In the past two years plus I would occasionally mention a web site or blog site to "check out".  And the contents of said sites always varied, from the offerings of a conservative Jewish rabbi's wife to radical left-wing commentators of Canadian politics.  From a writer-photographer who makes sarcastic observations of social and media dysfunction and discord in his upstate New York hometown while still showing great affinity for its local arts community to Kent Kotal's profound and amazing "oldies" music blog.
From the observations of a low-income wage crusader for the rights of the poor and homeless to a militant antifeminist "men's rights" activist who gets in legal trouble for praising whoever killed a police officer for ruthlessly enforcing what he perceives to be unfair and oppressive social conduct laws.  (You don't want to do that sort of thing in today's paranoic social climate, especially one in which there ARE individuals who actually DO act out violent pipedream fantasies in real life.)

So:  What IS my criterion for deciding what kind of site to give an honorary mention of?
The primary common denominators I look for are:  strong earnest passion for and belief in whatever niche or subject matter they write about;  good writing skills: being articulate; viewpoints, opinions, and perspectives that go beyond the usual socially-acceptable or commonly agreed-upon mantras and rhetoric.

In spite of the irrelevant and sometimes antithetical differences between the various sites I give mention to, each one still has those underlying similarities mentioned above.
It's more-or-less my way of embracing freedom-of-speech of and from all kinds:  liberal, conservative, religious, feminist, antifeminist, secular...and all points in-between.

Another Epitaph: Pete Seeger

The folk singing icon, who wrote songs like WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE? and TURN TURN TURN (from THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES, a passage from The Bible which dwells on the contradictions of everyday life and of reality itself), and was a close friend of Arlo Guthrie.

He was 94 when he passed away on Monday (January 27).

Epitaph/Eulogy: Joe Donovan

A well-known on-air radio personality, Joe Donovan was best known for his late-night weeknight oldies show on WHAS-AM out of Louisville Kentucky, whose trademark characteristic was a no-holds-barred song playlist, each program a sampling of his own gargantuan 30,000+ record collection, and which served as a respite from the typical "oldies" formats that were often known for their limited playlist offerings.

A 50,000-watt commercial AM station with a regimented overall format of its own, WHAS still allowed their on-air personalities to infuse their own elements in between while still not disrupting the station's own idiosyncratic patterns, a practice often referred to in the broadcasting industry as "allowing for flexibility within" (an antithesis to both the automation and free-format norms of modern-day radio).

Downsizing the workplace and budget cutting make about as much sense as a theater troupe putting on a Shakespeare play with only two actors, each one playing multiple roles at the same time per act.

Outsourcing makes about as much sense as firing all the experienced professional actors and replacing them with inexperienced amateurs.
The production quality suffers.








We could go on about how unseasonable this cold snap is, but then someone would probably quip:  If subzero temperatures are not normal for January, what months ARE they normal for?  April?  June?  September?

You'll read or hear stories about men who lose their jobs (or worse) as a result of exaggerated claims of "sexual harassment", stemming from mildly inappropriate comments, jokes, gestures, or behaviors those around them overreact to and whose significance gets blown out of proportion to the point where their behavior is painted up as being something along the line of epitomizing some sort of "conspiracy against women".

Then you'll read or hear stories about women who lose their jobs (or worse) as a result of rejecting the advances of male bosses or coworkers who make lewd innuendos about them and aggressive advances toward them.

So.....is this a war-on-women or a war-on-men?  What is the truth on this matter?

I say BOTH types of scenarios are accurate.
But why, in one situation, is the man scapegoated for making inappropriate gestures toward his female coworkers, while in another setting the woman gets scapegoated for defying similar gestures coming from her male coworkers?

Personally, I think the "gender wars" rhetoric is often a front for what's actually more likely a war against certain types of individuals: the odd-ones-out, the loner, the reclusive, the eccentric.

You see, alpha type personalities rule.  The overprivileged, the ones with a lot of money, or a lot of friends, or a lot of prestige, a lot of charisma, or perhaps just the best-looking.
Those types of personalities always enjoy special liberties and seem to be eternally exonerated no matter what they do (unless it's something really extreme).

Whereas the socially awkward, or seemingly weakwilled, or aesthetically unappealing are not valued much by society-in-general, and often regarded as society's "gutters", to be spit and pissed on;  the ones society dumps all its garbage on;  the ones who get blamed for all that's wrong with a society too lazy or unconcerned to ever go through the bother of finding any REAL solutions to its dilemmas.

In short, those men and women who get in trouble or get blamed are most likely those near the bottom of the social ladder.  Or at least so in their workplace anyway.

                                                              Remember:  It's not what you do.  It's who you are.

 

A Taste of Siberia

No, I'm not talking about some food fair displaying the food fare of this far northeastern region of Russia.  I'm talking about Mother Nature being generous enough to send a sampling of that region's weather down to us here in the east central part of the U.S.. (Generous??)

Of course I still have my errands to run as always: laundry; medical appointments; having to make bank withdrawals; shopping for essentials.
And this "springtime in Nome and Barrow Alaska" weather can be a real asset, for sure.

                            WARNING
Alleys are often used by motorists as alternative routes for the purpose of avoiding the traffic congestion of the main streets.  As such they often sail through at 30-MPH (give-or-take).
                                         Pedestrians Beware