Walking My Mind

Poll says American Kids want to be Youtubers more than Astronauts... This is not that surprising to me. As a kid, I was inundated by space stuff in TV shows, comics, books, movies, and everything else. The Space shuttle first launched in 1982 and going to space became a tangible routine. The possibility of going to work every day in space was a concept that was not out of this world anymore. Today we live in a world of unfulfilled promises as corporations take everything and turn it into advertising. We have become a society of advertisements that really sell nothing but your data to other companies to use to advertise to you more. Youtube is just an extension of the way society has moved. Being a Youtuber is a tangible job now, whereas to be an astronaut you need a ton of training still and college is pretty much out of reach for most people who want to go to the stars.

[I was on a bad blog site for a year and hardly anyone saw my stuff, so occasionally I will be reposting old posts that are not necessarily topical or relevant, but still interesting to me.] Like many children of the late '70s and early '80s, I watched Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. And spend quite a bit of time in my own neighborhood of make-believe. There is quite a lot written about Fred Rogers and the show. Recently my interest was rekindled by a video by the YouTube Channel, Mental Floss. Which, if you do not watch, you should, plain and simple. They cover a wide variety of topics that are well researched and very informative and usually also amusing. They Also have a web presence.  Here is the video from their channel. Fred Rodgers saw on television a void. He saw children watching the same shows as adults, which is who they were geared to. And he saw that children did not have a show that was really about and for them. He saw that children did not have to be ente

A little bit ago I got into a discussion with a friend of mine on the Boy Scouts. This has been a tireless argument for me as I am an Eagle Scout from a fairly liberal troop. And As my father left when I was young and was pretty much a useless POS for years afterward, I liked having a father figure I could look up to, which I found in my BSA Troop. But over time, after having these arguments over the BSA vs the microcosm that was my troop, I started to think back fondly over those events, and it appears that I may have been a little jaded. The troop was special. That is for sure. I joined Boy Scout Troop 301 of San Carlos/Belmont Ca, after successfully crossing the bridge from Webelos. Kind of like junior high school. Between Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. I was going to join one of two Boy Scout Troops. They were both going on the same campout at Point Reyes lighthouse. The forecast called for heavy rain, and one troop canceled. I went with the one that did not. I was so prou

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  Remember that? How many grew up hearing that and still to this day, words hurt? There was a time when I was young that the advice about bullies was to ignore them because their words could not hurt you. And if they hit you, then you could tattle on them. But for me and many others, I know who were bullied in their lives, the bruises healed, the cuts and scabs healed, even broken bones healed. And I can tell you for certain, that the words of many of those in my youth, still sting. I might be a different kind of person. I am highly empathetic. I feel the word of others pointed at me as well as pointed at others. I feel things very strongly. When I was young this was called being an emotional basketcase or an emotional cripple. I hear things and they trigger memories for me. They say that the nose is the greatest memory trigger, but for me, it is my ears. I have difficulty watching movies and te

 Some time Ago I came upon this wonderful Webcomic called Fowl Language, it is a parenting comic mostly, but I find it very philosophical at the same time. It was different from many other webcomics I had read in its use of language, and comedy and anger. The artist is Brian Gordon, and it can be found at Fowl Language Comics . A few years ago I had found another comic that had the same style and irreverence. Sadly it did not stay long and it is difficult to find a true repository of the comics online.  I found out today why that is. It seems that the artist of this comic also worked for Hallmark greeting cards and the characters were created for them. There was a bit of overlap between the use in the cards and their life online, but when the artist was laid off from Hallmark, I guess the rights kind of drifted. I am not sure who owns them, but they are all over the internet in various formats.  The comic was called Chuck and Beans, and it depicted the life of an anthropo

[I was on a bad blog site for a year and hardly anyone saw my stuff, so occasionally I will be reposting old posts that are not necessarily topical or relevant, but still interesting to me.] The concept of the Man Cave is not new. There was "The Study",  "The Den".  "The Garage",  "The Shed", and many more euphemisms that simply described a way to remove oneself from the "prying eyes" of the family.  But in this time in history, it has taken a new meaning. A place to escape the "feminine" world. Which I think is Bullshit. And not for reasons of feminism. Since there are many ways in which women use a similar method to escape the pressures of family life. "The Spa", "The Parlor", "The Kitchen" (which has become a male refuge in recent years as well.) or even "The Night Out". Which has also been used by both sides for centuries. Going to "The Pub", "The Bar&qu