Dog Ear – Page 59 – Robert Raymond’s Blogtorium

August 22, 2024

Addiction (DOG EAR)

ou know, I think the thing about drunks and drug addicts is when you see them in their ragged states, hanging on at the margins of society. The sorrow from this comes from thinking about the lost potential – here was a person who fell through the cracks, who might have gone on to create great art, great items, great friendship and great loves, who, because of a weakness for drink or drugs, lost this chance. I think this every day while in the downtown coffee shop and watching the baristas take pity on the homeless who wander in, giving […]

August 29, 2024

Stacks (DOG EAR)

eird little story for your blogging pleasure. Of course, I love to read (no shit, right?) And since I just had a week’s vacation, I’ve been plowing through books. My review stack is about six deep right now. Funniest thing, though. I’ve been watching James Garner in The Rockford Files. Great show that echos the old Private Eye Noir of the past. I’ve never really watched it but lived in the time (1974) and the place (LA) so it’s all there for me. Curious about the main star, I picked up a book, The Garner Files, Garner’s autobiography. Enjoyed it. […]

September 13, 2024

Deconstructing Media (American Ninja Warriors) (DOG EAR)

isclaimer – I have not watched this show. I’ve seen the ads on the mindless-drone TV at the dealership and rolled my eyes. Okay, this is some sort of program where they have contestants from everyday people (i.e. stupid) compete in an unlikely and over-engineered obstacle course. But that’s not what I’m deconstructing here – I’m looking at the name they’ve given this wasteland show. American Ninja Warrior. So, first up. “American”. What has this got to do with anything? Is there a Polish Ninja Warrior game I need to know about? Or is this a way to stick a […]

September 19, 2024

Weight (DOG EAR)

‘ve always meant to say this but never got the urge until I showed up early for a dinner that everyone either skipped or came late for. And here it is. My quote: The weight of time is far less that the weight of a thin paperback book. This might not make much sense unless you’ve ever decided to go somewhere and had nothing to do for forty-five minutes or so. And for some reason, when you left your house, you picked up the paperback you were reading, yet, the one that was just getting interesting. You gauged it in […]

September 26, 2024

Retiiiirement (DOG EAR)

inding out new ways to be in the five years since I retired. Back when I worked, my special delight every day was to ride my commuting bicycle across the entire floor to the coffee pots and start a brew, then ride back. God knows what would have happened if the building manager caught me. And yes, I rang the bike bell at every cubicle intersection. So now I’m retired. One of my favorite things is to ride over to Leu Gardens (the city’s botanical gardens, about a block from my house) and walk it. Then I’ll ride over to […]

October 3, 2024

Joybirds (DOG EAR)

nother local bookstore closes, this time, Joybird Books, less than a mile from my house. Loved that shop. Popped in from time to time but the owner felt sorry for selling me so many books and ended up loaning them to me. Also, the store was set up as a community center, so there was room for kids to color and play, for people to sit, to enjoy themselves. My wife and I went to Zen sittings on Sunday nights there. Another victim of the failure of Americans to read, and the encroachment of Amazon into every aspect of small […]

October 17, 2024

Coward of the County (DOG EAR)

remember it well. Hurricane Charlie was coming right up Interstate 4 towards us. We had the house battened down. Tools and cat cage in the center hall. Windows boarded. Winds picked up and as the sun set, the hurricane rolled over us. Suddenly it was black outside, winds howling. The lights flickered and went out. In the back, I could hear trees going over. Got Prince the cat and stuffed him into his cage. The cat and wife and I hunkered in the center hall, all the doors closed. The house shuddered, wind coming up through the floorboards. At the […]

October 31, 2024

Overestimate (DOG EAR)

here is a thing I see a lot in our modern world, that through that simply buying (or doing any minimum effort) gives you mastery over a skill. Possibly it comes from all the movies we watch where a montage is used to show months/years of work. Even Charles Atlas had it – the “Hero of the Beach” bulked up in a couple of panels. You might have seen young teens (and twenties) drive. They get themselves a spiffy little toy car (either on their own loans or gifted by over-indulgent parents). And now, suddenly, because they have a quick […]

November 21, 2024

Losing my Religion (DOG EAR)

t doesn’t take much of a stretch to imagine that I’m a liberal. Commute by bike. Live on a pretty gay street. Have friends of all nationalities. There are a couple of business I won’t buy from unless backed into a corner. Exxon, for the Exxon Valdez and their bullshit response. BP, for the same sort of thing in the Gulf. So that’s environmental. You might even say my wife and I have taken it a step further – we own a small (older) Mini Cooper and a newer Prius. For other concerns, I don’t buy from Chick-fil-a and Hobby […]

November 28, 2024

Phone Question (DOG EAR)

kay, so I’ve got a flip phone. Yes, I’ve taken a lot of crap for it, the whole dinosaur thing. Ironically, they are making a come-back – people realize how invasive and consuming immediate internet gratification can be. It turns you into a drone. Now, my flip has its own problems – I keep it in my front right pocket – I can just get it in there with my keys and wallet (the left front pocket has my pocket watch – an old staple). But the problem with that is that there are some critical buttons on the outside, […]