useful information about stress management, food, health, or how to focus? Perhaps you’d like a brief diversion by way of travel memories? Or simply something colorful to cheer, soothe or distract you? My blog will do the trick. It’s ostensibly about art, and sometimes I do write about […]
Remember school days when you’d be asked how you spent your summer vacation? Well, here’s the Cliff Notes version of how I spent my summer, by way of explaining the long delay between blog posts. Happy hours on the deck overlooking the water and laughing at the shenanigans at the boat launch. Hosting book groups, […]
A very amusing column about jargon appeared in the Economist recently and introduced me to the concept of a “nub.” This acronym for non-useful body is apparently employed by submariners to describe a ride-along person who takes up space, air and food while performing no useful function. In other words, not a member of the […]
You’ll be relieved to know this post isn’t about politics, current events, liars, or anything criminal. Instead, it was inspired by a quote from Albert Camus. He said “fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.” My immediate thought was that his statement applies to painting, too. Think about it. A painting is […]
My exhibit at the local library includes limited edition prints and a group of my travel photos, works I hadn’t exhibited in quite a while. I enjoyed seeing Mexico, Bali and Miami’s Art Deco district again – vicarious traveling during a pandemic. The show was well-received and I was asked to extend it, which I […]
Certain words aren’t as clear as they could be, or should be. Defunding, of course, has been in the news recently. Some people understand it to mean abolish the police. The true intent, however, seems to be to focus police on protecting people and solving crimes. Some police funding would be used to allow other […]
