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Tax Dollars Well Spent

There sat Greg with a cardboard 'Birthday Boy" crown on his head, his tongue attempting to lick the orange glob of pumpkin colored birthday cake frosting at the corner of his mouth."Do you want another piece, Greg?" asked Chelsea, one of the caregivers in his group home."OK," said Greg, whose Down syndrome effect on his speech makes that word sound like "Oohh-gay."Then he stopped."No, no," he said.What came out next is easily enough understood by people who have come to know Greg. For strangers, it takes a bit of parsing.What he actually said is close to, "All done ... mo-yo... Heb-a-lee ...

Preserving Your Memories — Using Albums And Keywords To Enhance Your Organization Plan

Welcome to another edition of Let's Talk Photography! If you've been following this article for the past couple weeks, you've been introduced to a simple and tested strategy for getting your photos off your camera and onto your computer and giving them some organized structure to simplify the task of finding photos. I've pointed you in the direction of storing your photos based on date and time and I left you wondering how you can use that structure to find photos based on life events. The simple answer is: you can't. That's right, because we are keeping things simple and organized, we ...

This Is A Wonderful Time Of Year

This past Sunday, my pastor played the last few minutes of "It's a Wonderful Life," which sent me into a spiral of wishing it were Christmas.If you haven't seen the movie, I won't ruin it for you, but you have to watch it at least once in your life. You'll fall in love with the main character, George Bailey, and wish you were as giving and noble as he is. (Clarence the angel is pretty lovable, too).It's just a classic Christmas movie that evokes a sense of wonder and reminds us of what is truly important. To me, Christmas embodies many of the important aspects of life we often let fall ...

Julie Adams Revisits The Black Lagoon

How much mileage could a studio expect from a 1954 film starring a biologist with a fascination for a secluded fishpond? Quite a bit, when the scientist is beautiful Julie Adams wrapped in a skin-tight white latex bathing suit and the fish turns out to be an angry piscine amphibious humanoid - a.k.a. a "Creature from the Black Lagoon."The success of the now cult film continues to astound Adams, who turned 90 on Monday, and has been a popular guest at fan conventions and film festivals across the country for years. Two days before her birthday, she will be signing books and photos at ...

Our Chief Executives

Well, we are living in calendar year 2016, and it marks another leap year, another Summer Olympic Games come and gone, some thought of maybe another World Championship for the San Francisco Giants (they won the World Series in years 2010, 2012, and 2014 before they bowed out of the playoffs a few weeks ago), and in two weeks and two days, we will be going to the polls to vote for the next Chief Executive of these United States. For some, or many, or most, or (I'm guessing) ALL of us, the process will mercifully come to an end after enduring the propaganda, the mudslinging, the schoolyard ...

Beauty Is Only How Deep?

I acquired a pup with a skin problem.It was one of the conditions of my accepting him - "as is," as it were. I figure we're all a little different - unique, strange if you will. He certainly fit that bill but came with a heart big enough to more than compensate for any drawbacks - and an intellect and deep understanding of the strange ways of people to make him a joyful companion.He leaves his flaky skin in his wake wherever (and whenever) he goes. I take advantage of the milder days to brush him outdoors. Else it is a brush in one hand and the hose of the vacuum in the other, admittedly ...