Saturday, October 29, 2016

Road Trip: Over!

I'm back home after my recent road trip south. I had a good time and wished I could have stayed an extra day or two at the beach, but it wasn't meant to be. Being on this recent road trip with my sister made me realize that my sister and I do not have the same taste in music. Our musical tastes used to be more closely aligned, but not now. Most of the music she played during her time driving was just not my cup of tea. Van Hunt, Meshell N'Degeocello, the never-ending Hamilton soundtrack. Oy! Jesus, take the wheel! During this trip, I also learned that my father, in his old age, seems to be picking up strange habits and taking care of everyone's business but his own. As our parents age, many of us (myself included) will have to think about how we'll care for them. I just assume I'll have to either pick up and move where my father is or move him where I am if he starts to need a close level of care. Hopefully, he'll still be able to live an independent life for another ten years or more because I'm not ready to deal with either of those options right now.


Thursday, October 27, 2016

Glass Makers

During my visit to the Alabama gulf region, I was fortunate enough to watch some glass blowers create some beautiful glass pieces in the studio attached to the Arts Center of Orange Beach. Watching the process of glass making was fascinating. I picked up a glass pumpkin from the shop...yet another knickknack to add to my desk.


Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Dolphins, Sharks, and Turtles

Since I've been enjoying a little R&R on the Gulf, I've seen dolphins and sharks and I've donated to help the local sea turtle population. Years ago when I lived outside of Philadelphia, I was out walking near my apartment complex and came across a turtle in need. The turtle was on its back and needed to be flipped over so it could continue its journey, but I was too scared to flip it. To this day, I regret not flipping that turtle. All I had to do was flip it onto its back so it could crawl away probably back into the nearby sewer grate but I wimped out. Now I'm doing what I can to help other turtles in need since I failed the one in suburban Philly.


Sunday, October 23, 2016

R and R

I'm taking a few days off from my day job to relax, read, and write. Sometimes you just need to take a little time away from the chaos of everyday life so that's what I'm doing. So far, so good. Hopefully I'll have a finished manuscript (or nearly finished) by the time I get back home.


Thursday, October 20, 2016

Third Time's the Charm

Well, the third and final presidential debate has come and gone and, I must admit, they've all been quite entertaining. They're so much better than Shark Tank reruns on CNBC (and I enjoy Shark Tank). The third debate was certainly less confrontational than the other two, but the candidates still went at each other. Clinton is a bigger person than I am to stand there and say nothing when Trump called her "such a nasty woman." I doubt I would have been able to restrain myself from taking that debate to the street and going off on Don the Groper. The Detroit in me would have come out and I would have shown that big baby just how nasty I could be. Why do people who are terrible themselves fail to see their own awful qualities? They're always quick to point out what's wrong with someone else, but often fail to see anything wrong with themselves. They must block out their own faults and just focus on the faults of others. How do you go through life with a lack of humility? We all have faults. We all make mistakes. No one is perfect. Why not own your problems and work to try and improve them? I understand it takes someone with a narcissistic personality to run for president. I get it. However, that same person should still be able to admit his or her mistakes and accept responsibility for his or her actions. It's not that hard to do!

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

(Insert Name Here) Made Me Do It

I'm so tired of people who don't take responsibility for their actions. If you made a mistake and said or did something wrong, then apologize and move on. And not a half-assed apology either that ends with "if anyone was offended..." More and more it seems that people just can't seem to accept responsibility for their wrongdoing. It's always someone else's fault. The devil made me do it. Billy Bush caused the dirty words to come out of my big mouth. My mother spanked me as a child and now I lack self-control. Blah, blah, blah. Why are so many people acting like children? I expect them to deflect responsibility if they messed up and broke a table lamp or something by mistake, but seeing adults exhibit this behavior is not only disturbing but also annoying.

Monday, October 17, 2016

On the Radio

Since I moved to the Chicago area and was forced to start driving on a daily basis again, I've been complaining about the awful radio stations here. Normally I don't even listen to the radio (except for NPR) and I put in a CD or listen to music in the car via my iPhone. But, every once in a while, I do turn on the radio for music and it's such a disappointment. How many classic rock stations does one city need? It's funny to me that now groups like Guns 'n Roses are considered classic rock. I thought classic rock meant rock music from the 1960's and 1970's. Stuff like the Steve Miller Band, the Eagles, and Pink Floyd. Not anymore! Now rock music from the 80's and 90's is considered "classic." That makes me feel old, but I AM old! I like classic rock, but I don't want to listen to it all day every day. I'd like to hear some smooth jazz on the radio or old school R&B. I guess if I want that type of variety, I need to get a Sirius subscription, but paying for radio service seems like a waste to me. I'd rather pay for Pandora and stream it through my phone. At least with Pandora, I can have some choice in the songs that come into rotation. Being able to reject or like a song makes me feel like I have some control over what's being played. With a subscription service, someone else does all of the selection and you don't have any choice. What if I turn to the 80's station and "Tainted Love" is playing over and over? I hate "Tainted Love." I don't want to hear this song ever again, but to these 80's music programmers, "Tainted Love" is a classic 80's tune. Yes, it is, but that doesn't mean I want to hear it over and over again.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Three the Hard Way

I saw the Blaxploitation film Three the Hard Way at a viewing last night. This film had everything! Karate, dirty cops, white supremacists catching a beatdown, a crazy plot to poison black people in Detroit, DC, and LA via each city's water filtration system. There was such a great mix of ass-kicking, explosions, and craziness in this movie to make it highly entertaining. The three main actors, Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, and Jim Kelly, were great. Fred Williamson was at last night's viewing of the film and he talked a little beforehand about how there was a need at the time the film was made (1974) to show black male role models and that's what the actors wanted to do with this film. No white guy swooped in to save the day. Three black guys were the heroes here, saving the black populations of Detroit, DC, and LA from being poisoned. (The poison the white supremacist doctor created was supposed to only kill black people so if you were biracial and drank the tainted water, maybe you had a fighting chance for survival!)

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Uncle Bobby and Gropergate

I used to work with a guy in Detroit who was a huge Bob Dylan fan. We frequently talked about Uncle Bobby and, while I could never share in my co-worker's enthusiasm for Dylan, I tried to be supportive. I'm sure my co-worker is beside himself today after hearing Dylan is a Nobel Literature Prize winner. I didn't realize song lyrics were considered "literature." Okay.

In other "say what now" news, I've avoiding saying much lately about the shit show that is the US presidential race. I watched that mess of a debate Sunday night and all I could think about was how dirty the whole thing is. I called these kind of shenanigans months ago. I said if Trump and Clinton were the nominees, the race would be dirty, dirty, dirty and it is, is, is. (Gropergate 2016!) What's with these dirty old guys (and I'm including Bill Clinton in this group of pussygrabbers)? But, really, is anyone really surprised by Trump's behavior with women? The guy's been a jerk forever. And, while I have no sympathy for the him, I do think it's fair game to bring Clinton's issues with women into the argument also. That's what you do when you're in a street fight. You use what you have to take your opponent down. Throw dirt in his/her face, sucker punch them, whatever. Survival of the fittest. It's a shame our political system is going straight to hell, but maybe it has to hit rock bottom before it try to climb out of the hole and heal itself.

Just when you think things can't get any worse, they do! November 8th can't come soon enough.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Being 17

I'm back from my quick trip to New York, but while I was there, I saw a great French movie called Being 17 about two 17-year-old boys who went to school together and had some "issues" between them. The boys, one biracial and one white, often fought in school and then, through a series of circumstances, one is sent to live with the other and the two realize they have feelings for each other. The movie was beautifully shot and the acting was great. Watching two teen boys deal with their inability to express their feelings and frustration over their sexuality was, at times, frustrating, but the movie was really wonderful. I highly recommend checking it out if it comes to your town or eventually is available on Netflix or something.

Monday, October 10, 2016

Back Again

Once again I'm in New York for work. It's always nice to return for a visit but this is the fourth time I've been back this year. My next visit will have to be a non-work-related one where I can truly hang out and see more of the city. I say that every time I come to NY though.



Friday, October 7, 2016

Sock Full of Coins

My sister and I were discussing old school self-defense items and she mentioned using coins in a tube sock to smack someone with. I did some research (aka Googling) and read that Charles Bronson used this technique in the Death Wish movie. He put some rolls of quarters in a sock and used that sock as a weapon. I told my sister nowadays with everyone using debit cards and smart phones to pay for items, few people seem to have actual coins in their possession, let alone enough to give someone an effective smackdown. Hey, if I've got two rolls of quarters on me, chances are I need them for laundry. The whole sock-quarters thing got me thinking about other self-defense tools that have gone the way of the dinosaur. Remember brass knuckles? I do! Where can you even get brass knuckles now? I searched Amazon and saw a few, but they didn't look like they were built to last. The same goes for the nunchucks I saw. Is there a black market for these kinds of items or are they just gone forever? Part of the reason these old-school self-defense weapons are hard to find is, sadly, because more people today are more apt to pick up a gun and shoot someone rather than fight with their hands.

I've had a canister of pepper spray for many years because I think you need something, particularly when you're a woman, to try and defend yourself if attacked. I've never had to use it, thankfully, but I'm glad it's there. An old boss of mine many years ago told me he had his wife spray him with pepper spray to see if it would debilitate him. Now, he was a big guy, over six feet tall. One hit of pepper spray to the face did disorient him, but he said it didn't take him down. I've always thought about that. Pepper spray, to me, is something to use to weaken your attacker just enough for you to get away. Then again, maybe a good smack to the head with a tube sock full of quarters could do a better job.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Creepy Clowns

Every day it seems I read another story about creepy clowns scaring people. Are these sightings for real or just the latest hoax? If you read my blog with any regularity, you know that I love clowns and feel that they've gotten a bad rap due to evil clowns like John Wayne Gacy and Pennywise. Clowns used to be funny and cheerful and now they're evil and creepy. What a shame. Bozo could never make it in today's world.


Sunday, October 2, 2016

Kim Cares

Rather than sitting around every weekend NOT writing (well, I am writing, just not as much as I should be), I decided to get out and do some local volunteer work via Chicago Cares. I had my first gig today serving dinner at a local church. I enjoyed the work, my fellow volunteers, and the people who came out to get a hot meal. There are a lot of people in need out there and those of us who can help should help in some way. Whether it's giving your time, your money, or your skills, there are ways to reach out. When I lived in New York, I did tutoring for non-native English speakers and I figured it was time to get out and help out in the Chicago area now that I live here. One really nice part of my volunteer assignment today was that the volunteers actually served the people who came for a meal. We brought the food to them. They didn't have to stand in line and wait with tray in hand to be served. These community members could sit and enjoy their dinner with dignity and also get a to-go container if they wanted one to take food home for themselves or a loved one.


Saturday, October 1, 2016

Get Over It!

We all obsess on things occasionally. The jerk who cut me off three days ago, something someone said to me ten years ago that still annoys me today, etc. But normal people don't let these kinds of things overtake their lives. Normal people can mentally move on. Unfortunately, Trump isn't one of these people. I can't believe this guy is sending Tweets at three in the morning about some beauty queen he dealt with twenty years ago. Dude, get over it! I've never seen someone running for president get so riled up over something so petty. Oy! Again, is this guy for real or is this just part of a long con? I don't know. I can't wait for this election to be over. Can we just vote already? November 8 can't come soon enough, as far as I'm concerned.