An Inconvenient Truth

 

More MAGA !!!

I loved living during Trump's first term as president. I love living in his second term even more.

April 30, 2025, at home

MAGA !!!

Why do liberals think an impeachment of Trump will change anything? Bill Clinton was impeached for lying to Congress. He still continued to destroy the United States. By the way, I loved Trump's first term as president. I am loving Trump's second term even more.

April 30, 2025, at home

Today Is ...

The main reason why I have had such little success with women in regard to romance is that I would never lie to them. I just prefer honesty. In fact, my only regret in my entire life is that I did NOT lie to women when I was single.

April 30, 2025, at home

While my dad served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years, and my mom worked for the Navy, I do NOT consider myself to be a military brat. I am just a generic brat.

April 30, 2025, at home

Bugs Bunny is one of my favorite cartoon characters. My other favorites are Pepé Le Pew and Ignatz (the mouse). Bugs Bunny was almost called "Happy Rabbit."

April 30, 2025, at home

I somewhat enjoy bubble tea.

April 30, 2025, at home

I sometimes eat oatmeal cookies, but I do not enjoy them all that much.

April 30, 2025, at home

Roses From Phyllis

Many thanks go to cousin Phyllis for sending my mom colorful roses. Many thanks go to my mom for giving several of them to my wife and me.

April 29, 2025, at home

Piano Improv

Today's Date: April 29, 2025

Original Date Recorded: July 22, 2019 

I decided to visually modify one of my older piano improvisations and then upload it onto my YouTube channel: "Bill Santos: Piano & More." (length: 2'06")

I like to sit at my digital piano and just start playing whatever is in my head at that time. I make it up as I go along. This is my method with all of my piano improvisational videos.

Improv from July 22, 2019: Effects (April 29, 2025)

https://youtu.be/zQlo0e_uJTo?si=jVB5ltFHlppsdvCI

Scampi & Zippers

I enjoy Shrimp Scampi.

April 29, 2025, at home

Those who have had open-heart surgery, like me, are said to be in the Zipper Club, named after the zipper-like piece of plastic strip that holds the chest wound together.

April 29, 2025, at home

Left Is Wrong

The Republicans are actually centrist. They only look far right because the democrats are so very far left.

April 29, 2025, at home

Today Is ...

I do like blueberry pie, especially with chocolate ice cream, which is the same way I enjoy all fruit pies, specifically cherry, apple, and peach.

April 28, 2025, at home

Today is National Superhero Day. When I was a kid in the 1960s, Cuckoo Man was my favorite superhero, and he still is my favorite superhero. He was part of the cartoon series "The Mighty Heroes" that ran for only one season in 1966, when I was five years old. I loved that show. The other superheroes in this coalition were Strong Man, Rope Man, Tornado Man, and Diaper Man.

Here is a link to the opening that introduces these superheroes:

https://youtu.be/KldhX_loq18

(Many of you are probably not surprised by my choice of favorite superhero.) 😉

April 28, 2025, at home

I have written more than 300 poems since 1986, many of which have been published in national anthologies, mostly in the 1990s, including with The National Library of Poetry ( in the Library of Congress).

I am (still) in the preliminary stages of self-publishing a book of my best and favorite self-penned poems. I am also (still) writing an autobiographical novel.

I am a lifetime Performing Member of The Poet Jervis Poetry Society in Port Jervis, New York, although I live in Florida. In February 1990, I performed (acted) two of my poems on stage at our televised anniversary show in Port Jervis. I moved to a different town shortly after this show, so I never performed poetry on stage again.

Some of my favorite poets are Rainer Maria Rilke, Arthur Rimbaud, Tristan Tzara, and Charles Simic.

April 28, 2025, at home

Almost all workers who die on the job are men.

April 28, 2025, at home

Wine & Cat Food

I read that as women age, the best stocks to buy are from companies that manufacture wine and cat food. That sounds like a joke, but it's true.

April 28, 2025, at home

Full Potential Reached

I haven't been a "work in progress" since the early 1990s, when I was in my early 30s. That's about when I reached my full potential.

April 27, 2025, at home

As a kid in the 1960s and 1970s, I never liked Devil Dogs because the cake would get stuck to the roof of my mouth. It was way too dry for me.

April 27, 2025, at home

Haribo's strawberry Gummi Bear is green in the United States, while it is pink in Germany and other parts of the world.

April 27, 2025, at home

I just wrote a sentence to my wife that I have never written or spoken ever:

"I am now going to take pills with Fresca."

April 27, 2025, at home

Today Is ...

I do like salty, soft pretzels (sometimes with yellow mustard), especially when I am in New York City and Philadelphia, which was long ago. I grew up on Long Island, New York, in the 1960s and 1970s, often visiting New York City. In the early 1980s, I attended Villanova University near Philadelphia.

I haven't eaten one of them in quite a long time.

I also liked salty, soft pretzels from that lady with the cart outside of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum after New York Islanders games, when I was a teenager in the 1970s. "Pretzels !!! Cold soda !!! Italian ice !!!," she would bark with a strange accent. Do you remember her? She was out there hawking after every game.

April 26, 2025, at home

Today Is ...

My wonderful wife makes delicious zucchini bread. She also makes delicious banana bread and delicious mango bread.

April 25, 2025, at home

My paternal grandmother was a telephone switchboard operator long ago. You know, I don't remember if it was in the 1930s, the 1940s, and/or the 1950s.

April 25, 2025, at home

Opinions

I hear that men are not allowed to have an opinion about abortion. I say, if you don't own a gun, you are not allowed to have an opinion about gun control.

April 24, 2025, at home

Grape Flavor Aid

I am on a quest, informing people that in actuality, it was grape Flavor Aid, not Kool-Aid, in reference to Jim Jones.

April 24, 2025, at home

Pigs-In-A-Blanket Day

I enjoyed these when I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s, but I haven't eaten them as much as an adult.

April 24, 2025, at home

Today Is ...

I took an intensive Shakespeare course at Villanova University in the early 1980s. We studied fifteen (15) of his plays in three (3) months.

April 23, 2025, at home

I have certainly taken thousands of chances throughout my life, and almost all of them have ended in failures. I have attained some successes, and I continue to seek success.

April 23, 2025, at home

I am not a fan of cheesecake, but I do like cherries.

April 23, 2025, at home

Perspective

Many people think Trump is too far to the right because they are too far to the left. (04/22/25)

Earth Day Co-Founder

Today (April 22, 2025) is World Earth Day. The first Earth Day was celebrated on this date in 1970, as co-founded by environmental activist Ira Einhorn. Seven years later, police raided his closet and found the "composted" body of his ex-girlfriend inside a trunk.

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42711922

Jelly Bean Day

My Favorite Jelly Bean Flavors:

Generic: cherry; orange; grape
Jelly Belly: buttered popcorn; mango; chocolate pudding; black pepper

April 22, 2025, at home

Beef Stew

My wonderful wife made beef stew this evening.

April 21, 2025, at home

One-Word Retorts

I get a lot of one-word retorts from liberals: "Source?" Are they really that ignorant, or is it just a knee-jerk reaction, like throwing around such stale buzzwords as "incel" and "misogyny" without really knowing their meanings?

April 21, 2025, at home

Cashews & Rendering

Cashew is one of my favorite nuts.

April 21, 2025, at home

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. My first position there was titled "Oils, Fats, and Waxes Editor." (I still love that title.)

While I wrote about such substances as Carnauba Wax and High Erucic Acid Rapeseed Oil, in regard to today's celebration, I also wrote about grease, both white and yellow; lard; and tallow (all from an industrial lubrication perspective). I also wrote about biodiesel fuel.

I was later promoted to more complex coverage areas: Flavors and Fragrances Editor; then Heavy and Agriculture Chemicals Editor; and then Market Research Editor.

April 21, 2025, at home

Only 2 Pieces Of Cake

Trump is like a parent denying a child a third piece of cake. Two pieces are OK, but a third piece is too much and can be unhealthy.

April 21, 2025, at home

Me As The Easter Bunny

In 1991, when I was between journalism jobs, I was working as an architectural assistant in Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York, thanks to my dear friend Mark. I also had another job at the same time: Easter Bunny at the Walt Whitman shopping mall in Huntington Station, Long Island, New York. Here, for your enjoyment, is the classic photo of myself dressed in that furry costume, scaring a child and making another one smile, albeit uncomfortably. If you look closely at the bunny's mouth, you can see part of my face.

April 20, 2025 (Easter Sunday), at home

Easter Greeting Video

Happy Easter !!! Today (April 20, 2025), I recorded and uploaded a short Easter greeting onto my YouTube channel. (length: 1'11")

Happy Easter !!! (April 20, 2025)

https://youtube.com/shorts/KPn-1FZ1YXc?si=g6Jj0DwOQ86Vbr53

##

Today (April 20, 2025), I created and uploaded an Easter greeting video onto my YouTube channel. In only 20 minutes, I got more than 1,800 views. Amazing. I posted it as a "short." It's only 1 minute and 11 seconds long. "Shorts" usually get lots of views very quickly and then taper off very quickly. I never expected to get that many views. To be honest, during that 20 minutes, I only received 1 thumb's up and no comments, so many people watched it, but I don't know if more than one person liked it. 😁

(The link is in my previous Facebook post.)

##

UPDATE: My number of views has dropped from 1,909 to 1,307. I have no idea why.

Easter Visit With My Mom

My wife and I are visiting my mom for Easter. (04.20.25)

Today Is ...

April 20, 2025, at home

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

I am watching live coverage of the fifth race of the 2025 Formula 1 racing season on April 20, 2025. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is being broadcast on ESPN from a feed from Sky Sports F1. The 50-lap race started at 8 p.m. local time (1 p.m. Eastern Time in the United States).

Below is a diagram of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit (capacity: 50,000), a street circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Each circuit (track) around the world has a different configuration, therefore a different dynamic, regarding turns and elevation fluctuations.

This season's 24-race schedule is as follows: Australia, China, Japan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Miami (U.S.), Italy, Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria, Great Britain, Belgium, Hungary, The Netherlands, Italy (different circuit), Azerbaijan, Singapore, Austin (U.S.), Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas (U.S.), Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.

Before each race, there are two or three days of practice/qualifying. The races run every week or every other week from March into December, with a month-long summer break.

In Formula 1 racing, there are 20 (male) drivers, with ZERO drivers from the United States.

There are 10 teams (with two drivers on each team), so not only do drivers compete against their rivals, but they also compete against their teammates. There are two championships: one for the drivers and one for the constructor teams.

The 10 constructors are Alpine, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Haas, Kick Sauber, McClaren, Mercedes, Racing Bulls, Red Bull Racing, and Williams.

This season, as with last season, there are three races in the United States. In fairly recent years, there were no drivers from the United States and no races in the United States.

Formula 1 racing is the only sport that I actively follow. I have been a fan for decades. I watched my first F1 race decades ago on television at the home of one of my many Austrian cousins while on vacation in Austria.

Today Is ...

On this date in 1995, Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. (He was pronounced guilty and then later executed on June 11, 2001.)

From 1992 to 1996, I was a reporter, writer, editor, and researcher for an international weekly magazine about the financial and technical aspects of the chemical industry.

Shortly after the bombing, the FBI came to our office in the Financial District of New York City because McVeigh had a subscription to our magazine. At that time, I was writing about heavy and agricultural chemicals, including the fertilizer ammonium nitrate, which was the explosive chemical that McVeigh used in his truck bomb.

I was NOT questioned by the FBI. After all of these many years gone by, it is still disturbing to be tangentially (remotely?) linked to someone that evil. He most probably read what I wrote.

April 19, 2025, at home

I love Amaretto, an Italian almond liqueur. Long ago, I used to drink Bocce Balls (Amaretto mixed with orange juice; no vodka). I also like those Italian Amaretto cookies. Sipping Amaretto straight is nice, too.

April 19, 2025, at home

Being half Italian, I absolutely LOVE eating garlic. However, my religion (Gaudiya Vaishnavism) forbids me from eating it. I still eat it. TRIVIA: The country that consumes the most garlic is South Korea.

April 19, 2025, at home

My good friend (still) and I, while at Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia in the early 1980s (in my early 20s), went to a standardbred race horse auction. He suggested that I make the opening bid on this nice, small horse. So, I made the first bid, not knowing what it was. A few seconds later, the bid flashed on big boards: $30,000 !!!

I obviously didn't have the money, and I had no place to stable the horse. So, my friend and I are laughing until a full five minutes passes without another bid. We start to panic a little. My friend said that he would drive the car home and that I would be riding the horse home. Thankfully, there was another bid. After a couple more bids, the horse sold for $75,000, which was a lot lower than we had anticipated.

April 19, 2025, at home

Columns & Crackers

Today (April 18, 2025) is National Columnists' Day.

I was a journalist from September 1982 to April 2017.

My religion is called Gaudiya Vaishnavism, also known as Hare Krishna, which is a sect of Sanatana Dharma, also known as Hinduism. I wrote this column (below) in 2014 about my religion. It was published in almost all of the 24 southeastern Florida weekly newspapers in the chain for which I was working at the time (Forum Publishing Group, Sun Sentinel, Tribune Company).

My column was part of a series of columns written by the editors about living in today's world according to our religious tenets. It was published in our April 16, 2014, editions. At the time, I was one of two Assistant Editors (editor and page designer, and sometimes writer and photographer) for five of our weekly newspapers.

Click/tap on the (scanned) photo below to enlarge it.

Also, during my first paying journalism job (1989-1990), when I was the founding editor of a weekly supplement to a daily newspaper (as a reporter, writer, editor, photographer, and page designer at the Newburgh Evening News in Newburgh, New York), I wrote a weekly opinion column.

Today (April 18, 2025) is National Animal Crackers Day. I prefer the former, traditional box design when the circus animals were still in cages (below).