Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Something Like An Autobiography’
This week I had the pleasure of reading an autobiography of a revolutionary Japanese filmmaker: Akira Kurosawa’s Something Like an Autobiography. Detailing the experiences that shaped his dreams and desires, Kurosawa compiles this book in a very unique way. Kurosawa revolutionized the film industry, offering a unique perspective on lighting, chronology, and especially sound, paving […]
Icy Ideas
Days of being iced in at home for two or three days can be fun at first and then cabin fever creates such boredom. One has a choice of two things: stay inside or make the best of it. Remember all those times of wishing more time was available for soaking one’s feet , placing […]
Cold weather a real risk to school children.
With the temperatures hitting unusual lows this month, there seems to be a recurring theme among some people concerning the closing of schools on these cold days. In response to these comments, let me remind those who may have forgotten, that first and foremost, our responsibility to children is to keep them safe. While some […]
States with the Best Schools
Once again a report has hit the newsstands proclaiming which states have the best education (and which have the worst). I always vow not to read these articles, but then I succumb to that siren-song that says, “You will be enlightened if you will read this report!” And, as it turns out, I’m not enlightened. […]
My Legendary Snow
Can you believe the weather? Extreme cold… schools out… wow! Every time I hear that schools have called off for snow and hear comments wondering why, I get a flashback memory of the legendary snow that occurred in the early 1950’s in East Tennessee. It was an unexpected snow that began pelting the ground and […]
So You Think Its Cold Here?
So, you think it’s been cold here in Tennessee? Let me tell you about cold. I married a North Dakota girl. Don’t even try replicating that feat. There were only three when I got mine, one of the two left is chased by the nearly twenty-six North Dakota men more than Sasquatch has been chased, […]
Extreme Cold & School Days
I have been seriously concerned about the students that are waiting on the bus on these cold mornings. I know that many parents are worried that the kids will have to go to school on Saturdays or miss out on Spring Break if we miss too many days. Is there any way to get the […]
Children and Manners
There was a time when manners were a part of what your child learned in school, but in this day of student testing, there are not enough hours in the school day. While manners are still expected by teaching staff, it falls to the parent to teach their child good common sense manners. Good manners […]
Bernie Cheavers and The Dun Dun Chiefs
This week, I just have a few observations. There isn’t any discernable cohesion to these thoughts, so bear with me as I get some things off my chest. First, I have mixed feelings when I learn my wife’s nickname for me means “hot potato” in broken Spanish. It’s highly descriptive, and partially randy, but confusing […]
I Won!
Contests are powerful. Most of us love the thrill of competition. Spelling bees, state football play-offs, running in a 5K, or building a business in an uncertain economy seems to keep our blood flowing! Even armchair quarterbacks can compete, vicariously living out a game in the persona of a loyal fan. My father was a […]
Bring Back The Old Days
Some things are worth repeating… I just wish we could repeat these memories! The dictionary defines past, as “things gone by”. Plutarch (Ancient Greek Biographer and Author, 46-119) says, “Memory: what wonders it performs in preserving and storing up things gone by – or rather, things that are”. I have listed ten things from my […]
Miracle Water for Make Up Removal
Micellar Water first gained momentum in Paris, France as the women there are extremely skin care conscience. Paris is well known for the hard water’s negative effect on one’s complexion. Women in our area also have to deal with the extremely hard water existing in our town, so Micellar Water is one of the best […]
Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho
This past week I delved into a novel that is known for taking “disturbing” to a whole new level: Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho. This book follows Patrick Bateman, a young investment banker who has made Manhattan (in the middle of the late 80s Wall Street boom) his hunting ground…both in business and in murder. […]
Too Early For Seedlings
I am feeling the winter blues and am longing for spring. I am really looking forward to planting a garden this year and would like to go ahead a plant some seedlings but I have never started a garden from seeds before. Is it too early to start now? Though I can sympathize with longing […]
Tom Clancy’s ‘The Hunt for Red October’
It’s been awhile since I have reviewed an action/espionage novel, so I figured it was time to pick up a book that I have been told to read for years now: Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October. Until this point, I had never really read much of Clancy’s work, though I had been told […]
Husbands Don’t Fare As Well In The Cold
To say it’s been cold lately is a complete understatement. Pipes have frozen, teeth have chattered, geese have pimpled. At one point, I stuck my head in the freezer to warm my ears. It was cold. Now as it turns out, cold is a relative term. My wife is from North Dakota. Apparently, it’s not […]
