America is being destroyed.

We're suffering from a pandemic, an economic crisis and mass demonstrations all at the same time, with nothing heard from the White House or the entire administration.
Leaderless, we face global derision.
I am so glad I am old.
I don't have to worry about my future career. I don't have to worry about my parents -- they are long gone. I do have to worry about my children's futures, but there is very little I can do about it.
Oh well. Thus too should pass.

So many years later...in the midst of a quarantine...it seemed like a good idea to return to my blog.

It's been quite a while.

Surrounded alone

Preview mania

On the way home today, I passed a new apartment complex that was "pre-leasing." I imagine that i something like pre-boarding on airplanes.

However, according to my dictionary, pre means previous to or before. Thus, pre-boarding would happen before boarding and pre-leaisng would be before leasing. Would it not be better usage to call it early leasing and early boarding?

Two things I learned viewing Madrid's museums

1. If Christianity, like Islam and much of Judaism, had proscribed human images, most of the walls of most of museums would have been bare, with no Nativity scenes, crucifixions, disciples, etc.

2. Women's breasts in the past were much smaller than those of today, if the statues and paintings are any indication. Even Reuben's women, albeit more fleshy than some others, were comparatively small-breasted.

Anti-Social Media

Unlike The Atlantic, I do not believe Facebook and other social media are making us more lonely. However, I strongly believe they are making us more rude.

Go to a meeting. Any meeting. The first thing everyone does (or mostly everyone) is put their phones on the table. Them, rather than listening to the presenter and paying attention, almost everyone is texting, checking email, posting to Facebook or simply just ignoring everyone else.

Go to a restaurant. Are people interacting with their lunch or dinner companions? Nope. They are, instead, focused on their phone or tablet.

I think it started with the telephone. At a store or dinner table, a ringing telephone trumped live people. Now, even silent iPhones trump everything else.

To use an old argument, at your hospital bed or your deathbed, will your phone be there? Or will it be your real friends and family?