How To Reach Enlightenment (a Fable)

Katahdin Peak (15_pct)During the Fourth of July holiday I wanted to get out of Boston, away from fireworks and especially crowds. There was the recent Marathon bombing to consider, of course. And simply being around people can be very time-consuming, on occasion.

So I drove up to Maine and hiked Mount Katahdin. I’d heard there was a guru up there dispensing bits of wisdom in exchange for small tokens.

(Actually I’d heard that the guru was Lyle, late of the Enfield Tennis Academy here in town. He had left that gig after irregularities were discovered in his supervision of the boys’ locker room.) Continue reading →

2013 Emmy Nominations: Netflix Breaks Through and Joins the Ranks!

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It’s possible the networks are throwing a little shade this morning, as they now have to contend with that for-pay digital online movie clearing house, Netflix, in the world of scripted television. It must make them feel all goofy in the wallet now that another viewing vehicle has entered the ring. Haha! James Gandolfini may be laughing just a little bit way up there, since his groundbreaking show on HBO, The Sopranos, can be counted as the first time network television really had to compete with an outside source full of curses and nudity in order to make their little shows on the boob tube really work. Dennis Franz’s butt cheeks on NYPD Blue weren’t happy about that development. So let’s see how everyone fared. Continue reading →

Coming SOON: A Movie Trailer Roundup

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Summer is nearly over, chickens. Well, maybe not, but I’m telling myself it is so that I don’t focus on the heat. Do you know what the end of summer means? It means that the time for robots and monsters is coming to an end (until the studios leave them for dead in the January Dumping Ground). Autumn and early winter prestige pics are just around the corner. Let’s watch the trailers for some likely awards-season hits (and one probable miss) after the jump! Continue reading →

Juror B-37 Takes Cue From Everyone, May Possibly Stop Talking Now

Perhaps it would have been best to take some much needed time to reflect before putting oneself at the center of a media bonanza after one of the largest televised court cases in recent American history. Did Juror B-37 of the George Zimmerman trial seek to process what was happening in the world around her before speaking publicly about the highly charged case — or did she rush to gain her fifteen minutes of fame? Continue reading →

Daily Habits of the Wealthy

6355220839_982b1263d5_mAccording to Tom Corley a financial planner who studied 350 rich and poor people, wealthy people have some daily habits in common. He wrote the book, Rich Habits – The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals. While the book strongly states that these habits make you more successful and as a consequence, more wealthy, you have to wonder if it is the chicken or the egg here. Let’s start with the book’s definition of wealthy – $160k/year in earnings and holding assets of $3.2 million. Poor was defined as income under $30k/year and less than $5k worth of assets. So what are the daily habits that the wealthy have in common? Some are quite interesting…. Continue reading →

Brother Dick’s Traveling Salvation Show

2_Lecter_4396426518_3321db4057The troupe travels slowly across the countryside. Neither desert nor marsh nor twin rivers halt its advance. But still the traveling party proceeds with exquisite deliberation. It never skips over a single town or hamlet, no matter how small.

In the cool of the evening the troupe members gather at the nearest suitable venue: The community center, the mosque, the empty schoolyard. And there they put on a show of sorts. There are jokes. Magic tricks. Possibly karaoke, if there is electricity and enough young people attend.

But the closing act is always a man — the same elderly, frail man — speaking in English. About the war.

Iraqis by now are accustomed to foreigners appearing in their country to discuss the war: journalists, aid workers, government men, freelance do-gooders and general dingbats of every stripe. But this battered creature truly knows the story of the war. He pulls no punches in his remarks: Mistakes were made; sacrifices were demanded; savagery was met with greater savagery. He also has opinions about the current government, and about neighboring Iran — but heh-heh, he says, he’ll save those for next time. Continue reading →