Welcome to Table Topics

A Quick Look at a Mix of Subjects – Have Fun!

 

Table Topics?

What the heck is Table Topics? Glad you asked. Many years ago, I stumbled into a Toastmasters Club. What a lucky day that was! I returned for many an enjoyable meeting – and in so doing, picked up a theme for today’s blog.

For those unfamiliar with them, Toastmasters Clubs exist all over the world, bringing together 3 groups of people: those who enjoy public speaking, those who wish to improve their public speaking abilities,

Random – REALLY Random Thoughts

Some Loose Items in My Head to Close Out the Week

 

Focus? Nah, Not Today

I attempt most of the time to keep this blog focused on a given topic. But if your brain is like mine, loose change rattles around up there between your ears. Occasionally, enough of it builds up that it needs to be used and removed. Today is such a day.

If there is a connecting thread with what follows, it is not obvious to me. Just wanted to share a few items; real roll of the dice stuff.

So, I Was Talking to This Space Alien….

Q & A with a Space Visitor. It Might Go Like This

Seen Any Little Grey Men Lately?

The idea of advanced civilizations coming from distant galaxies to check out Earth is an old topic, and a fun one. I admit one of my guilty pleasures is a TV Series called Ancient Aliens, on the History channel. Yes, I know: History? Aliens? Really? Bear with me a bit.

This is a show populated by people with way too much time on their hands who probably ate way too much sugared cereal as kids and never calmed down.

Hope, Promise, and Fun from Science and Technology

It Will be Hard to Avoid Politics for the Next Couple of Months. Let’s Take a Brain Break

Part of our Hey! Look at That! Series

We are in a time of challenge, tension, and reasons to worry. We have been here before in many ways, I note, on this the anniversary of the terrorism of 9/11. Still, even in times of risk and fear, there is also hope and good news. I thought we might take a one day break today to look at some of those things, take a deep breath,

The Doppelgänger Effect – You, Meet You

Is That Me, You?

 

The idea of a doppelganger is an ancient concept that literature loves to this day. The term originated in German folklore. It meant a ghostly or paranormal phenomenon, usually as a harbinger of bad luck. Today it is more broadly defined to include a non-biologically related look-alike or double of a living person. 

 

It is a concept fiction writers have loved since its earliest days. I am not much of a fiction reader (unless you count anything Trump says). But I do feast often on science fiction and here, too, the doppelganger often finds a home.

What was Old is New Again

The Isolation of the Pandemic has Given a New Life to Some Old Connectors

 

Miss Everyone?

As we move towards our sixth, and certainly NOT our last month, of varying degrees of isolation, people are reaching out to find connections.  For some, this is more important than to others. A good friend said to me awhile back, “We are huggers. This is killing us!” Some of us, myself included, do miss people, but its manageable. In my heart of hearts, I think I was always one of those old-style forest rangers who spent weeks alone in a fire tower.

It’s Friday! How About Something a Little Lighter Today?

Take a Relook at Some Great Commercials

 

TV Commercials are a Part of American Life

They reflect our culture. Sometimes they shape our culture. This is true as well in other countries (we will do a blog on these soon), but the whole idea of a commercial becoming an icon started here.

It is not hard to come up with a Best Of list. The internet has hundreds of such lists. And I would agree with most of them. They are entertaining and memorable. We all have some permanently in our memory,

Let’s Share a Few Laughs

Because These Days, If You Can’t Laugh, You Might Cry Instead

The Sword Disguised as Pen

The art of the political or editorial cartoon is a fine and long-standing tradition. It has been a mainstay of American politics since our founding days. This art form actually predates this country by a long time. It seems that the ability to make fun of the high and mighty is a cherished tradition going back centuries.

We have been dealing with some pretty grim circumstances of late. And that was before the pandemic! Today, we will take a break and enjoy some of the better cartoons I have seen in recent weeks.

Who Knew?! Surprising Spin Offs from the Pandemic

We Learn a Lot About Each Other in Such Times, Sometimes with a Laugh.

 

New Environments, Same Old DNA

Well, nothing like a few weeks of pandemic driven self-isolation to see what makes us all tick, eh? People change in new environments, as we see all around. But sometimes, we are predictable as can be.

Much of what has developed in society in recent weeks was foreseeable. Ah, but some were not so predictable. I have noted quite a few (changes? quirks? proclivities?) that I not have seen coming.

Have You Ever Noticed…?

A Short List of Life’s Small Irritants

Let’s take a break from politics this week (Control yourselves. Stop all that cheering out loud!) This week, we are looking elsewhere for musings, reflections, and surprises.

BUT FIRST – ONE BIT of ELECTIONS RELATED NEWS

In most of the country, people are swamped with ads and news about elections. Court rulings or legislative changes make even the familiar unfamiliar in some places.

This week, a friend (Thanks, Jerry) put me onto something good. It comes from an organization we both know and trust (Hello there,