Commentary
Quizmaster: The Life and Times and Fun and Games of Bill Cullen, by Adam Nedeff — Reviewed
#billcullen #beattheclock #what’smyline #quizshow #gameshows Media legend Bill Cullen never had a bad day in his life. It’s true that he was afflicted with polio in his youth – a disease that left him with a pronounced limp. It’s true that his first marriage – to a woman his mother chose for him – failed…
Read MoreNatural Parent’s Support Critical to Stepparent Success in Blending a Family.
#stepparent #stepparenting #stepchildren #blendingfamilies My stepson Matt, his wife Kristina and her two children spent the Fourth of July weekend with us in the mountains, and I was reminded again of how fortunate I am as a husband and a stepparent. I gained a son when Melinda and I married in 1986. She, as the…
Read MoreTechnology Dominates Modern Life and Takes Over What Once Was Child’s Play
#boardgames #radio #midwest #cowboymovies One of the joys in living in the mountains during the summer is that we escape from a lot of the technology that dominates our lives. Mobile phones often do not work. Radio reception is unpredictable. We do not need air conditioning. We sleep with the windows open and snuggle under…
Read MoreBook Ratings Are Meaningless Without a Defined Standard Criteria
I am very pleased that Norm Golden accepted my application to join the group of reviewers who post book reviews regularly on his web site, www.bookpleasures.com. I recently posted my first review. I enjoy reading. Most writers tend to see more deeply than the average reader into an author’s efforts to bring a story to…
Read MoreTwo Poems — One Explained; a Second Challenges Explanations
I have been writing poetry since I was a boy in elementary school. There have been times where poetry came easily, flowed right out of the daily events in my life. At other times, I felt as though I was hammering words into place, pounding the lines into shape in the hopes that I would…
Read MoreMeet Barbara Hinske, Author of Coming To Rosemont — A Debut Novel
Somewhere in a crabby moment, I wrote that the self-publishing industry exists for those who work in it; namely, the printers, publicists, promoters, contest sponsors, etc. A horde awaits the arrival of every neophyte author into the arena, eager to capitalize on the writer’s aspirations, ignorance, and boundless belief in self. All of that is…
Read MoreMy Dad Believed in the Manly Art of Self-Defense. No Boxing Gloves for Grampa
#selfdefense #boxing #grandfather #grandchildren May 28 is the anniversary of my father’s death. I wrote about the days leading up to his death in an earlier article for this web site. My dad died on May 28, 1980, after a debilitating series of small strokes that diminished him in degrees until he was barely there…
Read MoreNRA — The Power of Dread on the Threshold of Anarchy
My recent article on gun control brought more visitors to my web site than any I have posted in the past two years. I appreciate the interest and I am grateful to those who took the time either to comment or write. This is my second article on the subject. I did not intend a…
Read MoreSenators Favor NRA Approval Over the Chance at Saving A Child’s Life
#guncontrol @gunregulation #nra Here, never to be forgotten, is the list of the Senators who preferred to keep favor with the NRA rather than take one small step to protect our children. Listed below are the Senators who voted against extending background checks to include gun shows and other improvised markets. 1. Sen. Lamar Alexander…
Read MoreSelf-Publishing Industry Targets Writers as the Consumers
Anybody with the bucks can publish a book. It’s no longer a big deal, although an author can tap into an allotted fifteen minutes of fame basking in the praise of family and friends—hardly the most objective critics. There’s a misnomer at work. Self-publishing or publishing-on-demand only means printing. Bringing a book to market should…
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