6-Month Celebration

MAGA !!! 👍🇺🇲👍🇺🇲👍🇺🇲 I am still celebrating !!!

July 20, 2025, at home

WNBA

The women in the WNBA will get paid the same as the men in the NBA whenever they generate the same revenue as the men in the NBA. Simple. Why is this so difficult for these females to understand? The WNBA has lost money EVERY SEASON since it started in 1997. The only reason the WNBA still exists is because the NBA pays for it.

In the World Cup, female players get 20 percent of the revenue, while men get 8 percent of the revenue. The men still get paid more because the men generate billions of dollars, while the women generate millions of dollars.

This short animated video best describes the WNBA:

https://youtu.be/l0lemlcRoXQ?si=2xWipNIV6o3yxHtV

July 20, 2025, at home

National Ice Cream Day

When I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s, I loved going to the nearby Howard Johnson's restaurant on Long Island, New York, with my parents to get chicken croquettes and mint chocolate chip ice cream, my favorite flavor.

I also like cassis (black currant) ice cream after I tasted it in Paris, France, during the summer of 1984 (age 23) while I was studying for six credits of French Composition and Conversation in three weeks in the nearby town of Massy, France, while attending Villanova University near Philadelphia. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications with a minor (18 credits) in the French language.

In the mid- to late 1980s, my father opened a Steve's ice cream shop in Columbia, Missouri, near the campus of the University of Missouri, where I was studying for my master's degree in journalism. The ice cream was terrific. The location was bad, kind of hidden behind the campus with no traffic, foot or car, next to a Korean grocery store. My dad eventually closed the shop permanently. I was a part-time scooper and later the manager there between classes and homework.

July 20, 2025, at home

Today Is ...

I graduated from Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, in December 1984, with a bachelor of arts degree in communications with a minor in the French language. I spent my first 2 1/2 years in the pre-med program before changing my major. (In May 1988, I graduated with a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.)

My father graduated from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in the mid-50s with a bachelor of science degree in business. He entered the university at age 17.

My father and I frequented the same saloon in Philadelphia when we were attending our respective universities: Smokey Joe's. It's still in business.

I would also like the mention Zipperhead, a head shop in Philadelphia that I visited once in the early 1980s. It had a profound effect on me.

As per Google: "Zipperhead was a legendary Philadelphia clothing store known for its punk, gothic, and alternative fashion, particularly popular in the 1980s and 90s. It was a South Street fixture and a cultural icon. ... The store, originally located at 407 South Street, closed in 2005. A related store, Crash Bang Boom, now carries on the tradition in the same area."

... and I won't forget about the trotters and pacers at Liberty Bell Park with my friend Paul in the early 1980s. 

July 20, 2025, at home

Makoto Hagiwara, the keeper of the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, is often credited with inventing the fortune cookie. In 1914, Hagiwara is said to have put a thank you note inside a cookie to show his appreciation to friends who supported him during hard times and began serving them regularly at the garden.

July 20, 2025, at home

I don't particularly like lollipops, except for Tootsie Pops.

July 20, 2025, at home

15 Sexiest Male Hobbies

"The 15 Sexiest Male Hobbies That Make Men Irresistible (According to Women)"

I suppose that I am an anomaly. I have nine of these fifteen, and yet, I was without female companionship from age 20 to age 40 (February 1982 to November 2000), and not by choice. They are:

Yes: Reading (two university degrees); Learning a Foreign Language (French, German); Playing a Musical Instrument (piano, a little guitar); Writing (journalist from September 1982 to April 2017; written more than 300 poems, many published, since 1986); Swimming; Photography; Astronomy (as a kid); Archery (as a kid); and Traveling (the World)

No: Cooking (maybe a little); Woodworking; Painting; Gardening; Hiking; and Blacksmithing.

To be honest, I have been attempting to determine why that was my situation. This video is forcing me to do much rethinking, maybe even considering the restart of my process.

Anyway, maybe you guys can use this information.

https://youtu.be/zjB8XCbJibI?si=AOf9pnHkMWnWvtPl

July 19, 2025, at home

New Detention Center

I just watched this video on YouTube about another illegal immigrant detention center that could open soon, this one in Indiana. It's called Camp Atterbury. OMG !!! The name has "bury" in it !!! That is a signal to let everyone know that the government is going to BURY something there !!! LOL 😆😆😆 ... I am just ridiculing the liberals basically stupid collective mindset. By the way, I support Camp Atterbury used in this way, as I do "Alligator Alcatraz."

"Rep. Carson: Camp Atterbury to be used to house detained migrants"

https://youtu.be/5tFVWMK_03w?si=ICHBcrL98ItNZ9d_

July 19, 2025, at home

Pearl

I like Pearl and her videos. She supports men and criticizes women. She is a "breath of fresh air" in the misandristic atmosphere that is social media. She angers many women because she is a traditional woman, not a feminist. They call her a "pick me" woman because respects men. Well, yeah. Is there anything wrong with men and women respecting each other? I don't think so. I have been a Men's Rights Activist since the early 1990s, when I was in my early 30s, so this stuff continues to interest me. By the way, that isn't such a good photo of her.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AiV39MqPp/

July 19, 2025, at home

A Beautiful Dinner

Many thanks go to my wonderful wife for making this beautiful dinner: salmon with onions and lemon. (not shown: white rice with dried cranberries, diced onions, and slivered almonds; and tartar sauce)

July 19, 2025, at home

Today Is ...

Long ago, I enjoyed with friends frozen lime Daiquiris made in a blender with ice, rum, and Minute Maid frozen limeade concentrate. We called them Daiqs (pronounced "dahks").

July 19, 2025, at home

I play games of Words With Friends on my phone with not that many people, unknown and known. These days, I play full games on the app with people I don't know and shorter games on Facebook with my friends Jennifer and Robert.

July 19, 2025, at home

PBS, NPR Defunded !!!

GOOD NEWS !!!

July 18, 2025, at home

My Wife's Work Anniversary

Happy Work Anniversary to my wonderful wife: 37 years working for the same hospital !!! ♥️♥️♥️

July 18, 2025, at home

Today Is ...

I like tropical fruit, especially mango, papaya, pineapple, coconut, and passionfruit.

July 18, 2025, at home

One Christmas Eve long ago, I enjoyed caviar with shots of frozen Russian vodka. I liked it, although I don't particularly like vodka.

July 18, 2025, at home

I do occasionally like sour candy.

July 18, 2025, at home

Listen.

July 18, 2025, at home

House Approves Trump Bill

This is extremely GOOD NEWS !!! The winning continues !!! I am quite happy that NPR and PBS will be defunded. It's not proper for taxpayers to pay for left-wing news outlets. Also, money for foreign aid (USAID) will be cut. Now, that money can be used for U.S. citizens.

(The Senate passed it yesterday, so now, Trump just needs to sign it into law.)

"House Of Representatives: Congress sends $9B spending cuts package to Trump's desk after late-night House vote"

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/congress-sends-9b-spending-cuts-package-trumps-desk-after-late-night-house-vote.amp

July 18, 2025, at home

Today Is ...

I love peach ice cream. It reminds me of enjoying it at my paternal grandparents' house when I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s. The brand name in their freezer was mostly Sealtest, but sometimes it was Breyers. More recently, I have loved the peach shakes at Chick-fil-A, but I haven't had one in quite a long time.

July 17, 2025, at home

For decades, I wanted to get a tattoo of a simple fish on the bottom of my right foot. That way, when I crossed my legs at the beach, it could be seen. Why a fish? My zodiac sign is Pisces, and the corresponding (weakest) body part for this sign is the foot. Fairly recent feet problems due to diabetes caused me to abandon this whim. I have also considered a tattoo related to my religion (Hare Krishna/Hinduism, written in the Sanskrit language) or an Austrian flag or the flag of Vorarlberg, the westernmost Austrian province, where many of my Austrian cousins live or are from. (I don't have any tattoos.)

July 17, 2025, at home

My sense of direction is quite poor.

July 17, 2025, at home

I don't particularly like gambling. When I do engage, it's slot machines and scratch-offs. I do like roulette, but that apparently is the casino game with the worst odds. Craps apparently has the best odds.

July 17, 2025, at home

Trump Bill Moves Ahead

This is extremely GOOD NEWS !!! The winning continues !!! NPR and PBS really need to be defunded.

"'Long overdue': Senate Republicans ram through Trump's clawback package with cuts to foreign aid, NPR"

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/long-overdue-senate-republicans-ram-through-trumps-clawback-package-cuts-foreign-aid-npr

July 17, 2025, at home

Today Is ...

I like cherries. Every Christmas for decades, my dad would give me a box of Cella's chocolate-covered cordial cherries. (They HAD to be Cella's.) After he passed away in February 1997, I continued this heartfelt tradition by purchasing a box of them and giving it to myself from my dad (as Santa) every Christmas. (They HAVE to be Cella's.) I will eat a couple of them today.

July 16, 2025, at home

I prefer my hot dogs with only ketchup. I grew up on Long Island, New York, so I started out eating them with mustard. I don't remember when I switched to ketchup.

July 16, 2025, at home

I do like corn fritters, but they certainly have not been and are not a staple of my diet. I am more acquainted with apple fritters.

July 16, 2025, at home

Tapioca & Gummi Worms

I love tapioca pudding, which I have been eating with chocolate syrup, preferably Bosco, since I was a kid in the 1960s. My paternal grandmother would often make it from scratch. She called it "fish eyes."

July 15, 2025, at home

I prefer gummi bears.

July 15, 2025, at home

Happy Bastille Day !!!

Happy Bastille Day !!!

Fifty-five (55) years ago today on July 14, 1970, my parents and I, as a nine-year-old, had lunch in the restaurant in the middle of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. We were on a 28-day trip around the world.

I remember this because we were only in Paris for two or three days, and we visited the Eiffel Tower during only one of those days. The first observation deck, where the restaurant was located, was open, but the next observation deck and the top observation area were both closed because of the national holiday of independence.

I also remember my cute French babysitter at the hotel. I think she was 14 years old. (Remember, I was nine years old.)

We started our trip in New York City near our home on Long Island, New York, and traveled to San Francisco, Honolulu, Tokyo, Osaka (Expo 70), Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Bangkok, (refueled in Calcutta and then in Karachi), Rome, Sturno (in Italy to visit my great-grandparents and cousins), Paris, London, and then back home.

Since then, I have returned to France twice.

During the summer of 1978, when I was 17 years old, I visited Paris on a one-week, cultural trip with my French teacher and three girls, all of us with West Islip High School on Long Island, New York. I got lost in the Galeries Lafayette shopping mall on the last day and ultimately missed my flight home.

During the summer of 1984, when I was 23 years old, I studied the French language (six university credits of conversation and composition in three weeks) with many other students from Villanova University along with a group of senior citizens from the United States. We all lived and took classes in a high-rise school/dormitory with students from China and northern Africa in Massy, France. We only took the half-hour bus ride to Paris on Saturdays and Sundays, and that was mainly to attend supervised gatherings at museums.

(I took a total of 18 university credits of the French language for a minor to go with my major, bachelor of arts in communications. I spend two and a half years in the pre-med program before changing my major.)

One evening, we attended the ballet, so I had the rare experience of seeing famous ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev getting booed for performing a ballet vignette wearing clothes from the 1950s. While I didn't enjoy the dancing that much, I loved the music performed by the symphony orchestra.

One Saturday night, a bunch of us Villanova students stayed late in Paris to have fun in a discotheque. We listened to loud music, danced, engaged in a little drinking, and lost track of time. We missed the last subway train to our bus at 2 a.m., not that the bus was running either. Subway service restarted at 5 a.m., so we all fell asleep on the red-velvet, roundish couches throughout the disco. I remember being awoken by a bartender with a shake of my left shoulder at 5 a.m., telling me (and everyone else) to go home.

Today Is ...

I occasionally like Mac and Cheese, as shown below. However, I prefer Käsknöpfle, which is western Austrian homemade dumplings with farmers cheese and sautéed onions on top. My wife and I sometimes make it from scratch.

My Austrian aunt Brunhilde (R.I.P.) made the best I have ever eaten. I was fortunate to have enjoyed her homemade Käsknöpfle while on several vacations to visit her and my other Austrian relatives in western Austria, and to go skiing in the Austrian Alps.

Also, my wife makes delicious "regular" Mac and Cheese from scratch.

July 14, 2025, at home

On this date (July 14) in 2022, when I was living in a physical rehabilitation facility, my occupational therapist told me there was an apparently "crazy," elderly woman screaming and running around the hallways of the facility naked. I told my therapist that the reason for her actions could be caused by dementia or simply because today is National Nude Day. I was fortunate not to have seen this woman. I wonder if that was the same woman who often screamed from her room down the hallway almost every night.

July 14, 2025, at home

I sold (and exchanged for free) many tape measures when I worked as a salesman in the light hardware department at Sears, when I first moved to southeastern Florida from New Jersey in 1998. I worked in that department for more than five years, including while searching for a job in my profession (journalism) and also after I secured a journalist job. While I requested shorter hours at Sears, I still could not reconcile working both jobs at the same time, so I had to quit my sales job.

July 14, 2025, at home

I like Grand Marnier, but I haven't had it in many years.

July 14, 2025, at home

First Anniversary of Attempt

MAGA !!! 👍🇺🇲♥️ ... Many thanks go to Mr. Donald John Trump.

"Trump says 'American spirit' triumphs over 'forces of evil' on anniversary of Butler assassination attempt"

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-american-spirit-triumphs-over-forces-evil-anniversary-butler-assassination-attempt

July 13, 2025, at home

Boiled, Not Broiled

My wonderful wife made boiled pork tenderloin with onions, carrots, and potatoes. (not shown: gravy; white corn and green peas with melted butter)

CLARIFICATION: I do mean boiled, NOT broiled. When I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s, my paternal grandmother often made boiled pork chops. I still love them.

July 13, 2025, at home

Wonka; Brady

While watching a YouTube video, I learned that Denise Nickerson, who appeared in the movie "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory," also appeared in an episode of The Brady Bunch. Did you know that? I didn't until now. (She was also on the TV series "Dark Shadows.")

July 13, 2025, at home

Franks, Beans, & Barbers

I like eating sliced hot dogs mixed with Heinz vegetarian baked beans, as I have done for decades. I started eating Heinz vegetarian baked beans when I was a young kid in the 1960s. They are still my preferred baked beans.

My paternal grandfather would always have many cans of these beans in the pantry in the root cellar of his house. (There was also the regular pantry near the kitchen.) He mostly did the grocery shopping, so whenever canned foods went on sale, he would stock up on them.

He was NOT a vegetarian.

July 13, 2025, at home

Saved America Twice

MAGA !!! 👍🇺🇲

July 12, 2025, at home

Today Is ...

When I was working, I preferred my professional life to be complex and my personal life to be simplistic. For example, from 1992 to 1996, I was a reporter, writer, editor, and researcher for an international weekly magazine on the financial and technical aspects of the chemical industry based in New York City. When I wasn't working, I would read Jughead Jones comic books to take a break from the complexity of my job and to add a little simplicity to my life.

July 12, 2025, at home

I like pecan pie. I once ate a piece which had chocolate ganache on top. It was orgasmic.

July 12, 2025, at home

My favorite Jell-O flavor is lime.

July 12, 2025, at home

In recent decades, plastic  bags have mostly replaced paper bags. In recent years, the trend toward returning to the use of paper bags has gained speed and continues to do so.

July 12, 2025, at home

While I don't have different colored eyes, my eyes change color: from dark/light brown to hazel/green. Alexander the Great had one brown eye and one blue eye. Many dogs have mismatched eyes.

July 12, 2025, at home