On Being A “Genius”

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When I was five years old, I could name all (then) 48 US states and their capitals, plus be able to spell them. I also knew all (then) 34 US presidents and could spell them as well. A local paper wrote a one paragraph article about how sensational this was, for where I was living, […]



I actually rooted FOR the U.S.

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Every four years World Cup comes around, and it was only from being here in England that I discovered the magnitude of it on the world stage. In 1994, the US was the host country, but all I remember is crowd shots from matches played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, where the bulk of […]



Worse Things Have Happened

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For starters, I didn’t make it past the first audition. That’s good news/bad news, for had I made it, I would have had to swear to refrain from commenting on any social media about the entire process (It was part of the signed agreement). Six of one, half a dozen of another to me. I […]



Vegas memories — Part 2

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After returning to San Francisco from Las Vegas, and seeing my dad, who now suffers from dementia and doesn’t have long to go, I was reminded again of how much he loved going to Nevada, but Las Vegas in particular, since it was closest to where he lived. In seeing him these last two days […]



Glad I Don’t Gamble

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When people I meet in UK ask for recommended places to see when coming to America, Las Vegas is always on the short list, right up there with the Grand Canyon and San Francisco. It’s not a natural wonder or cultural oasis like the previous two sites, it’s more of a must-see just as an […]



Is Getting Laid Worth Killing For?

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For once, I’m not going to use the latest pathetic mass-murder story in California as justification for my views on why guns suck. For me it’s a foregone conclusion that they do, and always will, and the day I buy a gun is the day Hitler, Rasputin, and Charles Manson join hands for a chorus […]



Surprise! I Liked Eurovision!

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I always basked in the knowledge that I never felt a need to watch the Eurovision Song Festival because it was always on a Saturday night, and most of the time I had better things to do, usually working. Certainly I would have taken work had it been offered last night, but I had already […]



Stupidity on Both Sides of the Atlantic

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What a week this has been for racism, huh! People who should know better apparently don’t, and then when given a chance to vindicate themselves, wind up digging a deeper hole. Let’s start with this redneck Cliven Bundy, a Nevada cattle rancher behind whom a militia has been organized to fight government agents coming to […]



Cresthill Days

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Anyone who worked LA’s Comedy Store in the late 80’s was witness to the continual rising and falling of the career and genius that was Sam Kinison. The fact that today (though it’s now April 11 in London) marks the 22nd anniversary of his death in a car crash on Highway 395 in Nevada reminds […]



Ode to Those Flat Black Circular Things with Grooves

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March 31, 1949 was the day that the first 45 RPM single was released by the RCA Victor record company, Eddy Arnold’s “Texarkana Baby b/w Bouquet of Roses,” and in conjunction marketed a special turntable to play it on. I don’t have that 45 (though I DO have it on 78), but I’ve accumulated enough […]