I told my personal JFK Assassination story last year. Most of us of a certain age have a story. Certainly a sense of the huge divide between Then and Now.

One interesting note in the "art imitates life" category: my story revolves around a wedding. Just as the recent… Read full post »

So many movies, so little time, not nearly enough quotes. Still, this video is amazing. There isn't a movie in here that doesn't have more than its share of memorable lines.

As good as it is, there are plenty of great movies and quotes omitted.
Find the time… Read full post »

 

Wait. Hold on! This is not about Freaky Troll. I would never be so brazen. It's about Friday the 13th, just another calendar day, but one that people have feared for centuries.  Witches. Spells. Black cats. Bad luck.

I'm here to counter those fears with some funny freaky photos. If… Read full post »

 Getty Images

Everybody's talking about the horror at Fort Hood. I don't know if Major Nidal Malik Hasan is an agent of the Taliban or a deeply troubled man. 

I do know that anyone associated with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, or with the soldiers who have fought there,… Read full post »

"You can't win them all." Connie Mack

My heart is broken but my head is unbowed. Go ahead, laugh, mock, whatever. But if you do, I'll know you really don't get it.

When you live in a sports town like Philly (or Boston or Chicago) whose fans view… Read full post »

 Here's the best way to spend Halloween...

 You know you’re too old to Trick or Treat when:

10. You keep knocking on your own front door.

"Baseball was, is and always will be to me the best game in the world." Babe Ruth

Babe, bubela, you and me both. And, Oh. My. God. My Phillies are in the World Series. Again.

The trash talk is everywhere, but that's okay. It's uniquely baseball. Uniquely East Coast… Read full post »

This real sign, at the entrance of, let's say, Virtual Salon HQ, quite possibly strikes a universal note. What do you think?

This could be a great opportunity for a weekend Open Call. What's the best sign you've ever seen for OS?

  Read full post »

WE DID IT! NLCS CHAMPS, GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES BACK TO BACK.

+++RYAN HOWARD IS THE NLCS MVP AGAIN.+++

HERE'S MY COOL STORY ABOUT MEETING THIS VERY COOL GUY. 

Game One, NLCS, 2009...

"Why is it there are so many nice guys… Read full post »

Below is the result of a writing assignment given by an English professor from the University of Colorado. A “tandem story” was to be written by two students, one male, one female.

The story was to be compiled in alternating paragraphs via email, with CC’s to… Read full post »

“I've looked on many women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times. God knows I will do this and forgives me.” Jimmy Carter

It starts with sex. Somehow it always seems that way, doesn’t it? Well, sex or hate. Either means… Read full post »

 UPDATE: LETTERMAN'S FULL DESCRIPTION

"I'm motivated by nothing but guilt. If you know anything about me, I am just a towering mass of Luthern, Midwestern guilt." David Letterman     

Yes, his revelations Thursday night were stunning and handled with David Let… Read full post »

Bruce Springsteen Live: brucespringsteen.net

"Manhattan is a narrow island off the coast of New Jersey devoted to the pursuit of lunch." Raymond Sokolov

Yes, it's true. Deal with it. The Boss is a Boomer. Just turned 60. And is still a Force Of Nature. Many of us believe it's… Read full post »

Kol Nidre: 'All vows,' the opening words of the declaration, largely in Aramaic, at the beginning of the evening service on Yom Kippur in which all vows that will be uttered in the coming year are declared null and void.… Read full post »

"Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, commemorating the creation of Adam and Eve, the first human beings.

On Rosh Hashana, the Books of Life and Death are open on the heavenly desk. On this 'Day of Judgment,' we each stand before God and offer our best… Read full post »

I am tired of Kanye and Taylor and Michael Vick and Joe Wilson and Ellen and Jay Leno and whatever other useless, pointless, inane trivia passes for news.

I am sick and tired of the health care debate. We're living it. The view from the downside sucks. … Read full post »

Below is a link to my post containing the final scene from Dirty Dancing. By all accounts, Patrick Swayze was the same kind of guy he played in that movie. Decent, hard working, kind, loving, unpretentious. Seriously. Sexy. 

Gone too soon. I hope he meets up with Jerry Orbach… Read full post »

(If you've already read this post, you'll find the Update at the bottom, just above the comments. I SO urge you to read it).

"The anniversary is more for people who were not there. For anyone who lived through it, the anniversary is pretty much every day… Read full post »

Until we get a reasonable form of universal health care, we have to step up. We are not totally helpless. We have ways to protect ourselves and get better care.

Fixing health care is the hottest topic in America today. I'm not going to solve it here.… Read full post »

Bobbot laid down the gauntlet, so to speak. Michael took it in an, um, interesting direction. Others followed. I can't resist a challenge, so here's my (ahem) more sophisticated international contribution.

My elderly parents had an unfortunate experience at their local hospital last week. I wrote about it. My sister (the nurse) sent a link to the appropriate people in high places. This is what happened next.

Boca Raton Community Hospital - Update, All Good
You know they're/… Read full post »

Patients shall have the right to:
- Considerate and respectful care at all times and appreciation for their individual dignity. PATIENT'S BILL OF RIGHTS, Boca Raton Community Hospital

Everything in this Healthcare Nightmare is true. It  happened to my parents this week. And they're among… Read full post »

"I regard as indefensible the fact that I did not report the accident to the police immediately" Ted Kennedy, during a televised statement after pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, Chappaquiddick, July 1969

"I hope for an America where neither "fundamentalist" nor "humanist… Read full post »

The Meet and Greet
It was a hot and sticky afternoon. Their appointed meeting site was outside. Centrally located, easy to find by car. Quiet and open, easy to spot two people you've never met.

The one who lives farthest arrived first. Then came the one who lives right there… Read full post »

Getty

"Beneath the surface, Novak was a sweetie.." Bernadette Malone, former Novak reporter; Senior Editor, Penguin

"There was nothing more fun after a long day than to sit down with Bob Novak and argue about capital-gains taxes, the Fed, the Contras or [any other] topic. But nobody ever doubt… Read full post »