The song that annoys me most has a catchy tune that I usually can’t get out of my head – but the lyrics infuriate me. The chorus tells a young soldier not to be a hero. Some practical advice about keeping his head low and a plea for him to return – not objectionable on their own. What woman doesn’t want her husband-to-be to return safely? The annoying part is she is so STUPID. She understands him enough to know … Continue reading “The Hero’s Journey – Your Own”

Who was that masked man? He was a Texas Ranger that was shot and nearly killed in an ambush. When he awoke, he was the only one left alive. His friends and his brother were all dead and he was fully aware that the ambush wasn’t happenstance. They had been set up – and he was the only one left. He was saved in most versions of the story by the assistance of an old friend, an Indian by the … Continue reading “The Hero’s Journey – Heigh Ho Silver!”

It’s not easy fitting the important stuff into normal life. Even if you’re a wise cracking genius with super powers – somehow, there’s always some crazed super villain out to blow up half the city just as you sit down to finish writing your term paper. Aunt May asks you to take out the trash and you end up spending the rest of the night trying to stop the rampage of a giant lizard man. Mary Jane FINALLY says yes … Continue reading “The Hero’s Journey – With Great Power”

All three of you who read my blog (a gal has to start somewhere! Thanks for your support!) will already know that I did not believe Cuomo would resign. While I get some satisfaction in that he only resigned because impeachment was imminent, I was simply wrong. Andrew Cuomo resigned today as governor of New York. From the Epoch Times: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Announces Resignation Over Harassment Allegations BY JACK PHILLIPS  August 10, 2021 Updated: August 10, 2021 New York … Continue reading “Cuomo Resigns”

I saw the original Star Wars on a gigantic screen in a movie theater in Montgomery, Alabama about a week after it first hit the theaters. I can’t swear to it, of course, but I’m convinced there were a lot of eyes rolling when Alec Guinness delivered that infamous line. We knew dang good and well that Obi-Wan had lied by omission and that ‘point of view’ didn’t justify it. Luke may have accepted it – at least he didn’t … Continue reading “The Hero’s Journey – From a Certain Point of View”

I’m a Captain Kirk Trekkie. I did enjoy the Next Generation, but Kirk is a far better captain than Picard. I’m also far more Trekkie than Star Wars fan. Don’t get me wrong – I’ll gleefully plop down to watch the original trilogy in a heartbeat. I’ll watch the second trilogy if I’m in the right mood. And I love the Star Wars of my youth enough to never even consider watching the travesty that was the third trilogy. But … Continue reading “The Hero’s Journey – Kirk to Enterprise”

We can protect Granny without tearing up the Constitution. Let’s do that instead.

In the hubbub of today’s news about Andrew Cuomo’s inability to keep his hands to himself and whether or not he’ll resign (spoiler: he won’t) a little bit of news came out. No doubt it is welcome news to the few folks who weren’t eligible for unemployment and didn’t move to where they could work as well as to the idiots that collected that money and didn’t bother to pay their rent. It comes as a hard blow to those … Continue reading “Congratulations, US Supreme Court – You’ve Achieved Irrelevance”

There are quite a few stories of people encountering something frightening in the woods. Loud footsteps, weird screams, bad smells and ominous feelings of impending doom – followed by a swift retreat minus camping/fishing gear. A few so scared that they never went back for their stuff. It’s funny (well, not to them) if it turns out that they got scared off by a rutting deer or a determined raccoon. A little less so when we can’t explain the events. … Continue reading “But We Got Scared”

Over the last eighteen months or so, you’ve probably learned more about public health policy and practice than you ever thought about wanting to know. Of course, you’ve learned most of it from the media which is only slightly less competent than Wikipedia for technical information. To be fair, there are separate law books just for public health – I’ve seen them and even used them – so it’s not exactly simple stuff. My expertise is in sexually transmitted disease … Continue reading “The Nuts and Bolts of Public Health (Mostly Nuts)”