Now it is officially summer! Places across the world have started re-opening as more people have received their first or both doses of the COVID-19 vaccines.  Things are slowly starting to look a little more normal.  So while many of us continue with virtual plans, in-person outdoor plans, sitting in your basement trying to cool… Read more »

Wiser words have never been spoken.  Well, perhaps they have, but not as far as going for the gold is concerned.  As Jen Sincero says, “if you’re ready to make more money, you can … even the I’m-a-buy-everyone-I-love-a-house-and-a-golden-tooth kind of money” (2017, 0:43).  It all comes down to mindset and, well, cojones.  While I hate… Read more »

“You potted plant, don’t just sit there—get to work!” Try scrawling that on a post-it note to yourself.  Then, leave it on the desk for when your eyes drift away from your schoolwork.  I guarantee at least a couple chuckles before you get disgusted with your past self and/or my Fly on the Wall suggestion. … Read more »

Artist: Jennifer Nettles Song/Music Video: Oh, What a Beautiful Morning Album: Always Like New Grammy Award winning country singer, Jennifer Nettles, has just released her new album Always Like New, alongside a music video for the single, “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning”.  If you don’t know, Jennifer Nettles was part of country-duo Sugarland that performed… Read more »

This past Christmas, my parents bought me a nifty little device that my dad had been using for a while.  I thought it was a neat investment, not that it was overly expensive, but I use it quite often, so I thought it would be worth writing an article to discuss it.  Not so to… Read more »

I’m no Einstein. I’m no Rockefeller. And I’m no Wiki Leaks. But what I am—at least, what I was—was a straight A student.  Okay, I earned not straight A’s but all A’s and A minuses, with I think two B+’s thrown in the mix. And if I can achieve straight A’s, so can anyone. I… Read more »

Dear Barb: I am from a large family, and we have experienced a lot of dysfunction and estrangement between family members.  Many of my immediate family members hold grudges and don’t speak to each other for years at a time.  Cousins, siblings, even grandparents have been estranged.  I don’t understand why people act like this. … Read more »

Artist: Sylas Dean Album: American Dreeming Sylas Dean has released his debut EP, American Dreeming, available for streaming everywhere you get your music.  An east coast native from the small town of Rocky Hill, Connecticut, Sylas packed his car and drove clear across the country with hundreds of songs in his arsenal to reinvent himself… Read more »

Any child can answer a simple closed question.  What do dogs do?  Bark.  What do bees do?  Sting.  Well, hopefully not, we say, and then we perhaps ponder the potential for a family viewing of a harrowing epic documentary about beekeepers in Macedonia.  It’s called Honeyland, and it depicts a family where members of all… Read more »

In my Minds We Meet interview with Natalia Iwanek, I mentioned that I was reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Toronto-based novelist Margaret Atwood for the first time.  Having now completed it, I understand why it was among the novels often assigned to students back in high school English.  Its commentary on dystopias entails not only… Read more »