Larry Denham. Now, that’s a name that means a whole lot me, personally. I wouldn’t have been here without it, after all. He, however, would still be here if not for the cancer that festered in the two to three packs of cigarettes he smoked every day and hung concentrated in the air of the bars he regularly frequented for decades, then spread to his lungs and beyond, and eventually killed him. On April 17th, my family will note the fourth year since the passing of my dad. It’s become...
I work a second job, three nights a week, running a cash register at a Dollar General. Just making some extra cash. A woman came in the other night and purchased a lot of foodstuffs; cereal, canned veggies and fruit, lunch snacks, stuff like that. She paid with a Food Stamp Debit Card. No problem. As I finished up, however, bagging her items and handing her the receipt, she looked to her right and noticed a display we have on the counter. "Oooo! Pez dispensers!" she said, excited. "I love...
I've been away for a while, so if someone else noted this somewhere else, please to forgive. I heard on the radio a while back that the Washington Post has learned, from certain "intelligence analysts", that we'd better think twice about attacking Iran. Yes, sirree. If we take that road, these contacts assured the Post, we can definitely expect large numbers of terror attacks on American targets and interests in the West, including and especially inside the US. Yes, I can see that as...
Larry Denham. Now, that’s a name that means a whole lot me, personally. I wouldn’t have been here without it, after all. He, however, would still be here if not for the cancer that festered in the two to three packs of cigarettes he smoked every day and hung concentrated in the air of the bars he regularly frequented for decades, then spread to his lungs and beyond, and eventually killed him. On April 17th, my family will note the fourth year since the passing of my dad. It’s become...
Weirton, WV, the home of the first Wal-Mart in this area, is supposed to be coming into its own, Wal-Mart wise, with the (rumored) construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the grounds of the old Weirton Steel Corp. General Offices (or the G.O., as it's called here) out on Three Springs Drive. Why we need another WM Supercenter is beyond me. Weirton already has the one Wal-Mart and, right across the river in Steubenville, OH is a large Supercenter, just about three or four years old. Oh, wel...
Caution: Broad statements and vast generalizations ahead! Good: The Rainbow flag, Iraqi flag, USSR flag Bad: (Read: tacky) The American flag (and, really, any symbols of support for the nation and/or its present leadership or policies). Good: Marx and Lenin, Mao and Castro (after all, they supported or fought in the Worldwide Socialist Revolution against the evils of Capitalism and the Imperialist Western Democracies) Bad: Washington and Jefferson, Hamilton and Adams ...
I’m not sure I’m going to be able to convey this properly, but here goes: From the time we’re little kids, we hear how everyone is different. We’re none of us, no two, completely alike; we’re all unique in some way. Even identical twins. Some are similar, yes. In views, personality and temperament, which is how we form friendships, but we’re all different. Our backgrounds are what "form" us, I suppose you could say; our genetic makeup, our upbringing, environment, whatever. That’s wha...
Actor Richard Belzer, Det. John Munch of NBC's "Law and Order--SVU" seems to know more about the war in Iraq than the young men fighting it. See the link for details. Belzer says American troops who say they "support the mission" are simply "uneducated and uninformed" 19- and 20-year olds "who are only in the service because they couldn't find a job". He said he's so much better informed because he has time to read 20 newspaper a day. Good for him; "money for nuthin' an' yer chicks fer free...
In my time here at JU, I've noticed a lot of people who will put "G-d" in place of simply using the word "God". It contains three individual characters, just like the word "God", so it's not like they're using shorthand or anything. I guess it doesn't really matter, but they do it anyway. Why is this?
It seems that a competition called "Film Your Issue" is calling on all Americans between the ages of 18 and 28, and asking them to film their political, environmental and social, etc., questions. Anything at all. Walter Cronkite and George Clooney have written "open letters" to potential filmmakers, which are being run in popular publications. The films must be no less than 30 seconds and no longer than 60 seconds in length. Ample time for the filmmaker to pose a deep and profound questio...
Just read that Slobodan Milosevic has died, apparently of natural causes (probably a heart attack) and in his sleep. He was discovered in his cell, found by a guard. Linked. He was way ahead of his time in hating Muslims. Maybe the whole intervening in the Balkan War thing wasn't such a good idea after all, huh?
A few days ago, I got a forward from a friend, which consisted of the titles of "Extremely Thin Books" and their authors. It was kind of cute and I got a chuckle. I got to thinking of some other thin books, and have written this list of my own. Others are welcome. 1. "Tips for building a successful marriage"----By Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney (Foreword by Jennifer Lopez) 2. "Female staffers I have NOT boned"----By Bill Clinton 3. "Proper use of Men’s Room facilities"----By Ge...
A few days ago, I got a forward from a friend, which consisted of the titles of "Extremely Thin Books" and their authors. It was kind of cute and I got a chuckle. I got to thinking of some other thin books, and have written this list of my own. Others are welcome. 1. "Tips for building a successful marriage"----By Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney (Foreword by Jennifer Lopez) 2. "Female staffers I have NOT boned"----By Bill Clinton 3. "Proper use of Men’s Room facilities"----By Ge...
"Baa, baa black sheep, have you any wool?" has been officially changed. Now, English nursery schools, in the interest of inoffensiveness, multi-culturalism and diversity, have been told to change the wording. It's now "rainbow sheep". No kidding; it was on the Glenn Beck program the other morning. The nuts are takin' over the asylum, man.
Maybe a month ago now, I posted an article asking for opinions on my writing abilty. It was titled "Can I write"; a post in which I requested JUer opinions on my abilities, and indicated my desire to, possibly, begin work on a novel. The article recieved little traffic, save comments from Little Whip and Dr. Guy. Both of them seemingly found at least minimal favor with my skills, and since no one else showed up to shoot me down, I have decided to proceed. It's a sci-fi story I have b...