This was just too ridiculous for me to ignore. First, I LOVE Halloween and foods that are black, like jelly beans and olives. Second, I still like hamburgers, even though I now eat them without the bun. Third, the idea of a scary hamburger made me laugh out loud. A...
I've had enough of this Chicago warmth. I want the cicadas and crickets to shut up, the humidity to go away and the clouds to roll in. It's so BRIGHT all the time...come on, we're at the end of September now. I need darkness and it's time for autumn.
One of the most annoying recurring themes of my dreams is being back in school. Sometimes I'm back in high school or graduate school, but most often I'm back in college. It makes me suspect I have a secret terror of being a student again. This occured to me again...
This is my favorite time of year: the months that end in "ber." My favorite month of all is December (because of Christmas), but I also love the autumn months that lead up to that. These days I'm in rapture because I made it through another summer, soon the hot...
I'm writing this post to make one thing clear about the website How Old Do I Look? On this website you can temporarily upload any photo and it will make a guess as to whether the face(s) in that photo are male or female and how old that image appears. The program...
I was talking to a friend who regrets upgrading her iTunes application because now her phone won't charge with the adapter she was using. Many of us had upgrade remorse last month when Hulu.com produced a terrible version of its app that didn't allow us to watch...
Sometimes I cry not because I'm upset. Sometimes I cry when I feel very happy or relieved. We're all familiar with tears of joy. We've seen people weep with relief and gratitude when they find out their loved one is still alive or when they finally receive desperately...
I've wanted to visit the Sears Tower (not the Willis Tower) ever since they installed the sections of the Skydeck where you can stand on a glass floor and pretend you're suspended 103 floors above the ground. I finally made it last night. The path out of the building,...
Bus shelter laid flat by high winds on Morse Avenue. Yesterday a hailstorm ripped through the Rogers Park area of Chicago. Rogers Park is my neighborhood. For no more than 10 minutes, ferocious winds tore at trees and buildings, and hailstones -- yes, hailstones in...
This morning I received a call on my cell phone. The incoming call had a 347 area code. A young-sounding woman asked for Regina Martin and told me she was calling from the Internal Revenue Service. For a few seconds I started to sweat, but then I remembered that the...
This is a photo of my hand wearing my current favorite ring. I love this ring because I find the idea of death comforting. For me, life is busy, loud, often overwhelming and too often painful. Life is full of people moving quickly and too many things to do and not...
There have been many articles recently about how it's time for the United States to stop the Daylight Saving Time (DST) practice: The Atlantic gives some history. The Chicago Tribune reports that Alaska, Idaho and New Mexico are trying to repeal it. International...
Wednesday, March 4th is National Grammar Day and I'm talking to all you Americans. Let's recognize National Grammar Day. For instance, let's spend just one day not ending every third sentence with the word "at" as in "Where you at?" "Leave it where it's at." "Where...
Dec. 26, 2014 Fortunately, I don't let not having a blogging topic stop me from posting. This makes hitting my ten-posts-a-month goal easier. Maybe one day I'll raise the bar to ten interesting posts a month. But probably not. This is a photo from about a month ago,...
Does the idea of donating blood make you squeamish? Do you never have any money to give to good causes? Do mobility or transportation issues make you unable to volunteer outside of your home? Do you nevertheless want to make a difference in the life of a stranger?...