New Year’s Day. I was up early and reading the Newspapers. I noted in The News Tribune that actor Frank Langella turned eighty-one. You may not recognize the name, but Peg and I have loved his acting since seeing him in one of our favorite Mel Brooks’ movies, The Twelve Chairs (1970). We discovered the […]
Posers, Problems, and Pickles
I’ve long used the technique of visualizing an internet marketing problem and turning it all around in my mind like a holographic image. This lets me find solutions that are unique and unusual. I like visualizing ideas revolved, rotated, spun, turned inside-out and flipped on their heads. I constantly ask myself, “What if?” My favorite, […]
Aplets & Cotlets Imported from Turkey?
Did you know that Washington State’s Aplets and Cotlets were created in ancient Turkey? These sweet little confections weren’t called Aplets and Cotlets then, of course. There were called “lokum.” “Lokum was first referred to as ‘rahat ul-hulküm’ in Arabic which means ‘comforting the throat’, but over time it became ‘comfortable delight’.”* Turkish people recognize […]
Rag Muffins, Grandchildren, and Family
“Donnnnnnnn, Donnnnnnn, I know you love me . . . I know you want me . . .” OMG, the siren call of rag muffins. I tried to resist. Cousins were coming over for mid-morning breakfast before they flew back to their homes in Detroit and Los Angeles. “Donnnnnnn, Donnnnnn . . .” What’s a […]
Robin Hood and the Plight of the Arrow
“Robin Hood, Robin HoodRiding through the glen.Robin Hood, Robin HoodWith his band of men.Feared by the bad,Loved by the good,Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood” That little ditty has been running through my mind since 1955. “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” which ran for 143 episodes from 1955 to 1959. In the fall of 2018 […]
Getting Things Off My Chess
In the sixth grade at Navy Base School in Lakewood I would watch my fellow classmates play chess. It’s like Yogi Bera said, “You can observe a lot by just watching.” I bought a cheap chessboard and some plastic chess pieces and looked for opponents. That summer some contractors who were working at Ft. Lewis […]
Ruining Solitude for a Penny
We have a major storm of useless incoming calls in our future. “Nearly half of all cellphone calls next year will come from scammers,” that was not on my 2018 Christmas wish list. The news comes from First Orion, a call blocking technology company. Who would have guessed that a new year’s resolution list for […]
Baby, It’s Cold Outside but Warmed by the Memories
Like many people in America I was first exposed to the glamor and excitement of New York City and Broadway musicals by watching “I Love Lucy” on TV in the 1950s. The 1955 episode “Lucy and the Dummy” featured a clip of Frank Sinatra singing “Adelaide” from the production “Guys and Dolls.” In the 1957 […]
Ra”PUN”zel CenterStage Play Review
“A panto is a traditional fairy tale complete with songs, dances, jokes, exaggerated characters and lots of audience participation. The British love a good panto. In fact the nation has been mad on it ever since the actor manager John Rich introduced it in 1717.” – theatre-britain.com/About%20Panto.html I don’t know how many panto productions we’ve […]