There's Only Two Genders

Regardless of what you think or what you may want to believe or think you want to believe, there are only two genders:  Females and Males...

You can have your testicles and penis removed and you can have breast implants, but you are still biologically a male.

Call yourself transgendered if you would like, but you are still a male.

Males have different bone structures, muscle and tendon structures than a female.

This has nothing to do with my religious beliefs or preferences...  this is biology 101.

Body composition differs between men and women. Men have more lean mass, and women have more fat mass than men. Men are more likely to accumulate adipose tissue around the trunk and abdomen, whereas women usually accumulate adipose tissue around the hips and thighs.   SOURCE:  National Insitute of Health.gov

I am not opposed to males having their Gentelia removed, in fact, if that is what they really want, I support them wholeheartedly...  They can even take female hormones if they so desire.  Again, this is their choice and I support their freedom to make that choice.

BUT THEY ARE NOT FEMALES...

However, if individuals were born with both female and male Gentelia then fortunately have the ability to chose one or the other or both.    And, this happens.  There are always mutations of the DNA and that is a scientific fact.

Those people I suppose would need to be treated differently...  but again, they are not the normal and they are different biologically than males who want to become females.

If two males want to marry that if their decision and I support that.

If two females want to marry that is their decision as well and I support that.

If a trans male/female wants to marry another trans male/female or wants to marry a straight male/female, I support their choices as well...

But, that is not he issue here and because that happens, it does not mean that there are more than two genders.  It just means that those two genders have choices and have decided to exercise those choices.

 

Survival Instincts

 

World's Fastest Growing Cities

In this article, we will be taking a look at the 15 fastest growing cities in the world economically. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of emerging economies you can move directly to the 5 Fastest Growing Cities in the World Economically.

According to a report by the International Monetary Fund, the global growth rate is expected to fall to 3% in 2023 and 2024 from an expected 3.5% in 2022. The report suggests that rising inflation rates have contributed to the current state of the global economy. 

As per the current data, the global headline inflation rate is expected to fall from 6.8% in 2023 to 5.2% in 2024. Moreover, world trade growth is expected to decline from 5.2% in 2022 to 2.0% in 2023.

However, the future of the global economy is not as bleak as it may seem right now. The report suggests that 2024 may be slightly better for the world. The world trade rate is expected to rise to 3.7% in 2024. 

Emerging economies are expected to experience significant growth by the end of 2023 and 2024, at 4.0% and 4.1%, respectively. Particularly, emerging economies in Asia are expected to experience the highest growth globally and global growth is on track to rise to 5.3% in 2023 and 5.0% in 2024.

BRICS May Drive Future Economic Growth
Brazil, Russia, India, and China first grouped to form BRIC in 2006. In 2011, South Africa joined the group, which led the cluster to be renamed to the BRICS. These economies were grouped as expectations of high economic growth dominated the prospects for each country. 

You can take a look at some countries that are expected to experience significant economic growth.

On January 1 2024, BRICS is set to welcome new members formally. These include Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. On August 23, Forbes reported how the new arrangement between the BRICS countries could be a political move to attain energy dominance. 

As per the report, the arrangement immensely benefits China. Saudi Arabia, a major oil supplier to China, will benefit the country by the Riyadh-Teheran détente. The new treaty between Iran and Saudia Arabia promises trade and friendship between the two countries.  READ MORE...

Flying Pod

 

Alien Life

 

Company Wants to Pick Up Space Trash

In the middle of a space flight, an astronaut heard a massive bang. He looked up and saw a piece of space junk embedded in the window of the shuttle.

If the debris had been bigger, it could have blown out the window, and the crew would have all died, the astronaut told Joel C. Sercel, the founder and CEO of TransAstra.

"Space junk is one of the greatest perils that astronauts face in low Earth orbit today," Sercel told Insider.

TransAstra was recently awarded an $850,000 contract from NASA to explore the possibility of cleaning up space junk with a giant "capture bag" that the company has dubbed Flytrap, Sercel said.

"It's kind of like picking up trash on the side of the highway," Sercel said.

Only much, much more complex and expensive.

Earth's backyard is a giant dumpster
As humans expand into space, we're leaving a big mess.

The European Space Agency estimates over 330 million pieces of space debris are circling the Earth. Space debris can reach speeds up to 17,500 mph and pose a risk to astronauts, shuttles, and satellites.

TransAstra's Flytrap bags were initially developed to capture asteroids that, in the future, could be mined for rare elements, Sercel said.

But the more Sercel and the team looked into asteroid mining, the more they "became aware of the space junk problem, and we thought this is a really good solution for cleaning up orbital debris," Sercel told Insider.  READ MORE...

Somewhat Political

Examples of Socialism in the USA

1. 
   One of the rare examples of ownership of the means of production of a product in the USA is California’s recent announcement that it will produce its own insulin.
2. Up to 75% of water services in the USA are owned and operated by a government entity, employing public servants (Warner, 2009).
3. Public infrastructure—bridges, roads, electricity, water and sewer systems, and other government infrastructure—is considered socialist. It is usually owned and operated by the government and paid for by a mix of taxation and user fees.
4. Fire protection services and fire departments are socialist programs funded by tax revenue and provided free at the point of use.
5. Public transportation systems, including buses, subways, railway stations, etc., are another great example of socialism in America.
6. Like firefighting departments, police departments are fully socialized. No one directly pays the police to come out to their house or to patrol the streets. It comes out of general revenue.
7. Public parks belong to everyone. They are usually free to get into, although increasingly pay per use is being instituted to recuperate costs and minimize land erosion.
8. Public schools, universities, and community colleges are another form of socialism in the US.
9. The US Postal Service, also known as the USPS, the Post Office, US Mail, or simply Postal Service, is a government-run service that’s responsible for accepting and distributing postal services within the country.
10. Medicare and Medicaid may be considered government-run socialist healthcare programs. They help cover the medical costs for individuals with limited income.
11. Signed into law by former President Roosevelt in 1935, the Social Security Act replaces a percentage of a worker’s pre-retirement income based on his/her lifetime earnings. It also ensures access to health care for the unemployed, the disabled, the sick, and the retired among others.
12. The US military is a socialist organization – in fact, it’s one of the biggest government-owned and operated employers in the world.

When the Republicans yell, piss, scream, and complain about the Democrats taking the country into SOCIALISM...  either they are stupid in their awareness of socialism, or they are trying to INTENTIOALLY MISLEAD the general public...

We are already up to our eyeballs in socialistic programs, and it has been this way since I was a little boy in the 1950s.

So, I am not really sure why the Republicans are against the Democrats as they push for more social programs unless it is because the Republican Party is typically against RAISING TAXES.

So, instead of focusing in on taxes, they have focused in on socialism.

However...  true socialism is when the GOVERNMENT OWNS ALL BUSINESSES AND INDUSTRIES...  and, no matter how bad the Democrats want socialism, I doubt they will ever create a situation in this country where the government business and industry...  it just will not happen.

The wild card here is the BILLIONAIRES and the MULTI-MILLIONAIRES...

It is possible that someone can convince these people to share their wealth with everyone else and that would increase the number of social programs without raising taxes.

Tiger

 

Escape Routes Get a Quantum Overhaul

When it comes to natural disasters, every second counts—and the clock may just be ticking a little slower following a collaboration between Terra Quantum and Honda Research Institute Europe (HRI-EU).

By entangling quantum computing with traditional algorithms, the team has paved a ‘superposition’ of escape routes designed to evacuate people more quickly and efficiently in emergency situations.

This hybrid approach fuses the world of quantum mechanics with the urgency of real-world crises, aiming to create not just the shortest path out, but the ‘quantum leap’ in emergency response we’ve been waiting for.

According to the Honda/Terra Quantum team, disasters have increased fivefold over the past 50 years, primarily due to climatic changes and extreme weather conditions.

In such high-stakes scenarios, emergency response measures like evacuation routes are essential for public safety. “Common” traditional algorithms, such as Dijkstra’s node-wise shortest path algorithm, often encounter limitations when applied to dynamic and unpredictable situations like natural disasters.

The project delved into the capabilities of hybrid quantum technologies in the context of emergency evacuations. A proof-of-concept (POC) was implemented, simulating an earthquake on a realistic small-town map. The problem was modeled as a dynamic computational graph, where the earthquake affects certain areas, creating changes in traffic flows, particularly near the exit points of the town.

The team used a hybrid quantum machine learning model, specifically employing feature-wise linear modulation (FiLM) neural networks. These networks were split into classical and quantum components running in parallel, imitating the node-wise Dijkstra’s algorithm on dynamically changing graphs. The FiLM layer used earthquake coordinates as input features to modulate the traditional neural network, thus making real-time adjustments to the evacuation routes.

The model was trained on simulated data that replicated a town map impacted by an earthquake, collecting routing data generated through Dijkstra’s algorithm.

According to Honda Research, this ML architecture managed to work with less than 1% of the total map data, an advantage in an evolving emergency scenarios.

The team claims their quantum hybrid model demonstrated superior performance in comparison to purely classical approaches.  READ MORE...

Perpetual Motion

 

Free Will

 

Smallest Known Way to Guide Light

Scientists at the University of Chicago found a glass crystal just a few atoms thick can trap and carry light—and could be used for applications. The material is visible as the thin line in the center of the plastic, held by study co-author Hanyu Hong. Credit: Jean Lachat



2D optical waveguides could pave the way for innovative technology.

Channeling light from one location to another is the backbone of our modern world. Across deep oceans and vast continents, fiber optic cables transport light containing data ranging from YouTube clips to banking transmissions—all within fibers as thin as a strand of hair.

University of Chicago Prof. Jiwoong Park, however, wondered what would happen if you made even thinner and flatter strands—in effect, so thin that they’re actually 2D instead of 3D. What would happen to the light?

Through a series of innovative experiments, he and his team found that a sheet of glass crystal just a few atoms thick could trap and carry light. Not only that, but it was surprisingly efficient and could travel relatively long distances—up to a centimeter, which is very far in the world of light-based computing.

The research, recently published in the journal Science, demonstrates what are essentially 2D photonic circuits, and could open paths to new technology.

“We were utterly surprised by how powerful this super-thin crystal is; not only can it hold energy, but deliver it a thousand times further than anyone has seen in similar systems,” said lead study author Jiwoong Park, a professor and chair of chemistry and faculty member of the James Franck Institute and Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. “The trapped light also behaved like it is traveling in a 2D space.”

Guiding light
The newly invented system is a way to guide light—known as a waveguide—that is essentially two-dimensional. In tests, the researchers found they could use extremely tiny prisms, lenses, and switches to guide the path of the light along a chip—all the ingredients for circuits and computations.  READ MORE...

Sailing

 

Our New Abode - 90 Days Later

We have lived in our new home for over 90 days, but it is far from new construction as it is over 20 years old.  We have spent a lot of money getting it fixed up the way we want but have used not one penny of our own money, but we spent the profit made on our old house.  

It was so well maintained that we did not have to do anything at all if we did not want to, but since it is going to be our last house, we decided the makeover was what we needed to do.  While the house is a tad larger than our old house, it is better laid out an the yard is 1/4 the size of our old house.  Plus, there are no staircases to climb up and down.

And, while I have mentioned this all before in previous posts, I had not had the opportunity to live here a while.  So far so good as they say.  This house did fine over the summer once we got a portable AC/heating unit for the sunroom.  Now, the final test is to see how this house fairs over the winter.

Our three cats like this house better as well, even though they no longer have access to a basement.  How do I know this?  All three cats are displaying a more outgoing behavior since we moved here.  And all three cats are venturing outside whereas only 1 venture outside before.  Our backyard is not as big for one thing plus there is a tall barrier of trees and bushes that acts as a fence between us and the house behind us.  The cats seem to appreciate that closed in concept.

We no longer have a pool, a large deck, and a hot tub but neither my wife nor I miss that...  and we especially will not miss it during the winter when we have to put bricks on the tarp to hold it down and then remove those bricks in the spring when we open it up.  Those bricks weight about 12-15 pounds and there were 50 of them that we used.

Needless to say, we are pleased with our move and are confident that it will continue to be that way.

Blast of Rain

 

Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine

Some agree that batteries are the clear winner in the race against hydrogen technologies, while others think the opposite. There's no such debate among internal combustion engine proponents. Almost all of them believe that replacing fossil-fuel-based fuels with H2 is feasible. However, there are some significant caveats to H2ICEs.

The Latin phrase "Inter duos combatentes, tertius vincit" translates to "between two combatants, the third wins." I always feared the fierce debate between battery-electric propulsion enthusiasts and hydrogen-powered systems supporters would benefit the internal combustion engine devotees.

And I was not wrong, as recently, e-fuels seduced many to believe that phasing out of an almost obsolete technology is not necessary anymore. Moreover, these people believe that internal combustion engines deserve not only a top spot in history but also a bright future, along with new high-tech-green technologies.

That's because many in the transport industry and policymakers believe more and more in the potential of combining hydrogen and ICEs.

The fuel-cell sand castle
Currently, Toyota is the most stubborn carmaker willing to keep on investing big money in hydrogen technology for passenger cars. Besides small evolutions in fuel-cell technology – which are marketed as giant leaps, but analysts agree it's not the case – the Japanese also make efforts to use hydrogen for internal combustion engines.

BMW and Hyundai are still in the game, but the new iX5 Hydrogen demonstration vehicles failed to impress, while Hyundai Nexo's future is uncertain. Honda took everyone by surprise when the main rival of Toyota in the fuel cell realm announced it put the hydrogen program on hold to prioritize hybrids and EVs.

As for Volkswagen, their conclusion is sharp: "In the case of the passenger car, everything speaks in favor of the battery, and practically nothing speaks in favor of hydrogen." Mercedes-Benz also joined the "ditch the fuel-cell" bandwagon after 30 years of pursuing the H2 dream.  READ MORE...

Pleasure and Happiness

 

Somewhat Political

 

Making Do With What We Get

Today, my wife and I are going to Perkins Restaurant.  It is a franchise but is owned locally so it does not operate like a franchise since corporate gives their owners a chance at making some changes if they want to.

My wife will get the Tremendous Seven plate with two eggs (cooked anyway she wants) 2 strips of bacon, and three pancakes.  I will get the Everything Omelet with breakfast potatoes and three pancakes.  I will eat half my omelet and half the potatoes and take the other half home along with the 3 pancakes.  She will eat all of her breakfast except for one pancake that she will give to me.

On Monday, I will have the other half of my omelet and potatoes and then on Tuesday and Wednesday, I will eat two pancakes for breakfast each day.  The total cost with beverages is about $30...  however, we get 5 meals out of it, so each meal costs about $6.  The price has gone up because each meal used to cost between $3-$5.  It is still a good deal.

We have plenty of money to eat all of the food at one time, should we chose; however, for me, that is or seems to be unhealthy.  One of the reasons why so many people are obese is that they eat too much at each meal.

Diets will help you lose weight, but you gain it back over time.  Exercise will help you lose weight but that is because you are starving yourself in the process.  The ONLY WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT IS TO EAT LESS at each meal.  Some nutritionists suggest that you should eat FIVE small meals a day and no snacks.

One way to help you eat smaller meals is to count your calories and eat UNDER 2000 calories each day.  Your main source of calories should come from vegetables, but you should also eat proteins, starches, breads, and fruit.  Proteins come from meat, beans, eggs, fish, nuts, etc.  And you should avoid red meat.

But this is not about losing weight it is about making do with what you have.  Instead of eating all your food at one time, eat half...  not only will you become healthier, but your money will last longer.

The other big deal is DONT BUY WHAT YOU WANT...   ONLY BUY WHAT YOU NEED...

If you recall the musical group, The Rolling Stones had a song with lyrics that touched on that same subject.  What do you think they knew back in the 1960s that you don't know today?

If you learn to make do with what you have, your life will become happier, you will have less stress, and you will live longer to enjoy that happiness.  Wealth and owning stuff will not make your happy.

Sunday Morning Classic Newspaper Cartooons

 

Don't Trust or Believe Politicians

 My experience with politicians began in the early 1960s when JFK became President.  I was a Democrat then, mainly because both my parents were Democrats.

Over the years, I came to realize that ALL POLITICIANS whether Democrats, Republicans, or Socialists do not give a rat's ass about the American public...  all they care about is getting re-elected.  They promise you what you want to be promised.  They tell you what you want to hear.

Therefore, they cannot be TRUSTED.

Furthermore, if I were to look back at the problems Americans faced in the 1960s and compare them to the problems Americans faced in 2020, they would damn near be identical.

In other words, politicians have had over 50 years to improve the situation and nothing has improved.

For example,

• We had racial issues in the 1960s
• We had illegal drug issues in the 1960s
• We had wage discrepancies in the 1960s
• We had educational problems in the 1960s
• We had healthcare problems in the 1960s
• We had crime and violence issues in the 1960s

Do any of these problems sound familiar with the problems that we have today?

Of course they do...

We did not have illegal immigrant problems back then nor did we have WOKE or CRT issues.

The politicians have not changed anything that benefits the American Public and many of them have been in office for more than 20 years...

What the hell have they being doing up there?

Over those 50+ years, we have had an enormous amount of inflation...

• gasoline was $0.18/gallon and not self-serve
• Cigarettes were $0.25/pack
• Beer (PBR)was $1.25/six pack
• Hamburgers were $0.15
• Movie tickets were $0.25
• Wages were $0.75/hour soon to be raised to $1.25/hour
• Appliance were made to last 30 years
• Sears had no need to offer warranties
• The cost of an automobile was about $2,500
• The cost of a home was about $12,000
• In 1966, my college tuition was $500/semester which included books but not room and board

Our Politicians allowed these prices to increase.

Why?

Do you think they cared about our welfare?  No.

The corporations had lobbyists to persuade politicians not to be concerned with rising prices - and in turn they would contribute to their re-election fund.

If police solved all the crime and violence, they would have to lay off employees.

If crime and violence increased, they would be able to hire more employees.

If this country really wanted to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the USA...  They could do that in a heartbeat...  but they don't.

Too many people laid off would hurt the economy.

That is the dilemma that Biden has to deal with regarding the UAW.  Only 13,000-15,000 are striking.  Can you imagine to blow to the economy if all 150,000 auto workers went on strike?

Ocean Waves

 

World's Most Powerful X-ray Laser

The newly upgraded Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory successfully produced its first X-rays. The upgrade, called LCLS-II, creates unparalleled capabilities that will usher in a new era in research with X-rays. Credit: Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory




With up to a million X-ray flashes per second, 8,000 times more than its predecessor, it transforms the ability of scientists to explore atomic-scale, ultrafast phenomena that are key to a broad range of applications, from quantum materials to clean energy technologies and medicine.

The newly upgraded Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory successfully produced its first X-rays, and scientists around the world are already lined up to kick off an ambitious science program.

The upgrade, called LCLS-II, creates unparalleled capabilities that will usher in a new era in research with X-rays. 

Scientists will be able to examine the details of quantum materials with unprecedented resolution to drive new forms of computing and communications; reveal unpredictable and fleeting chemical events to teach us how to create more sustainable industries and clean energy technologies; study how biological molecules carry out life’s functions to develop new types of pharmaceuticals; and study the world on the fastest timescales to open up entirely new fields of scientific investigation.

“This achievement marks the culmination of over a decade of work,” said LCLS-II Project Director Greg Hays. “It shows that all the different elements of LCLS-II are working in harmony to produce X-ray laser light in an entirely new mode of operation.”  READ MORE...

Dreaming

 

Peaceful

Today, I am trading places with my wife...  she is inside the house while I am in the sunroom which is technically still the house but outside the house proper.  The sunroom is one of the reasons that we purchased this house because it offers incredible solitude...  and solitude is what one needs from time to time...  since sleeping at night is not really awakened solitude.

There are absolutely no noises here in the sunroom except the sound of the keyboard as I type and the creaking of the sunroom walls as it adjusts to the gradually increasing temperatures.

Even the ceiling fan is silently running...

The recliner in which I am sitting was purchased from the previous owners who had a sale of items day for all those things they could not take with them.  We had one two when we sold our previous home to move here, but gave most of our items away to Habitat for Humanity...  it would have been nice to have a little extra money, but we did not need it.

We have both been retired since 2015 but ever since we moved into this new location, our retirement lives have never been as quiet and as serene as they are now.  While there are young people living in this neighborhood, most of the people around us are also retired...  there is no need for them to make a lot of noise - outside of when their grandchildren are visiting.

We have done more work to this house than we needed to do and we still have a few odds and ends to fix but there is no emergency and will probably get accomplished over the next 2-3 years.

There no longer seems to be an urgency in what we do, even if it is something that we need to do.  The only time constraint on our lives right now are our doctor's appointments - they only allow a 15 minute late window before you have to make a new appointment.

We went over to my wife's son's camper last night for dinner and they wanted us to be there at a certain time...  so, we have that constraint as well, but it is nothing critical to observe.

Other than that, we are just taking our time in whatever we do and enjoying the ability to do that.  We don't have to work in the yard today, we can do it tomorrow or the next day.

But, what is amazing more than anything else is that we both have things that we enjoy doing and we NEVER GET BORED.

Forgot My Benadryl

Once a month I get a 2-hour infusion of IVIG to help with my immunity due to constant chemo treatments.  And, each month, I try to remember at the end of that day I will not be able to sleep unless I take 2 Benadryl pills.  Sometimes, like tonight, I have forgotten to take those pills and after trying to sleep for over 3 hours, I got up, took the pills, and am now waiting for them to kick in.

To berate myself any more than I already have is counterproductive...

So, it may be an hour or two before I can sleep.

As I sit here thinking, I am reminded that all human beings are composed of both male and female genes.  The gender that we end up with is the one that has a preponderance of that gender gene.  Consequently, there are males and females...  However, each gender is incomplete.

We are made complete when we sexually reproduce but that completeness only lasts momentarily because there will always be dominate gender genes.

Similarly, human beings are both positive and negative, good and evil, depressed and not depressed, intelligent and not intelligent...  In other words we are comprised of opposites and only one opposite at a time can dominate.  Hence our various personalities.

If you are blessed with the depression genes, then you will be fighting depression all your life.  Sometimes, this fight will be extremely dramatic but other times it will be so minor you will hardly know it is there.

For me, I have the depression genes whereas my brother and sister do not possess many of them at all, however, my sister has more than my brother has.   It was just the luck of the draw for me.

My battle with depression has been intermittent all my life with it lessening as I get older.  This was especially true when I retired but it raised its head more often but did not stay as long.  My final break came when I distanced myself with my family and just focused on my own life rather than how I might compare with them.

Not sure why the comparison was necessary but at the time, I must have thought it was important.  What brought this to my mind is the fact that it is my brother's birthday today and I have not had contact with him since last Christmas, when we had a phone conversation that lasted 30 seconds.

When I think about family comparisons, the depression monster raises its head.  Tonight, it did not stay very long.  But it was here.

Am I grateful for getting old?

To some degree I am but it also is an indication that my life will not last much longer, at least not as long as it already has...  at the most I have about 20 years left...  and while that seems like a long time... it goes by quickly.

My retirement is fulfilling...  I want for nothing and can pretty much do whatever I want.  I stay busy doing stuff, none of which is earth shattering important, but it keeps me entertained all day.  I am content, happy, and at peace with myself and my life.

I have gained tolerance and understanding and patience which is all the wisdom I need.

No Excuses

Whether or not you believe this, I believe that we end up in life at a place that we were meant to be at from the getgo.  You have no idea how your life is going to end up, yet, you spend your entire life making choices.  Whether you realized it or not, those choices brought you exactly where you were supposed to be anyway...

Hard to believe?

I reckon it is...  especially when you perceive that you have free will and are making your own decisions...  and you are...  it's just that situations have been put in front of you that cause you to make the decisions you make.  You really didn't have any other choice to make but the one you make.

I have often heard those who have been retired for a while make the comment that if they had it to do all over again, they would live their life differently.  While they may think that would happen or wish that something different would have happened...  they are wrong.  Your life was lived out exactly the way it was meant to be lived out.

How can you say that?

Well...  let's start with your birth.  Did you decide that you wanted to be born?

NO!

Then, who did decide?

Those same forces that decided you were going to be born, decided how you were going to live your life while giving you the impression that you were in charge.

Since your birth, you have never been in charge.

Many people will refuse to believe this, but I do...  therefore, I make no excuses for how my life was lived and if I had a chance to live it all over again, I would live it the same way.

Somewhat Political

 

My Exposure to the Arts

Before I entered high school, around the time I was in junior high, I remember my mother taking me to theater productions at National Theater in Washington, DC.

The plays that I remember seeing were: My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, The Music Man, and West Side Story. There might have been others, but I do not recall.

In addition to these plays, my mother took me to Art Openings at various art galleries in Washington, DC none of which I recall but I do recall some of the paintings that I saw.  It ranged from the works of the Masters like Renoir, Monet, and Chagall to modern artists whose names I do not recall.

One painting that was selling for $20,000 was a framed canvas about 3 feet by 5 feet that was solid green with a red circle in the upper left-hand corner.  I thought the painting had been done by a child at first.

As a result of my mother, I developed a love for the Arts and not just the theater or painting but of all the arts which included:  theater, outdoor dramas, oils, acrylics, watercolors, sculpture, pottery, weaving, and printmaking just to name a few.

At one time I thought I wanted to pursue the arts but every time I tried to paint or draw, I could not get my hands to mimic what my mind or eyes were seeing.

After high school, I started writing poetry and that lead to short stories then to opinion articles, and finally to novels.  I have no desire to publish any of my writings, although I have a blog on which I post my poems, but I don't really care if anyone reads them or not.

Writing like art is just something I enjoy whether I am doing it or someone else.  It passes the time and gives me pleasure.

It has never been clear to me why my mother selected me for her adventures into the art world and not my sister...  but it is what it is and I am thankful that she selected me.

I still like the arts but have not been to a play or an art gallery in years.  The last art gallery I went to was The Louvre in Paris, France.  I could have spent a whole week's vacation in there, but we only stayed a couple of hours.

My wife does not share my love of the arts although she likes to decorate our homes with a variety of art as long as they complement her color scheme.  Her choices are great but none of them would make it into a museum of art...  lol