Interesting, Curious, Fun

Interesting or Curious! At least to me and I hope to you! And sometimes, just fun!

Formerly “And This Week …… “. I often found myself scrambling to put together a selection of articles, stories, and / or quotations. But expect some of the same content! In one recent newsletter,  I explored the origins of the expression “Woke” because I was interested how it became an insult!   I will move that kind of exploration to this section!

Sometimes the topics will be serious or just something that pisses me off. Sometimes, I hope, this section will be nothing but fun.

Lisbon – A City on the Rise?

March 7, 2023

Lisbon’s seven hills and waterfront make it visually spectacular. The second oldest capital in Europe, the city has energy. Busy streets and squares, full restaurants, and vibrant night life – the city pulsates. And, the population seems young. All signs of a city on the rise? Earthquake A 1755 earthquake destroyed 85% of the city […]

Christmas Poem 2022

December 22, 2022

A Visit from Saint Nicholas A Poem by Jonathan Potter – December 2022 ‘Twas the first mask-free Christmas, when all through the stores  The vaccinated children were spewing their spores;The shoppers were eagerly starting to riotAs the introverts longed for some quarantine quiet. The public healthcare workers were tracing the pathOf the flu and RSV, […]

Holiday Greetings 2022

December 19, 2022

Can it be! Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa will be over six days from now! And, in the blink of an eye, the 2023 celebrations will be on the near horizon. Time goes by so quickly as we get older! This year’s seasonal celebrations will be a return to normal after two years of Covid restrictions. […]

Prince of Muck

August 11, 2022

Laird Lawrence MacEwen, also known as the Prince of Muck, died this spring at the age of 81. He now lies buried in an open field where his cows still graze. In his last years, he was often heard carrying on conversations with his beloved bovines. He chose his burial spot to keep up with […]

Try Something Different

July 23, 2022

(Short read – less than three minutes) What do you do when on vacation? Do you go to the beach and drink rum punch? Or, see how many places you can visit in Europe in fourteen days? Maybe run from museum to museum to museum in Paris? Take a cruise – I know – many […]

The Abuses of Organized Religion

July 21, 2022

The Southern Baptists make up the largest protestant denomination in the US. And in 2019, the Houston Chronicle revealed that its 47,000 affiliated churches faced 380 accusations of sexual abuse.  Plus, remember Tammy-Faye and Jim Bakker and 21-year old church secretary, Jessica Hahn? Jerry and Becky Falwell and the pool boy? And then there are […]

The Wall of Noise

July 15, 2022

The wall of noise just keeps growing! It was bad enough to get stuck at a street corner with another car’s stereo at full blast! And usually accompanied by thumping base lines. Base lines that shake every car whose occupants pray that the green light will come quickly. Now with phones and blue tooth speakers, […]

Week Ending May 27

May 31, 2022

These are some of the stories from the “inside pages” that caught my eye the week ending May 27: Uvalde, Texas – How is this normal? Who are the Teals? Why is Haiti a basket case? The Microlino Uvalde, Texas Hardly an inside-pages story! But how can I write anything about the week ending May […]

Week Ending May 20

May 22, 2022

These are some of the stories from the “inside pages” that caught my eye the week ending May 20: Political extremism and violence in the United States Mandatory voting And gas prices, Covid, and public transit Most Extremist Violence in The United States Comes from the Political Right   This NYT headline may well elicit […]

Week Ending May 13

May 15, 2022

These are some of the stories from the “inside pages” that caught my eye during the week ending May 13: Corporate welfare – how much does the auto industry cost Canada? Surrogacy and the Ukraine Finns are Compassionate and TOUGH! The fall of crypto currencies Jobs and the Auto Industry  Corporate welfare has its place. […]

Week Ending May 6

May 6, 2022

This week ending May 6 has all been about Guy Lafleur. He is England’s Sir Bobby Charlton, Australia’s Don Bradman, Brazil’s Pele. His importance to Quebecers and, to a lesser degree, other Canadians,  matches that of Maradona for Argentinians. Flair, dash, love of life. Anywhere they play ice hockey, Guy remains an icon. Sadly, he […]

Week of April 18th 

April 23, 2022

Among the things that I found interesting this week of April 18th:  Eight Conservative Men  Finland and the NATO conundrum The new home of the Seattle Kraken Shaved Heads Everywhere And I never did get to fossil fuels and strange trading partners, so I will start with that.  Fossil Fuels and Alternative Suppliers Surprise! I […]