Back in the 1970’s I lived for a time in Oxford, England. While there I supplemented my lack of income by working as a bookkeeper/receptionist at a boat yard located on an idyllic little spot beside the Thames, just outside the city. The yard rented canal boats for those that viewed drifting around the inland …
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How Mean Was He?
Remember one-up-man-ship? Like when you could stick it to someone by showing him/her that you had it worse in your day? You know, the kind of thing that spawned old jokes like: ‘Man we had it bad – the rats in our apartment were bigger than cats!’ ‘Rats? We didn’t have no rats in our …
The Marvel of the Age
Being born sometime in the early Cretaceous period, I have not the same affinity with computers as the younger set. I envy the way in which they spring from the womb with a cell phone growing on their ear and an instant knack for arguing about the relative desirability of features that are ‘essential’ when …
World War III
Sick and tired of line-ups, face-masks, social isolation, shortages, and endless protocols to keep everyone safe? Yes, COVID is annoying. It enough to make you flop back on the old couch and crack open another brewski. Indeed, it’s hard to look back and realize that we’ve been dealing with the disease since March – nine …
The Queen’s Gambit – Netflix
Based on the novel ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ by Walter Tevis, published in 1983 If you’re like me, you might find the prospect of watching a mini-series about a chess player about as appealing as watching moss form. How do you make film about a game that appeals to cerebral people interesting to the general viewer, …
The Quest for a Gluten Free Cookie Recipe
It is quite wonderful how many recipes show up on blogs these days. Aside from my earlier blog on the perfect margarita, I’ve avoided the topic up to now. It’s not that I don’t appreciate sharing good recipes, it’s just that normally, my cooking abilities are a little hit and miss. How can I ever …
Memories
The older we get, the more we realize how fragile are the tendrils of our memories. How many episodes from childhood do we have, still hidden in our memories, waiting for a trigger that will release them after being submerged for decades? I’ve mentioned before that I collected first edition children’s books for many years, …
So Many Blogs, So Little Time
One of the blogs I follow, PoojaG of ‘lifesfinewhine’: https://lifesfinewhine.com/2020/06/12/5-ways-to-keep-readers-coming-back-to-your-blog/ offers tips on expanding the number of ‘followers’ you have. There are, apparently, those who attempt to carve out their life’s work in blogosphere and the bigger the following, the more likely you’ll attract advertisers willing to pay you for the privilege of gracing your …
The Perfect Margarita
Those loving hot weather with a cool beverage in hand may find a margarita an irresistible temptation. Forget about clunky glasses rimmed with salt and sickly sweet mixes that detract from the delights of the real thing. The original ingredients are quite simple: 2 parts tequila, 1 part lime juice and 1 part Cointreau (i.e. …
Preparing Church Music in the Age of COVID
My wife has been a church organist for over fifty years. Like most churches in the early age of COVID, hers closed its doors and wrestled with how to do a service on-line, something that up to now has been the domain of the TV evangelists. She was encouraged to provide an account of how …
Richard's Left Bank 