By this time in 48 hours we should have the results of the most contentious election since, well, four years ago. Campaigning has never been this ugly since, okay, four years ago. But if you want some genuine bile, go back to 1804 when John Adams faced Thomas Jefferson for his second term. T… Read more

About the author

I am a retired high school teacher after 32 years without a single count of homicide. You can follow my trail on my other blog site at Insane4Twain.
Reader blog posts
Trumpās reelection campaign is stirring to life. A 3:41 video appeared in my FB page (made it past the censors) which features lots of stirring scenery and references to American heroes. Runs a little long for TV spots, though. Read more
Rating best/worst songs is always a foolās errand. One manās cup of tea is another manās poison. Humorist Dave Barry created a runaway seller with Book of Bad Songs in which he skewered songs that we can all agree are bad. Or can we? For every person who loathes, say, Gary Puckett, there are… Read more
Propaganda experts - I mean, public relations executives - held an impromptu meeting in the Wuhan province to come up with a name to distance themselves from the latest nuisance to come out of that country since McDonaldās Kidās Meals toys and pet food laced with poisonous melamine.Ā Read more
This blog represents the views of the author alone and not the newspaper. Read more
My wife left me and my daughter as close as we could get to the Rockets stadium to walk the rest of the way around road blocks. We stood in line for about 40 minutes to get past security. Large bags filled with garbage dotted the area left behind, I guess, by the overnight and really early-b… Read more
I didnāt set out to read all the novels by Willa Cather, but as of this week, Iāve gone through her canon, including a collection of short stories. Ironically, the last novel I read was her first ā Alexanderās Bridge. Read more
As a member of Friends of the Library, albeit a long-distance member, I attend the book sales as often as I can. The fun for me doesnāt end when I reach the last page. Often I write a review to remind myself what I took away from the splurge into someone elseās life, real or imagined. Read more
In case you were too busy munching on your hamburger which is contributing to global warming, the Houston Chronicle ran a story on the front page with pictures of important people attending the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland. This is one of those conferences with the depth of a Po… Read more
My wifeaffectionately calls me a ābook snob.ā Of course, she calls me a lot of things āyes, theyāre all printable ā but Iām proud of it. My own daughter also calls meānerd dad.ā I canāt seem to shake the idea that literature should be worthreading and educational. Read more
MaximumVolume is really a book about George Martin, but you would be forgiven if youthought it was a book about the Beatles. George Martin, as any Beatles fanknows, produced all but one of the Beatles oeuvre. Read more
Imaginepeople from Shakespeareās era transported into a Grateful Dead concert arena surroundedby Comic-Con habituĆ©s and the entire cast from Rocky Horror. Now add a layer offake British accents, the only thing more annoying than fake Southern accents,and you have a pretty good idea of the mi… Read more
ThePeacock Network enticed me and most Houstonians to watch Saturday Night Live thisevening, promising three Astros would be appearing. NBC was mum as to what kindof skit they would appear in or what capacity. Read more
Have youever seen a movie you hated so much you wanted to punch the guy in the nose who sold youthe ticket? I had that feeling after sitting through American Beauty. I hated it so much I extendedmy disgust toward everyone in the movie ā Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, evenThora Birch. The funn… Read more
When twoinches of rain falls, you can skip watering the plants for a couple of days.With 4-5 inches, you probably had trouble driving to work. If the rain gaugegoes up to 10, chances are you checked to make sure your flood insurance was upto date while you were stuck inside with pets making … Read more
The pastfew nights Iāve woken up dreaming I was being pursued by school district personnelto return to the classroom. This was triggered by the knowledge that teachersin Victoria ISD have returned to work as of Monday. If I hadnāt retired andmoved back to Houston, Iād be setting up my classr… Read more
When Ipicked up āThomas Jefferson: Architect of American Libertyā at the locallibrary, it looked more like a project than a book. It ran 640 pages and weighedas much as my dog. Okay, heās a wiener dog, but heās a lot of trouble to pickup. And probably 40 pages consist of footnotes and index.… Read more
Throughout my life, I was blessed with teachers of the first water who oversaw my academic progress. Along the way, I developed a facility for the written word. I stress āwrittenā because I sound like a blithering fool when Iām turned loose without a script in front of me. I naturally give l… Read more
Recentevents since the inauguration of Trump reminded me of a lengthy essay by TomWolfe ā āRadical Chic.ā Wolfe captures the essence of the ferment of the late60s and the liberal guilt trying to atone for all the injustices committedsince Cain bumped off his younger brother in a fit of pique… Read more
Iāve gota lot of sand in the bottom of my hourglass. Seems like just yesterday I wassaying ā40 is really old!ā After I turned 40, I thought, well, maybe 50 is old.After that, I just quit saying anything about it. And now Iām turning 60. Iāvebeen getting reminders that Iām getting old in the … Read more
One thegreat highlights in my life occurred when I was a teenager. I was at a musicvenue helping a friend set up equipment for a dance when in walked someone whomeant more to me than any performer ā Alan Shepard, the first American to getshot into space in the Mercury mission. I introduced m… Read more
TomWolfe, author of The Right Stuff, a paean to the Mercury astronauts and testpilots of Edwards Air Base, introduced the colorful phrase āaugur in.ā An auguris a tool used for boring. No, not reruns of Hee-Haw, but a device to punchholes in the ground. Thus, a flier who āaugured inā with hi… Read more
"Alligator Candy" byformer Rolling Stones writer David Kushner is a memoir for his brother who was brutallymurdered and then mutilated, thankfully after he was already dead. The authorwas only four when his older brother rode off to the store on his red bike tobuy his little brotherās favori… Read more
Well,how about THAT! Read more
BobDylan, nee Robert Zimmerman, after a half-century of representinganti-establishment sensibilities, has done it again. First, he shocked theworld by plugging in a guitar and, unfortunately, a microphone. Then heaccepted the NobelPeacePrize for Literature. Talk about a simple twist of fate.… Read more
Theresults of a quiz I recently took shook me to my core. Now, I know theseinternet quizzes are for entertainment. But how did I become 100% hippie? Did Isomehow lose my sense of reality, or the person who devised the questions? Read more
Writing about an impending national disaster helps clear my mind. When that doesn
'
t work, any bottle of alcohol will do. Read more
Famed author Ring Lardner
'
s humorous story of a fictional baseball pitcher told through a collection of letters written to his friend Al. Read more
Some folks need more explaining than the average dummy. This might be the book for you. Read more
Commented