Category: Popular Culture

It’s a New Year. What Awaits Us?
     

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A Few items to Consider

What Kind of Year Is Upon Us?

Thanks to everyone for your patience on the day+ delay on this posting. Still working through a few technical issues but looks like we are pretty much back on line, so here we go.

Too soon to tell, of course. There continue, and in some cases increasing, worrisome things afoot, but also some promising indicators have begun showing up. We will not try to list all those possibilities, but let’s take a look at 10 events/indicators worth observing and we will see how things go from there.

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Maybe The Best Job on Planet Earth

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Tis the holiday season. Let’s give each other a gift and have some fun.

 A New “Business” Model

I refer to the topic of today, a new “business” in quotation marks because it looks like so much fun, it is more of a treat than a job. But it is spreading and it appears people are making a living doing this. There is at least one such service in my area- I bet more will pop up around the country. They already exist in Canada, too. 

Dogs On A Bus

If you are on social media,

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What A Week This Is

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No Shortage Of Potential Big Deal Events In These Days

Are We A Day Late?

Yes, we are a day late. This blog normally posts on Tuesday, but we had some technical speed bumps and in any case, it seemed better to wait a day to see what the elections developed. Boy, did those elections have an impact! Glad we waited to communicate. We have a lot to reflect upon.

Elections

Three local elections took place this week that have national implications. They are the governorship of VA and of NJ, and the mayor’s race in New York City.

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You May Ask Three Questions…

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A Little Break From Politics

What Happens After Death?

I have long been interested in the widely differing views, beliefs, and expectations people have about death and what comes next. Some base their views on religion, most often one they grew up with or are surrounded by culturally. Others base their views on long and deep thinking about the subject, trying to apply reason, intellect, and spiritual aspects – not an easy task.

I’ll share my views sometime in the future in another post (one sure to agitate a lot of folks, one way or the other).

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October 7, 2025

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A Happy Note, A Sad Note, A Cliffhanger – Three Unrelated Observations

A Happy Note

We had the great pleasure this past weekend of attending the International Storytelling Festival, in nearby Jonesborough, TN. This is a tradition with us since our first exposure years ago revealed a unique and marvelous experience. It is a happy experience and one with lessons for us all.

This small town, of about 4,000 people, hosts an international celebration of the great art of storytelling. About 14,000 of us show up every year to join the party.

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Five Very Different Observations This Week

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No Shortage of Things to Think About, Is There?

The Roll Up of Senior Military Leaders

This mysterious call up of all senior military commanders and their senior enlisted members, all for a mysterious meeting with the Secretary – and now including Trump – is a bad thing in about 9 different directions.

Of course, no one has a clue as to what this is all about. We will, likely, by the time many of you read this posting. Could be to announce firings, to demand loyalty, to call for the reapplication of a bunch of 1950s standards – no one knows except the perpetrator.

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Communications May Be The Key

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On Two Levels, We Are In Deep Water

Communications on Two Levels

On a fundamental level, we think of communication as how we talk to you each other, how we share views and information. People to people information and ideas sharing. That has been around pretty well since our species was born. What is new is the internet and related communications means.

On another level, communication may be thought of as a one way flow – how does government communicate with the population at large and how does government seek to influence how others communicate on a large scale.

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Take A Deep Breath, Take A Short Break

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As I started to prepare the posting for this week, I thought a lot, of course, about all that has happened in recent days, and all that’s coming in the next few days, perhaps including the shut down of our government.

I find myself reminded of some good advice I heard from a number of sources when this administration started. I think it was Michael Beschloss who said it best. This is going be a long fight, with many fronts engaged at the same time. We’re just in the early stages.

We don’t really have an option to give up.

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What Is It Like To Be An American Overseas Now?

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I’ll Let You Know Shortly

By the time you read this, we will be several days into a trip into 6 different countries. To say it is an interesting time to be a traveling American is likely an understatement for the ages.

We have friends who have been traveling since the election last November. Most tell us they get sympathetic exchanges more than anything else, but not always. After all, as a nation, we made this choice twice. You can get a pass on the first one – the second time is a responsibility one has to accept as a nation.

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Cities With Personality

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I Really Like A Lot Of Places

Traveling America

I have had the good fortune over the years of seeing a lot of America firsthand and up close.

Where we currently live is our 26th relocation, so we have lived in many places. We have taken two cross country drives, each about a month long, over the years, exploring the out of the way and the well-known parts of this country. I also had several years of business travel domestically that ranged from Alaska to Florida and about every state in between. I think we have missed only 1-2 states so far.

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