Words. We writers live by ’em. And sometimes (if you offend the wrong Muslim lunatic) die by them. But they are the essential part of how we do what we do. Words mean things. But not all words mean the same things to all people. And living in the Age of Political Correctness, not all wordsmiths are created equal, at least as far as permission to use certain words goes. Allow me to give you some examples… Continue reading What’s in a Word?
I grew up in the South, in the 1960s. It was a time of racial unrest. I remember seeing posters around Shreveport, advertising a concert planned by James Brown – the hardest working man in show business. What a lot of people don’t know about Brown is that he also helped to defuse the ticking time bomb of racial unrest, rather than work to exploit racial tensions, as so many self-styled ‘leaders’ do today.
Fast-forward to 2015. Two incidents in the news make me think that racism is still a huge problem in the USA, but not for the reasons – and the people – that you’d think. I’m afraid that this time around, it’s not Conservatives that have a problem with race. It’s Liberals. And there’s a litmus test that determines just how “black” or how “brown” you are, and it’s got nothing to do with a color swatch book. Let me explain… Continue reading Ranking Race.
I’ve been getting a lot of questions, messages, and comments about the incident that happened this weekend in McKinney (where I live), about a video posted to the ‘net, showing three McKinney PD officers detaining and arresting some kids at a pool party. If you watched the video, (shot on a cell phone by a bystander) you see very angry cops, one of whom pulls his gun (and then re-holsters it, when the other two officers flank him), and a young girl grabbed by her pigtails and forced to the ground, face in the grass and handcuffed. Pretty shocking stuff. So what really happened? And is this as bad a situation as it looks on the video?
Let’s everybody take a step back, and then take a deep breath. Continue reading Yes, Virginia…it CAN happen here…
When I was a kid, life was simple. There were boys. There were girls. Boys played “Army.” Girls played with dolls. Boys wore pants. Girls wore dresses. Life was good. I think I was 12 or so, before I heard the words “queer” and “gay” and learned that they meant “homosexual,” and was told what “homosexual” meant. I soon learned there was a whole panoply of people who had different ideas about sexuality. Boys who liked boys. Girls who liked girls. Boys who liked girls and boys, and vice-versa. Boys who liked to dress up like girls (and vice-versa). And then boys and girls who had their bodies altered to look like girls and boys, respectively. Confusing. I thought it was weird then. I’m not sure I think it’s any less weird now. Especially given that Bruce Jenner has “transitioned.” Continue reading Transitory State
On the day that the Communists of the world celebrate their hopelessly-flawed, failed social system of governance, it’s time to think about the tools of oppression – and recognize them for what they are, for as the great Joe Bob Brigs (drive-in movie critic of Grapevine, Texas) says “Without eternal vigilance, it can happen here.” Continue reading Doublespeak.
I love SimCity BuildIt. I hate SimCity BuildIt. At the same time. Which is weird. But not hard to understand, really. Let me explain… Continue reading My Love/Hate Relationship with SimCity.
I’ve been thinking a lot about water lately. I read an article about surviving in the wilderness (hey…I drive a Jeep Wrangler…it could happen) and the very first thing they recommend was to find a source of clean water. Not shelter. Not food. Not a phone. Water. Apparently, you can go weeks without food, but not very long without liquids. So it positively mystifies me that California is in the fix they’re in. Let me explain… Continue reading See Salt. See Salt Run.
While it’s impossible to have a well-balanced perspective on anything when you’re sitting in the middle of it, it’s hard not to think that we are living in a “Golden Age” for Technology. Think about it. Within my lifetime, I’ve seen the following items appear and become ubiquitous – part of the fabric of our lives (in no particular order): Continue reading Tech-nopia.
My daughter recently talked me into signing up for “Tinder.” If you’re not familiar, it’s an iPhone app that’s designed to help you meet people. Apparently, it’s evolved from being something created for “hookups” (read: “meaningless sexual encounters”) into an app that facilitates meeting people for actually dating.
What makes this interesting is that it’s all based on Facebook, and the pictures you post here.
There’s a lot of different dating sites out there, each one slightly different in their approach. eHarmony makes you go through a long and laborious process before you even get to chat directly with someone in whom you might be interested. Continue reading Is Tinder Hot?
Apparently, Hillary Clinton never learned a thing in her youth, when she served on the Congressional staff of the investigation into Watergate.
In a report tonight in Politico, Congressman Trey Gowdy states that the former Secretary of State wiped her server clean, and has destroyed ALL the emails on it. For those of you who frequent the mainstream media (where you surprisingly might have heard a little about this story) or for those of you coming in late (welcome to the party, pal!) allow me to give you the 50,000-foot view history lesson: Continue reading ServerGate.