Just a piano player

Traditionally, it's: Denial – The first reaction is denial. In this stage individuals believe the diagnosis is somehow mistaken, an...

OK, it's come down to this. Given the increasing evidence of Russian meddling, the long-recognized Russian entanglements among many of...

For the sake of propriety, let me substitute the more-refined notion of a 'Poke in the Eye' for the common gesture of a raised middl...

Many years ago, when I was a young Programmer thrust into the role of 'Systems Analyst', I had the good fortune to share an office w...

Reading about some of the apparent beliefs of the more extreme corners of the Trump-is-great crowd, I am reminded of something that occurred...

Et tu, NPR? On Morning Edition today, they were interviewing two economists (of different persuasions), to analyze Trump's recent ...

We are watching, on Amazon, a popular TV show that had multiple seasons.  We are currently many seasons in and 2 from the end (no more spoil...

If you're like me, you've thought a lot over the years about the barbarian invasions into Europe, in the early centuries of the Comm...

For many years, I have been a volunteer, playing piano for the choir at a predominantly-Jewish assisted living facility.  We do a lot of son...

On November 22, 1963, I was sitting in Mrs. Peachy's 4th Grade class, at Hendy Avenue School, Elmira, New York.  It was a normal day unt...

I've been thinking about Orson Welles a lot lately. I  recently finished the eBook version of this: http://www.amazon.com/Young-Orso...

I was born in Elmira (1951) and called it my home thru High School (go, Blue Devils!). As part of the Elmira diaspora (I only get there no...

After many centuries of my family kicking around Poland and Lithuania (and Spain, before that), my European grandparents settled in Elmira, ...

I grew up in a little town in Upstate New York.  The recent photos from Buffalo reminded me of epic snow-storms of my childhood, staring out...

I don't remember where that name came from - I think he referred to himself that way in one of his many letters to me, years ago. Sanf...

This post is silly, but I had a startling 'ain't-it-odd' experience this morning. It started when I happened to glance at Paul...

So, tonight, (thankfully former) President W is speaking before the "let's all convert the Jews to Jesus" conference in Texas....

Karen has a small but impressive collection of antique salt-and-pepper shakers.  One had such an encrustation of salt on its inside that the...

As a computer guy, I have some understanding of the incredible complexity of the Federal Exchange, and a lot of sympathy for the developers ...

Of course Chuck Todd should be retired, for both his frustrating, lazy-ass reporting and his insufferable smugness.  I think we all can agre...