Dating Her, Knowing Him.

Previously posted on my Facebook page. Or written years ago, unedited/not updated.

I AM probably the weird one here. Or has life changed? How easy it is to gather (or “friend”) people on Facebook yet it equals the difficulty of “friending” someone out there. When we ask another (opposite sex) to meet over coffee or beer or to hang out and play pool or walk dogs in Carrier Park, would that qualify as a “date”? Or are you sending signals that say, “I'd like to date you”? How'd you “date” someone whose personality/character are mostly typed in/posted online? It doesn't make sense to me. 

       Yet you may find someone in here who could vibe with your aura or probably share common threads on things—the “Matrix” trilogy, seafood paella, glass sculpture, vinyl records, Murakami, democratic socialism, Goodwill shopping, familial wisdom  etcetera. Wouldn't you wanna meet that person beyond the internet? Just meet. You don't need to get a new haircut or gear up your Beckham abs. 

       We grow and evolve into better individuals via interaction with humanity and the world, out there. What we get on the internet are second/third hand data. It's like knowing David Bowie and Prince through their music only. Do you know that they could be as odd as the next-door dude who winks at you every other Thursday as you gas up on Merrimon Ave? Or maybe they're not that odd. It would be awesome to align wavelengths with someone that you actually interacted with beyond “likes” and emojis. Maybe someone that you shared a sweet concert at The Orange Peel or walked with along Beaver Lake talking about your respective kids or went with to Caleb Beissert's open mic? Something deeper might ensue or develop, why not? 

       But how do we know people before we begin imagining under starry, starry nights or scaring ourselves in the dark confines our room fearing that this dude could be Jason Voorhees-incarnate? Post the negative stuff that converges in your dark cloud of paranoid imaginings, expect 55 likes in one minute! You see, we may post and share all the wonderful confections of our life and rant how brilliant we see society and governance on social media—but until we see eye to eye, spend real time together (other than nervous candlelit Bonefish Grill dinners or Thirsty Monk beers) beyond the constraints of “Ten Dating Rules,” we will never know. 

       Sadly, all those red flag fears and preconceptions will gather while we ruminate in front of our laptop what should be and what shouldn't be. Meet and hang. If you spend moments on a weekly basis, or even several times a week, better. Plan it out, talk. That's how we know people—future friends or possible sweethearts. 👩‍🦰💘👨‍🦰

About Dogs and Cats and their Buddies. And some little jokes.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

SOME people’s Facebook addiction can be weird and idiotic but good for others. Uh huh. We read a number of news reports about suspected thieves who were easily caught by cops because before fleeing the scene of crime or thievery they updated their FB page first, complete with selfies, emojis, and stickers. Good work, uh huh. 😒🤪😎

CATS have a particular way of finding their favorite spot in the house. Chances are your cat's favorite hiding place is sunny, safe and far away from anything too disruptive – a perfect little personal cat oasis. That is why Fizz and Ching follow me wherever I go. I am also a cat, disguised as a Pasckie. 🐈🪣🐈‍⬛

DO dogs talk to each other? Yes. Pheromones, glandular secretions, barks, whines, yips, growls, body postures, etc., all serve as effective means of communication between dogs. Unlike in people, canine body postures and olfactory (scent) cues are significant components of dog language and vocal communications are less significant. Or they just text or IM each other. Cats taught them those skills. 🐕🐩🐕‍🦺

SELF-CENTERED, preoccupied with oneself and one's affairs. I don’t think I am. I am not. Do you agree or disagree with what I post, 24/7? Especially the political rants? Wwww-what? Who cares about what you think, anyway. Are you a bonafide member of the Trump Cult, Biden Cult, or Dray Cult? LOL! 😒🤪😎

EXPERTS say cats catch their prey and defend their territory from those who might be after the same prey. A yarn? Fake news. An animal who looks like a yarn? None. In fact, our cat Fizz The Wiz doesn’t do yarn at all. She prefers books like Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” and Melville’s “Moby-Dick,” she loved them! But not Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The book ended in shreds, some pages in scratches. Fizz: “There’s no damn bird in that book, dude!?!” 🐱🧶📚

DO cats sing? That depends on how technical you get with the definition of “singing.” It can just refer to making or performing musical sounds. Cats do that all of the time, when they meow or even howl in a melodic way, but scientists don't usually refer to these behaviors as singing. To some those are singing. Example is Barry Gibb, who is actually a cat disguised as a member (brother) of Bee Gees. He sings as a cat and as a hooman as well. 🐈👩‍🎤🐈

SQUIRRELS come to your bird feeders because they are also wild animals (like birds) looking for their next meal. So why not just offer them one instead. As mentioned, this won't suit everyone, but placing specific feeders for squirrels out far from the bird feeding stations may just quash their hunger. Birds with feeders and squirrels with feeders, Ching and Fizz will have an improved live entertainment to watch. Fizz would video-document some actions that she’d like, I am sure. 🦨🐈🦜

DOGS singing along with the family is a surprisingly common behavior. We can blame their wolf ancestors for it, says Bryan Bailey, a dog trainer with Taming The Wild, based in Memphis. “Dogs and wolves share all but 0.2 percent of their mitochondrial DNA,” says Bailey. Get that? Mitochondrial DNA! Mitochondrial. (Truth is, Bryan Bailey is a cat.) 🐕🧑‍🎤🐕‍🦺

DO dogs and cats dream? Yes! Dogs and cats, a mammal or a bird, dreams just as much as we humans do! Since dogs and cats sleep so many more hours a day, scientists also assume that your pets dream more than you! Arrow growls in her sleep that seems to say, “Lose the cellphone!” and Fizz meows, “Get that TV remote!” Ching though is sort of different. Eyes closed, she purrs, “I wanna catch that fish and ceviche it with Pasckie dude!” 🐕😴🐈

SUPPLY chain issues involve a shortage of aluminum cans and carbon dioxide. Brewers also said rising prices and transportation are impacting their bottom line. Experts said all of these factors combined could result in fewer varieties of beers available. Bad. Really, really bad news! Apocalypse. End of the world. 🍺🍻😱

HOW IT WAS.

Compiled from my previous Facebook posts.

Eating to the last grain of rice. Although my family, back home in the Philippines, don’t fall in the category of impoverished, I grew up on “Don’t waste God’s blessings” faith or “Your dad worked hard for our dinner, eat!” mindset. Today’s “liberal” thought says it is a form of control. Nope. I didn’t/don’t see it that way. It was respect to family values, regardless of religion. And recognition of my parents’ toil. Food conservation is common sense. 🍽🇵🇭🍽

Cooking on a clay oven. Or firewood “stove.” When I was a child, the family lived in a mining town in the Philippines’ northern mountain region. There, houses were built uniformly; and equipped with a clay oven and/or firewood stove. Electricity was conserved or distributed evenly. “Conservation” was culturally voluntary. With my older brother Alberto, we used to gather firewood up in the hills and sawdust (as kindling) in the nearby log-cutting site. 🪵🔥🪵

Television set with a door. Or a TV that is in a cabinet. Usually a Toshiba. TV was locked (with a key) most of the day and only opened or turned on at nighttime. TV watching in my childhood years was 2 hours max on weekends. Besides news at 6 PM, TV was usually turned off on weekdays. So we kids focused on school and homework and our assigned house chores. Never did I imagine that TV or screen time would evolve into what it is right now. 📺📺📺

Long walks with grandpa to the open market when I was a little boy. Grandpa Severino was a frugal old man. Won’t spend a few centavos for a jeepney ride so we’d simply walk the distance. Exercise, he said. That was how I learned how to read. He taught me the ABCs via building billboards, street signs, store IDs, jeepney routes, product names/costs, and newspaper headlines as we pick a copy each time. Do grandpas and grandkids still do this? 🚶🚶‍♂️🚶

Martial Law. Military government or suspension of ordinary law. It was handed down in the Philippines by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972. I was 12 years old but I am called a “Martial Law baby,” having grown in that era. Although ML was lifted in 1981, military atrocities carried on. My most active as a journalist. Martial Law or “dictatorship” is not something that is paralleled with/in America, unless we are back to 1765-1783 or 1861-1865. 🇵🇭☮️🇵🇭

In the 1970s, the Philippines experienced a rice crisis due to various factors. Martial Law years. I remember lining up for rice with mom and sisters in those years. Anyhow, the “Green Revolution,” which began in 1973, enabled the country to export rice to other Asian countries after the country achieved self-sufficiency in 1975. So it was baffling why we had a shortage of the staple food. In fact, to date, the Philippines' rice export is still high. 🍚🍚🍚

Dracula and Frankenstein. “Dracula,” from the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker, about Transylvanian nobleman Count Dracula, considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire. “Frankenstein” is based on an 1818 novel by Mary Shelley, which tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Those were the “scary” stuff in books and movies when I was kid. No slasher stuff yet. 🧛‍♂️🎥🧟‍♀️

Cowboy and Indians. Fun games. We were children. Cowboys were heroes, Indians were anti-heroes. Then we grew up and realized George Custer wasn’t how he was portrayed in movies and Geronimo wasn’t a bandit but a rebel. Yet “Cowboys and Indians” were simply harmless child’s play and didn’t figure much in our evolution into adulthood. We guide kids how to formulate stuff as they grow, not to influence how they “should” think. 🐴🤠🐴

Moviehouses. My first ever trip to a moviehouse in Manila. Podmon Theater. My dad brought me and my older brother Alberto to watch the1966 movie “Our Man Flint,” starring James Coburn. I forgot the double-picture companion movie though. I think the first movie that I saw alone at the Grand Theater in Cubao district was a local comedy called “David and Goliath,” starring Chiquito. It was my birthday. Then, movies were special treats! 🎥☎️📽

Kontrabidas. Movie anti-heroes whose evil actions are important to the plot. These guys are Max Alvarado, Eddie Garcia, and Paquito Diaz. Popular movie “kontrabidas” in Filipino movies, especially when I was a boy. Their common denominator: Moustache and devilish laughter. Other bad dudes: Johnny Monteiro, Bino Garcia, Romy Diaz, Rocco Montalban, Vic Diaz, and Rodolfo “Boy” Garcia although he had no moustache but with the most wicked grin. 🎥🇵🇭📽

[Photo credits: Shutterstock. 123RF. WFUV]

HOW IT WAS.

Compiled from my previous Facebook posts. 

Hot Pandesal. “Pandesal” is a staple bread roll in the Philippines commonly eaten for breakfast. Made of flour, yeast, sugar, oil, and salt. Steaming “hot pandesal” is usually eaten with coconut jam, homemade butter, evaporated milk, or Reno liver spread. There was a time when hot pandesal was so hot that all stores in the neighborhood had those huge ovens or baking equipment in full view of the customers, while they waited for their order. 🍞🥖🍞

Kapeng Barako. Best coffee ever in my youth, grown particularly in the provinces of Batangas and Cavite in the Philippines. “Barako “ in the languages of the Philippines means "stud,” and is associated with the image of masculinity. Barako has a strong flavor and fragrance reminiscent of aniseed. There were other instant coffee brands that were available then but the “kapeng barako” was preferred. Some sort of special coffee that made a dude feel macho. ☕🇵🇭☕

A miniskirt is a skirt with its hemline well above the knees, generally at mid-thigh level, normally no longer than 4 inches below the buttocks; and a dress with such a hemline is called a minidress or a miniskirt dress. A mini was considered a “most revealing” women’s clothing then, when I was a little boy. Sexy. Imaginations get steamy upon seeing women on miniskirt. These days? What mini, LOL! Butt cracks show and thongs offer zero to the imagination. 👚👙👚

Childhood fights. We’d prance and do butterfly footwork, Ali style. Stared menacingly like John Wicks. Hecklers would yell: “Touch his ears!” Some 15 minutes would be consumed by circling around, threatening to throw a jab, and stuff. The actual fight actually would happen in a mere 5 seconds. Then the “vanquished” would run to mom, weeping. The “victorious,” hoisted a-la Manny Pacquiao. But then we engaged face to face and never unfriended. 🤼‍♂️😂🤼‍♂️

Washing laundry on the river or community water pump or “poso.” Of course, in those days the river was still pristine, clear and clean. My recollection is not very vivid though. What my memory brings are mostly the communal wash activity at the “poso” area. As a natural rule, villagers gathered on a weekend to do laundry, not on weekdays, which were devoted to fetching of water for household use. Barrio-level collective fun was alive then. 💦👋💦

Lo waist pants. Today’s low riders? My dad was into this “fashion fad,” which was popularized by the 1956 Filipino movie “Lo’ Waist Gang,” starring the late Fernando Poe Jr. as defender of the poor. The movie also had Berting Labra, Zaldy Zshornack, Corazon Rivas, and Boy Sta. Romana. A sequel was 1960’s “Lo' Waist Gang Joins the Army,” with comedian Chiquito. I enjoyed those movies as a boy and was endlessly amused with dad’s crazy pants. 👖📽👖

“Bomba” was a Filipino film genre, characterized by its gratuitous use of sex scenes. Soft porn? Most popular in the late 1960s, “bomba” was a focal point of cultural debates around sexuality in Catholic Philippines. I was still a little boy in those years. I was a “late-bloomer” in terms of real-experience sex though I “knew” sex stuff in my mind by reading Anais Nin’s books and Xaviera Hollander’s “Letters to the Happy Hooker,” LOL! 😱🇵🇭🎥

Cold snacks when I was a boy. Anything cold: “Dirty” ice cream, snow cones, softdrinks, ice candy. Ice “buko” is a coconut popsicle with “pinipig” on top of it. Pinipig is immature grains of glutinous rice pounded until flat then toasted. Pinipig is also mixed with the summer hit, “halo halo” cocktail and in some rice cakes. Reason why I am not a huge fan of burgers, fries, and cakes? I didn’t grow up on those. Mine were less expensive yet more healthy. 🍨🍧🍦

Ma Mon Luk was a popular restaurant in Manila, creator of “mami” or noodle soup and “siopao,” a steamed bun. Huge dinner treat then. Ma Mon Luk is also the name of the Chinese immigrant who owned the restaurant. He was born in 1896 in Guangdong. In 1918, Ma left for the Philippines to seek his fortune in order to win the hand of his sweetheart, Ng Shih, whose parents disapproved of him because of his poverty. I miss Ma’s mami siopao! 🍵🍜🍵

Alcoholic drinks in the Philippines when I was a boy. Shoktong elixir or herbal tonic. Drunks had them because it was cheap and you can buy a shot in the corner store. The next “affordable” intoxication was “bilog” or Ginebra Gin. Or the locally home-brewed “lambanog” palm liquor. In the far North, “tapuy” or rice wine was it. In the far Southern islands, popular was “tuba” derived from coconut sap. Beer or San Miguel Beer was a luxury drink. 🍺🧉🥂

Compilation of short MORNING THOUGHTS.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

There has been a lot of Christianity shaming and religion bashing going on these days. Anything that is disliked—politics, fashion, music, movies, books, and donuts—are linked to Faith. Pop culture cool? Yet religion is an expression of a people’s culture than a belief in a supernatural entity. As a young man, I diligently went to Church because it is a cultural fact and family respect. Not because Jesus Christ will reward me with a new Alice Cooper LP afterwards.✝️☯️☮️

People trash Columbus Day. Diss Thanksgiving Day. Shame on Christmas. Etc etcetera. To speak our mind in displeasure and pleasure is primal. Social media is a venue to express ourselves. But self-expression or freedom of speech has gone overboard. Ridiculous, immature. If we don’t conform with observance of a holiday, say it as a grown up. Quit the juvenile silliness. Maybe I am too pure? I grew up protesting stuff but not so “good” at sidestreet mischief. That’s all. 🗣👥🫂

New York Mayor Eric Adams says the recent arrivals of more than 17,000 asylum seekers from Central/South America are straining the city’s resources. Isn’t that a no brainer? This record number of migrant arrivals has been going on since last year. Reason why the problem isn’t fixed? New York Times: “Adams calls crisis 'manufactured' by Republicans.” Politics, politics. The GOP wants the Wall reinforced to let migrants in? It doesn't make sense. 🚶‍♂️🏃‍♀️🏃

I am sure you also experienced this many times. A store cashier double-checks if your $20 or $50 (or $100) is fake. That is rude, and yes, I understand that you and I can't really tell a bogus currency from the real deal—but still it is kinda offensive that a commercial outlet staff does that “policy.” Is there a way to counter-check money not in front of you? I mean, it even makes it worse when the cashier looks at your $20 because it so happens that you look like El Chapo. 😒💸😜

Social media “influencing” is similar to how neighborhood whisper evolves into a community buzz of yore. I read stuff about singer/rapper Lizzo playing the flute. I didn’t really care to dig up what’s the big deal. Of course, Melissa Viviane Jefferson is African American. And that’d be the story. By the way, Bobbi Humphrey also plays the flute. And Jimi Hendrix is Black. 🗣👥🫂

This time, a deadly mass stabbing (in a Las Vegas casino). Too much rage. Time and again, I have posted that the unbelievable violence in America has gone beyond the cultural fascination (sic!) with guns. Mental disorder has gone amazingly widespread and conveniently fueled by internet-tossed darkness. Grownup niceness isn’t a fact in social media so it all comes down to you and me on primal/common sense. We know how not to push anger to hatred. Do we?☮️☮️☮️

Commercial ads on my Facebook page, similar to spam emails on my Yahoo inbox are alright with me. No reason to get irritated. I just ignored it. What annoys me are the political memes, “studies,” or blatant shaming trash that are fed by FB groups in here. They are tossed via “Suggested for you" come-ons. If indeed social media needs self-regulation/discipline? These are the nonsense that FB has to police its own per “Community Standards” rules. 🗣👥🫂

Lots to be concerned with about the young other than what their political/partisanship flag would be. A week ago, I mentioned about 10 psychiatric drugs prescribed to 1 teenager. Pills are all over. 1 in 5 teens has abused prescription medications, says C.D.C. Modest number. Illegal drugs are pushed so “conveniently” with help from the internet. News: “Colored fentanyl pills in candy packaging.” They’d be sold like gummies, donuts, or smoothies. Who’d know? 💊🥹💊

Lab-grown meat isn't artificial meat. It's real animal flesh. It just happens to grow in a lab, not on a factory farm. Scientists try to ensure that lab-created muscle tissue mimics the exact texture of traditionally-grown meat. This food meat concept spawned from a non-GMO mindset. Cultured meat etcetera. As for me, it’s no brainer. When stuff is “grown” in a laboratory, chemicals are involved. Anyhow, I simply eat what is called Food. Done. Pass the chicken feet, please! 🍗🥩🍖

News: “Virginia students walk out after governor’s reversal.” You know they are told to do so. Theatrics is not activism. My most virulent years of activism was when my kids were in grade school. But I never enjoined or convinced them to hold a placard in a rally or lectured them about what’s going on with the government. Let them be kids. Parenting: Guide children so they’d judge life and living with open minds as they evolve. Not to indoctrinate them about our politics. 👧👀🧒

Compilation of short MORNING THOUGHTS.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

Is it because of relative physical immobility or non-community activity? It seems my hyper life has been translated into my (night) dreams. Very active. Last night, I was arguing with an event organizer because I wasn’t allowed to deliver a speech as a political candidate because I contributed only $2,000 to the party. It was a full story, LOL! My dreams. Always! When I wake these days from a long dream, I feel so tired—like I was really there in “real life.” Crazy. 😴🥱😴

News. I read four mass shootings in the last four days. Continuous “fighting” in Ukraine. And resumption of partying outside Kyiv. Social media in Florida: Shaming frolic over hurricane info. News. Aaron Judge will get 62? Season 2 of “Lupin” and “Ramy” are now streaming. John Lennon sang: “And though the news was rather sad / Well, I just had to laugh.” I again see a photograph of Volodymyr Zelensky with puppy eyes, asking for more U.S. money. 🖱📰🖱

News: “NFL sent warning to every team after Tom Brady broke two tablets on the sideline.” / “Bills OC Ken Dorsey may have destroyed a tablet during a tantrum.” Sure, these fits are not PG stuff, not part of the play. But I don’t think these are worthy of News either. Others definitely have done worse in the locker room after a title game loss. But do these shenanigans deserve media ink? Nope. But this is today’s journalism. The nonsensical sidelights are the News, over The News. 🏈😡🏀

After the Tokyo Olympics gold in women’s weightlifting by Hidilyn Diaz and medal finishes by the boxers, sports per se in the Philippines seem doing fine. The Philippines won the 2022 pool team play held in Austria in June. Last month, the girls little league softball team reached the semifinals of the world series held in Greenville NC. E.J. Obiena is now ranked world #3 in pole vault. And Alex Eala just won the girls/juniors U.S. Open tennis title. Mabuhay kayo! 

       There are other events where Filipinos recently excelled that I fail to mention. To think that I was so disappointed with the performance of the men’s basketball team in FIBA last year. The worst national team that the Philippines ever assembled, I think. These honors outshine the renouncement of Filipino citizenship of golfer Yuka Saso (Japan) and chess champ Wesley So (U.S.) amidst their global successes. 🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭

North Dakota health officials were prompted to issue a warning about potential rabies exposure after a woman brought her pet raccoon to a bar to share her PBR. Displeased? Calm down. Overplayed animal love. Affection for dogs and cats isn’t enough? Leave other animals undisturbed in their natural habitat, please. All the drama of not killing the copperhead when threatened! Some insist a rattlesnake bite is not poisonous. Go ahead, get bitten! Then tell me. 🐺🐍🐝

The big news in the NBA these days aren’t about star player swaps or all those gargantuan $ contracts. What hug the headlines is the “sideline” drama. Here comes Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka’s shenanigan. Inappropriate (sexual) relations. Oh well. How a supposedly promising career got ruined by indiscretion or flawed decisions. How many multimillion$ salaried sports stars got outed due to bad judgment? Drugs, wife-beating, bar brawls. Etc etcetera. 👎🫵👎

California has legalized human composting, a “gentle transformation of a human body into soil.” Recompose places each body into a stainless steel vessel along with wood chips, alfalfa, and straw. Oxygen is pumped in to increase thermophilic, or heat-loving, microbial activity. Microbes that naturally occur on the plant material and on and in our bodies power the transformation into soil. Take note “Soylent Green,” a 1973 movie, supposedly happened in 2022. Uh huh. 🤨😏😟

News: “Video shows passenger punches flight attendant on Mexico-to-L.A. flight.” Where’s humanity’s common sense these days? Were we always this obnoxious, rowdy, and stupid? Did too much freedom of "speech" and obsession with democracy nurture our dark sides instead of calmly savoring privileges? Homepage: The dissing of Christianity is drunken idiocy level; shaming of people goes beyond common decency and self-restraint. Alexa, play Bee Gees, please? 🗣👥🫂

Racism simply hits you. Many times, the giver doesn't know it is racist until the receiver feels offended. Many times, it is situational. I could probably write down a list of racist retorts or racist acts, but I know as well that these cut across cultural lines—so it’s all relative. We are a diverse world. What is sure for me is I don’t want anyone, whatever skin color or racial perch you’d be, to tell me what is racist and what isn’t. When I feel it, I do. So let me decide on that myself. ☮️☮️☮️

Wanna be shamed in a meme on social media? Wear a MAGA cap downtown! “Make America Great Again!” or any other nationalistic slogan is a political pitch, of course. Yet it's cool to prance around with a Che Guevara shirt. That is a political/ideological declaration. Is it? Or simply a fashion statement? Should I say I have both MAGA and Che per my personal collection of pop culture thingies? Mao shirt, Republican chess set, and stuff. You may unfriend me now, LOL! 🧢🎽🤪

Compilation of short MORNING THOUGHTS.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

Michael Jordan's jersey from 1998 NBA Finals Game 1 sells for a record $10.1 million. Sports money! But that’d be “less astounding.” Any memorabilia from famous guys could sell millions$. But the salary level, then and now? The great (late) Bill Russell’s salary at the peak of his Celtics years was $100k (or “only” $600k today). Not a million$. Today’s highest paid NBA player per salary: Stephen Curry, $92.8 million. Salary + endorsements: LeBron James: $528,992,480. 🏀💰🏀

Per Covid Left/Right murkthrow, this side muzzles that Science is absolute. Science is never absolute. Experiments and more experiments are conducted before a degree of certainty. Then there’s the FDA skepticism per annual list of product recalls. What is absolute? When Arrow barks, per decibel or tone, I know what’s up. Cyd also reminded me of the certainty of the weather forecast and newbies Ching and Fizz? They can tell if a cat chow is up for FDA recall or not. Uh huh. 🐕😜🐈

Influencer Marketing. Social media endorsements and product placement from influencers, or people and organizations who have a purported expert level of knowledge or influence in their field. Example: Go to Google without typing a word, the first on-line is Alexandra Daddario. Know her? Many would ask, who? But she has a huge presence. Pretty much how the Kardashians got rich and famous. Market economics via steady “influencing” and focused (re)branding. 😒📲😏

Notice how Republican women politicians are shamed, dissed, and maligned. The favorite target these days: Marjorie Taylor Greene. Worse than how Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann were trashed in the past. Per my Homepage, that’s what I see, dished by obviously Democrat minions. But not much from GOPs. I read 1 or 2, from time to time, versus AOC or Nancy Pelosi, but not as nasty as those vs Marjorie. Can we criticize like grownups sometimes? 

       OF course, the men are ridiculed as well. Tops murkthrow recipients: DeSantis, Ted Cruz, Giuliani, Lindsey Graham, McConnell, and oh well you know the undisputed #1 as the most shamed, spat at, demonized dude. LOL! 🤨😏😟

Today’s journalism language: “Kelsey Plum brings the dawg out in Game 2 win after A’ja Wilson told her to ‘get her s*** together.” In my days, we were barred from typing up words such as s*** after we have already conveyed the message of a quote. I may sound conservative? LOL! Yet that’s the no-brainer media stylebook in those days. Not anymore. Language evolved. Maybe reason why people simply throw s*** and f*** Is it their primal language? 🗣👥🫂

Asheville crime is up 34 percent from 2021. I first got here from New York City in late 1999 and decided to stay right after 9/11. Had a 2-year sojourn in Los Angeles (from 2017); returned in 2019. Most of my years in WNC were spent organizing events/concerts and publishing a newspaper. Having lived in big cities as a journalist, crime doesn’t jar me much. It is the divide that is pushed by political hate that bothers me. We can’t solve crime as a divided community.☮️☮️☮️

People castigating people in public about something that they don’t (politically?) agree with. Current life. A dad drinking beer with his kids at an open-air rock festival. A neighbor grilling steak wrapped with aluminum foil. Woman gassing up her SUV. Etcetera. And me wearing a Duck Dynasty shirt. Pure personages are compelled to chastise you and so proud to declare that it is their hooman right to do so. Don’t you ever drink Coke in public, okay? Pepsi is it! 🤨🧐🤪

What is wrong with employees these days? Yesterday, the young Amazon guy didn’t even smile back or say anything when I said “Thank You!” after he dropped boxes here. The general feeling when I head out and face humanity. Basically. Asheville wasn’t like this when I first got here, 2000. I still experience niceness though, from time to time, but from what some stereotype as “rednecks.” They are old school nice. “How are you? I like your hat! Have a good day, Sir!” 🤨🧐🤪

I can proudly say that despite my self-imposed recluse personality, I created so many friends than the average old dude my age. So it follows that I am interested to know people on Social Media. Why don’t you talk about yourself? I mean, not the TMI drama. But less anti Trump, anti  Christianity, anti Conservative? Talk about you beyond the anti. Probably, you did advise LBJ or Kamala? A degree in Cultural Anthropology at UC Berkeley? Love paella? Bee Gees? 👈👀👉

I mostly post old, old songs. Not only those songs that I enjoyed as a young man but also those that older people used to listen to when I was a little boy. Turntable music was a leisure staple in our house when I was growing up. I used to spin records for hours on a weekend. I’d crank the volume up so everybody, including neighbors, would enjoy the sound. They did, and even requested their favorites. So on my FB Page, I share music (also) to remember the good old days. 🎹🎸🎼