Monthly Archives: December 2018

The Perennial Philosophy

  In 1945, Aldous Huxley published his seminal book, The Perennial Philosophy. He pointed out that all religions, all over the world and throughout history, the smallest as well as the major ones of today, share three common beliefs, and … Continue reading

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Boxes In the Attic

I have spent the day going through boxes of articles from old New Yorker magazines that I saved when they were first published. I think the articles I am going through now are from the 1970s, although I can’t be … Continue reading

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Instant Oatmeal For Breakfast

For years, I have had only a cup of coffee for breakfast. (I snack frequently throughout the night, a bad habit I am trying to break.) But I never got a morning kick from the coffee, and when cider season … Continue reading

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Winter Solstice

The winter solstice, the shortest day and first day of winter, comes about December 21 and has recently past. The days are already becoming longer, so you early risers may wonder why it is still just as dark when you … Continue reading

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Relieving A Snoot Full Of Snot

Growing up in East Lansdowne, several of my grandfather’s male neighbors (on Melrose Avenue, near the school) were Italians from the old country with very thick accents. They would talk with my grandfather while tending their adjoining gardens in a … Continue reading

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Vocabulary: Dad Jokes and Mom Jeans

(Vocabulary postings are words or phrases I recently came across in reading, did not fully understand, looked up, and discovered something new.) A dad joke is a weak, corny joke, typically a pun, that a dad would tell to his … Continue reading

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My WaterPik (Water Flosser)

I have a new goal in my remaining life, a new entry on my bucket list. I want to learn to use my WaterPik without getting water all over myself, the walls, and even the ceiling out in the hall. … Continue reading

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Seeing Color

“The Women With Superhuman Vision” by David Robson. BBC.com, 9/12/2014. (This is a recently discovered posting written years ago, then lost.) Sometime during the 1980s, I took an evening watercolor class held in the basement of a local woman artist. … Continue reading

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Vocabulary: “Beyond the Pale”

(Vocabulary postings are words or phrases I recently came across in reading, did not fully understand, looked up, and discovered something new.) A pale is an old English term for a pointed stick driven into the ground, often used to … Continue reading

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Parachute Malfunction

“How to survive a parachute failure,” by Justin Parkinson, BBC News (Internet). This article appealed to that little boy still living inside of me. Suppose you jumped out of an airplane and your parachute did not open. Suppose then your … Continue reading

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