"There is no #$%#$@$#%$# god."

Despite being an ardent atheist, I have some real complaints about my fellow non-believers. The Internet has several outspoken atheists, mostly men, but also an attractive young woman. I agree with everything they say, but not with how they say it. For some reason every single one of them seems angry and is incredibly vulgar. Why? If you have the confidence of your beliefs, there is no reason to take a scolding, angry, and vindictive tone. Not to mention that cursing weakens almost any serious debate. I can't see how the generous use of "fuck" and other expletives makes one's argument any clearer. What is with this constant use of obscenities among learned people, including almost all comedians? Is it to make the men seem more manly, the woman more liberated? Or is it just a modern-day habit that these people cannot break, like smoking? It's a pity because it makes otherwise intelligent speakers seems unreasonable and highly neurotic. I just got my first newsletter from the Freedom From Religions Foundation. It is well-written and adult in tone. What a nice change from all these screaming, potty-mouthed Internet atheists.

One asinine comment of so, so many.

"The idea is that the state doesn't have rights to limit individuals' wants and passions -- I disagree with that. I think we absolutely have rights because there are consequences to letting people live out whatever wants or passions they desire. And we're seeing it in our society." Associated Press, 2003  Rick Santorum


The idea of a man running for President of the United States making a statement like that is beyond insanity. Rick Santorum believes America, a beacon of freedom, should have the right to limit an individuals passions. By that, of course, he means suppressing homosexuality, preventing gay marriage, and probably making being gay a crime. The man is deranged. He is sexually backward, more than likely repressed, and even terrified of straight sex. In his America masturbation would be illegal, adultery a stoneable offense, a menage a trois punishable by death, and pornography burned in huge pyres in public squares, just as the Nazis burned books. There is no chance in hell that this prissy moralist could ever be president. He's lucky  that our generous democracy even lets him try.

A seldom-told Bible story.

All those religious zealots who keep proclaiming that God hated gays and the Bible reviles them, would be wise to reread the story of David and Jonathan in the Book of Samuel. Jonathan was the son of Saul, the first King of Israel. On meeting David, a recent hero for slaying Goliath, Jonathan fell head over heels in love. It seems David felt the same since they became inseparable and later David said, "I loved him more than any woman." Too bad Saul had to spoil things with his intense jealousy of David's popularity. He even planned on killing David who had to flee to safety. Fortunately Jonathan kept David informed of the king's evil plans. Eventually the two lovers had a sad and romantic parting since David had to flee or be murdered by the king.  Jonathan and King Saul were both later killed in battle.
David, as you probably know, because the second king of Israel, and had heterosexual relationships. But on hearing of Jonathan's death, David wrote a song with this line in it: "I am distress for you my brother Jonathan; Greatly beloved were you to me: your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women."  Amen.

Losing innarest in ABC.

I might have to give up the ABC Nightly News. I like David Muir, despite his pathetic diction. And I like how they promote "Made in America". But, after switching around, I can see that NBC is much more professional, and CBS is far more mature in its choice of stories. I have long been annoyed at both David Muir and Diane Sawyer for their maddening habit of dropping t's right and left and turning two-syllable words into three syllables: gambelling, sparkelling, whisselling, hundreds of others. But there are other reasons to switch. We know ABC is owned by Disney, which explains the endless movie promotions and the deluge of stories regarding Frozen and other Disney releases.  But lately they seem to be on a religious and patriotic kick. As an atheist and non-jingoist, I find this intolerable. All references to American Sniper refer to him as American hero, though many would disagree. Several of their tornado-coverage stories suggest that God was watching over those who survived. And last night their "touching" newsworthy story was of a soldier teaching his son "The Pledge of Allegiance" which almost brought tears to Muir's eyes. The news hasn't been the news for a long time. But now ABC News seems more like Entertainment Tonight with its movie plugs and celebrity interviews—or as David Muir would say innaviews.

The face of disappointment.

Once upon a time Kirk Cameron was more attractive. You might even say a heartthrob to millions of teen-age girls. But, alas, years of anti-gay rhetoric and constantly smiling at interviewers to pretend he has an open mind—which of course he doesn't—have altered his once handsome face. Note the eyes have sunk even deeper into the bullet-shaped head, the deep crow's feet, the goofy smile. Yes, today he has a constant moronic almost robotic grin. This is to hide his fury at God, who is constantly letting him down in his crusade to vilify the gay world. He cannot understand how a Deity whom he has served so loyally most of his life could allow state after state and even a Catholic country to allow gay marriages. Why doesn't God smite them down for their wicked ways? Every night Kirk prays to the Lord that lightning will strike at every gay wedding, that Ireland will sink into the sea, that he can stop thinking about those early sexual encounters, and also that his movies will do better that the box office.

Different disaster. Same reaction.

Can you imagine how primitive the evening news seems to an atheist. Especially in such recent disaster areas as Texas and Oklahoma. The natural phenomena of tornadoes tears through a community and leaves it devastated: destroyed homes, unrecognizable communities, many hurt, some dead. While we atheists would be thinking, "shit that was some bad luck." The religious are either thanking God for sparing their lives after furiously wrecking their homes and leaving their cars in the middle of a river up a tree,  or telling themselves despite their immense sorrow and heartbreak at having loved ones die being violently torn from their homes, they at least will see them in paradise. No one would think of cursing God for being such a destructive prick and causing so much havoc not to mention financial ruin.  No, they assume he had a good reason to burden them with so much suffering. Nor would they dare ask for a miracle. So when there are nine missing victims in one community the pious residents don't demand, "God, where they hell are they?" No, they gather together and pray for Him to "guide the feet of the searchers". Sure, that beats asking for a quick solution to a problem that you know you're not going to get anyway. I can't see how religion today—in the 21st century—is any less absurd than it was in Roman times when the populace prayed to equally magical and mythic beings without a shred of evidence as to their existence.  "Truly, my whole family was burned in the molten lava of Vesuvius. Thank you Zeus for sparing my life."

Things that float.

When a person drowns, they don't float on the surface as they always show in movies like Sunset Boulevard.  Since swallowed water replaces the air in the lungs, the body becomes increasingly heavier until it sinks. It remains underwater until enough gas from bacterial decomposition builds up inside the body to make it buoyant. Then, like a balloon, it floats free it from the materials of the river or ocean bed. And it surfaces. While it's rare, this often happens with living people. Persons who are too vile to be among humans often sink shamefully out of sight. They stay sunken until enough vitriol and poisonous gas builds up from inertia to send their offensive and repugnant bodies back into the public view. Hence Tom DeLay.

They never apologize, never explain.

There are lots of good reasons to hate Comcast. One of them is when they screw up they never tell you. They let you think there is something wrong with your computer or browser, or you. So you can spend hours trying get back on line or repair something irreparable because it's a flaw in their system. So, if you just wait a few hours while these idiots fix whatever's wrong, you'll be back to normal. Of course they will never tell you it was all their fault, and if it lasts more than a day don't expect any kind of credit. Comcast did not become America's most despised cable provider by being efficient and responsive.  When I go to choose a visual for this post, there will be many choices. That's how much Comcast is hated.

As serious as this commercial is, it's very odd. It opens with "Nobody is ever prepared for cancer. That's why were are." Huh? You just said nobody is ever prepared. Maybe if you wrote, "No individual is every prepared for cancer." it would be more logical. Oh, well.

Who is, and who isn't? Who cares?

Regarding the previous post. I receive a letter today from a gay man who is quite happy with the term queer and tried to promote all its dubious virtues to me. Among them, he wrote, "Plus it's not like the term hasn't been used positively both in academia (queer studios, queer history) and even in mainstream culture (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.) This positive use in mainstream culture was a popular TV show that strong reinforced the stereotype that all homosexual men have a greater sense of style, fashion, personal grooming, interior design and culture. With that kind of publicity gay men would never be accepted as equal to straight men with the only difference being sexual preference. Plus it's all a lie. There are gay plumbers, lawyers, mechanics, shop foreman, men in every profession and trade. They're are gay slobs, gay thieves, gay cowards, gay heroes, gay athletes,  in fact every kind of man you will find in the straight world. So, no, most gay men are not muscular fashion plates, living in divinely decorated apartments where they flounce around in designer aprons creating gourmet meals. Like so much else those gays are the creation of the lazy, media.  Most gay men are men, after all, ordinary men leading ordinary lives. And I say they don't deserve such an ugly and offensive stereotyping label as queer.

You can't have it both ways.

I don't care how many gay men "embrace" the word "queer" and come up with a stupid rationale as to how they have a adopted the word that was once used against them. That's bullshit. Queer is a word and words have meaning. Queer happens to mean, among other things, suspicious, dubious, shady, giddy, queasy, odd, mentally unbalanced, slightly mad,worthless, counterfeit. I, for one, refuse to accept those definitions as do millions of other men.Yet, a very militant group of gay men has convinced the lazy and gullible media that using that nasty term for us is swell and completely acceptable. It isn't. HuffPost uses it in some article every day, idiots that they are. Other publishers show more restraint, and I am happy to say I see a lessening of this offensive term. However, there are still masochistic gays who will get on their high horse and proclaim using the word allows them to reclaim a term that has been used against them to now define themselves. What a bunch of crap. Keep in mind the word is still frequently used as a term of hate, the only difference is that is usually preceded by the angrily spoken word "fucking."

The only important question is, "Why?"

I have never understood how anyone could enjoy Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The multiple choice questions were so insipid, the answers drawn out with all kinds of unnecessary and completely fake blather as to what the contestant's eventual answer would would be, plus the nonsense about lifelines and such. I don't even know if this awful show is still running, but I do know it has been eclipsed by any even more boring quiz show: 500 Questions. With its incredibly annoying host, this stupid program has very little to do with learning unless you call naming, for example,  as many leading retailers as possible a test of intellect. Like Bill Maher, I don't have a high opinion of the average American I.Q. but I will be amazed if this show doesn't crash and burn after this one over-hyped week.

Monthly rip-off.

Some posts bear repeating. For instance: Eye care pharmaceutical manufacturers are amoral thieves. Every month they rip off millions of people with glaucoma, most who can ill afford the monthy—repeat monthly—medication necessary to ward of blindness, like poorer African Americans and seniors on fixed incomes. A tragedy because glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world, according to the World Health Organization. Moreover blindness from glaucoma is 6 to 8 times more common in African Americans than Caucasians. I wonder why? Could it be that lower income sufferers cannot afford the monthly preventative eye drops necessary to control glaucoma. Nor can many elderly sufferers of any race. After all, each tiny bottle, designed to last only a month, is often astronomically priced to greatly reward those who make it, and doom most of those who need it. I picked up my monthly prescription today  which, with a co--pay, cost $5, and almost immediately lost it. I was told the replacement would cost me full price: $160.00! How many uninsured people do you know who can afford $160.00 a month for eye drops? And do you really believe that in order to make a profit these companies must charge prices that range from $50 to well over $150.00 a bottle—no, not even a bottle, a vial—the size of a finger tip? Of course not. It's piracy. I am sure if I knew the cost of the formula I would hate these greedy bastards even more.

Maybe he's lying.

Hmmm. It's a pity Rick is so anti-gay.

 Note: I wish I knew Photo Shop.

No napkin, no sale.

This morning I stopped by the cafe at the Publix Supermarket for a colada, and saw something rare that should be ubiquitous: a hair net. The young server who had very short hair to begin with was wearing a full hair net. I think the law still dictates such a precaution, but very few outlets actually obey that ruling. He said it was Publix policy and that even a bald coworker was required to wear a net. This seems to me like a good policy. I am not a germaphobe, but there are certain things that bother me. For instance, servers picking up coffee cups (even at Starbucks) by putting their fingers inside the cup. Yuck. I also lose my taste for any ice cream cone handed to me without being wrapped in a napkin. Another yuck. My partner  is bothered by checkout clerks who lick their fingers to more easily pick up the plastic bags. Naturally long unnetted hair, male or female, is an appetite killer, as is anyone working while having an obvious cold. I'm never comfortable with a waiting staff member who has too many piercings, or---wait a second. Maybe I am a germaphobe.

A sign?

Yesterday, March 22, 2015, in a historic vote, Ireland passed a referendum to legalize gay marriage and all lovers of freedom throughout the world rejoiced. This morning there was a rainbow in Dublin, a fitting symbol for such a wonderful event. This rainbow would, of course, be a ideal symbol for those opposed to the referendum to see it as a blessing from above, but they probably won't. It doesn't matter. Because all those who believe in love, equality, kindness, harmony and peace know, rainbow or not, that Ireland has given the world an incredible gift. This year St. Patrick's Day will have more meaning than ever as we pay tribute to a country that has made such a contribution to the future.

The house that Dick built.

I assume most Americans value every dollar. Especially now when the division between rich and poor has become so wide. And, of course, nothing makes you so aware of your finances than holiday weekends, when you want to do more, spend more, enjoy more things that frankly cost money. So it's kind of annoying this year to realizes that the government stole slightly more than a dollar from every single American, every man, woman, child, even newborn. That's right, they ripped you off for $34 million. And what did they spend it on? New bridges? Better highways?  Free health facilities? Nope. Nothing of any use to you. In fact what they bought isn't even in America. What it is is a windowless two-story structure in Afghanistan. It's larger than a football field, and it will probably never be used.
Makes you wonder: What kind of idiots would spend that kind of money on something useless, and why? Easy. It was a project of Dick Cheney's Halliburton, a company that has already made almost $40 billion on the Iraq war. $40 billion! Think about that. That's 40 thousand million! A figure that's almost inconceivable. To make that kind of money you need a war, you know like the one Cheney fought so hard for. And a lot of people have to die. Men, women, children, lots of children. Now those who lost limbs or went blind don't get any share of that $40 billion. Whatever huge profits there are go directly into the pockets of Cheney and his friends, none of whom are maimed or blind because they never actually had to participate in the danger aspects of the war.So this holiday weekend when you're kind of surprised that an ice cream cone now costs $5.00 or more, think  about the empty building that cost $34 million, and the profiteers who turned a fake war into a $40 billion cash cow.

The governors grim.

Somehow Jeb Bush has managed to create the legend that he was good governor for Florida. Not so. He was, at best, as mediocre as his governor of Texas sibling. At worst, your basic wealthy-pleasing Republican. During his reign taxes were high, he squelched the much-needed high-speed rail system, created educational changes that profited friends more than students. And, as we all know, he committed two highly offensive and reprehensible acts. Jeb attempted to ignore law and science in favor of his own religious beliefs in the Terry Schiavo case and—even more heinous—he helped his moronic brother get elected in 2000 leading to  a fake war, thousands of American deaths, even more maimings and the creation of any  number of terrorists groups that threaten us to this day. Thanks, Jebbie.

Casting.

If you were making a movie about a small Southern town, and you needed to find an actor to play Cousin Larry what would you do?  Now Cousin Larry is a little slow. He finds it hard to put his thoughts together, at least when he has them. He walks around in a kind of permanent daze, his mouth always partially open as if he were going to say something important, but he never does. He always looks like he just woke up from a long nap and can't quite connect with the waking world.  True, it's not a pivotal role to the movie. Still you would probably need someone to play Cousin Larry who wouldn't be good at playing anything else.

Brother Rat.

Well John Ellis Bush is off to a great start. He has already stated that he approved of his mass murderer brother's attack on Iraq, which caused the deaths of thousands and made terrorists groups like ISIS possible.  Now this dithering dope is not sure whether global warming is caused by people, you know those creatures who drive billions of automobiles that emit carbon monoxide and other toxins, who build thousands of factories that belch carcinogens in the air, and produce all manner of foul pollutants that they excrete into clear rivers and vomit onto arable land. This Baby Huey deserves the name Bush because he will, like his amoral brother, be clueless and destructive, pumped up with hubris and closely tied to all the other war criminals his family so relies on.

Ohm.

It's over. Mad Men has run its last episode. Drunken loser Don Draper—nee someone else—has drifted into madness and is last seen ohming, cross-legged on a hippie-covered hillside showing he's as subject to bullshit promotions as any consumer he ever wooed. Peggy, who has had more than her share of unsatisfying relationships has given her passive aggressive heart to grumpy gorilla, Stan, who will spend their entire married life tossing back his greasy mane. Joan pissed away her only chance for happiness in favor of starting up a production company that grinds out industrial films. Roger just years away from his final heart attack married Megan's mom whom he is sure to betray at the first opportunity. She seems to adore him, but then she doesn't know he's willing most of his money to his and Joan's son. Betty, the only sympathetic character, is dying from lung cancer and has to put up with Don pretending he has a responsible bone in his whiskey-soaked body. Their daughter Sally happily has matured overnight just in time to help mother through the nightmare of her illness. Despite all the publicity, oddly favorable, this once-great series has been on a downward spiral for at least a year. The lowest point being an peculiar sexually tinged scene between Betty and the inept son of the show's creator. It is only fitting that such an overrated series about advertising ends with the overrated "I'd like to teach the world to sing." ad, which we're supposed to think was created by the new and improved Don Draper. At the time the commercial was hailed as a heartfelt promotional masterpiece of international brotherhood when it was, in fact, just an expensive manipulative sentimental, pretentious soft-drink commercial. Loved this series at the beginning, but in recent years the only thing that didn't disappoint me was the brilliant Saul Bass-inspired opening credits.

Daffy dope defends deadly decision.

It is so hard to tell which of the Republicans seeking to be president is the dumbest. A leading contender is Bobby Jindal who has come out in favor of George Bush's decision to invade Iraq. The pathetic Jindal used the same old cliche, "The world is better off without Saddam Hussein." I don't know why the media never mentions that the world is not better off without Saddam Hussein. Sure he was a prick, but he ran his country well and on an annual basis killed far, far fewer of his citizens—especially children—than George Bush did. Also Jindal, like so many other fools, says things like "if we knew then what we know now—that Iraq didn't have nuclear weapons, etc." We did know. At least George and Dick knew, but heck they wanted a war, a nice big, fat, violent, macho, profitable war. And they got it. I think that back then, and still today, the world would be much better off without war criminals George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

Not so fast.

While this commercial is somewhat amusing, it's also inaccurate.  The game host says, "Say hello to the season's hottest convertible, and say goodbye to Samantha." However, it is she who is heading toward the convertible, so the host should have said, "Say hello to the season's hottest convertible, and say goodbye to Kevin."

What's with the cursing?

I'm not a prude. I don't fall apart at the word fuck or any other obscenity. Still it is a mystery to me why highly intelligent people like John Oliver, Penn Jillette, Bill Maher, Lewis Black and many others cannot seem to convey an idea without the liberal use of curses, swears, obscenities. They will present highly reasonable, well thought-out ideas and concepts, opinions and analyses, but never without constant use of fuck, shit, asshole, and dozens of other curse words that are not only crude but make them sound angry despite the theme. Surely they all have enough of a command on the English language to get through a single idea without peppering their speech with the kind of language you mostly hear on the street from lower-class people. What are they trying to prove? This flaw doesn't make them unwatchable, but it does make them seem angrier, less admirable, less controlled, more neurotic, more common. Does it make a difference? Yes, I think it does. "No man is an island." Is much more thought-provoking and profound than "No man is a fucking island." At least I think so.

Mass murderer and his mindless moll.

Apparently Southern Methodist University has no actual standards since mass murderer and war criminal George W. Bush gave this year's commencement address. What better way for the university to announce to the world that they don't care how many innocent Americans died in George's fake war? The fact that this man, this liar, fraud, fool, is still running around loose and being invited to participate in social occasions is obscene beyond words. There is so much blood on his hands and more is washing over them every day from the terrorist groups he made possible. It is an American disgrace that this evil clown is not in prison or long ago put to death.

What a jerk!

Thank you, Ivy Ziedrich, a student at the University o Nevada, for approaching the arrogant Jeb Bush, and reminding him that it was his brother, George, who created ISIS. Of course, it's hard to believe that Jeb is so naive that he doesn't already know the havoc his bro has wreaked on the world, and the many sadistic factions his war of choice on Iraq has created. On the other hand he probably did know about George's culpability while he was trying to shift blame to Obama for the rise of the terrorist group. Fortunately Ivy was there to stop him. So, yes, Jeb, those horrifying beheadings, and all the other sadistic acts by ISIS would never have happened if your asshole of a brother didn't declare a false war on a country that was not our enemy, did not have weapons of mass destruction, and had nothing whatever to do with 9-11.  George was our worst president ever. I doubt that another Bush would be any better.

A sad and inaccurate reminder.

I have always loved Elizabeth Pena. To me she was a wonderful actress whose every performance stood out as true whether it was in a movie or television series. Yet I wasn't the least bit sad today when I read that she had died in Hollywood at age 55. I was however surprised because she had, in fact, died on October 14, 2014. I can't imagine how this CNN report made it into the news today, notably HuffPost, especially since all of the expressions of grief were dated in October. Wasn't that clue enough?  It has been in HuffPost since early this morning, has not been removed, and I have not read a single retraction. What makes it especially sad is that 7 months later they are rehashing Ms. Pena's cause of death, which seems to have been alcoholism. Ms. Pena who has been in such movies as Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Jacob's Ladder, Lone Star, La Bamba and Rush Hour has also played the mother of  Sofia Vergara's on Modern Family. I wonder if there will be an explanation for such a sad error.

Note: It is now the second day this death notice has been running. Why? I wrote the HuffPost a correction note, but couldn't send it because I cannot read their captchas (sp?) one of the stupidest devices ever created. Surely Elizabeth's family must be aware of this cock-up.

A mad, mad decision.

Some nepotism is good. I like Michael Douglas a whole lot more than I ever liked his father. All the Bridges were terrific, and Lloyd is still missed. You can't fault the Barrymores; they've had success after success. Still there was that embarrassment with Will Smith not too long ago when he starred—starred!—his talentless son in a blockbuster. I'm sure he's still smarting from that. But it will take a lot of actors hiring a lot of their kids or cousins or parents before anyone of them tops Matthew Weiner, creator of Mad Men. What was he thinking. He not only put his dead-eyed, noo personality son into several episodes of this popular series, but he made him a leading contender for the misplaced passion of Betty Draper and later Betty Francis. Sadly he didn't do the kid any favors since it will take a long time before anyone forgets this role.

I pass.

I hate passwords. I hate that often we cannot communicate with others without passwords. I hate that often when they ask for my password, I have no idea which password they want even if I remembered what it was, if I ever had one, which I doubt. Today I read an article about Millard Fillmore. Since I have written a musical about Fillmore, I was sure this author would be interested in my research and possibly in reading the libretto. I wrote him a long letter to that effect. But when I was ready to send it, it demanded a password that I don't have, and probably never had. Ergo: The author never gets my input, another interesting communication is dead in its tracks. And only the idiots that demand these damn passwords have any satisfaction.

Strong imagery.

At 72, I have seen a lot of erotic pictures in my life. But this one Samson on the Treadmill was the first I can recall, and one of the most life-changing. I couldn't have been more than six or seven when I first saw a print of this Carl Bloch painting. Needless to say it stirred up feelings in me that I was far too young to understand. I  probably had already seen the 1949 film of Samson and Delilah, but Victor Mature was nowhere near as magnificent as this near-naked Samson, who remained a kind of masculine ideal. I find it amusing to think that this picture remained such a sexual icon throughout my life when one considers where I first saw it. Samson on the Treadmill was just one of the many illustrations in The Bible that was given to me, as to all children, at Boston's Ruggles Street Baptist Church.

Cool,man, cool.

I don't know who White Snake is, and I don't want to know. But what I do know is have seen hundreds of versions of this cliched visual over the past 50 years. If these groups are supposed to be so cool and innovative, why do so many of these groups have the same outdated hairstyles, affected outfits, and pseudo-profound unsmiling expressions?  I would be willing to bet that their "music" is also the same strident imitative noise with the same maudlin lyrics that we have been hearing since the late 60s.

Another moronic statement from Jeb.

Jeb Bush announced recently that he would have authorized the 2003 invasion of Iraq, surprising nobody. He added, "and so would almost everybody that was confronted with the intelligence they got." That's right, Jebby. But the intelligence they got was manufactured  by your idiot brother and his war-mongering cronies. So when you say, "...and so would have Hillary Clinton." it lacks the kind of attack power you hoped for because she was as fooled by the lies as anyone. All your recent announcement proves is that you're still making excuses for your war criminal brother,and don't have enough intelligence to realize just how despicable George is. Or worse that you do, and don't care.  

One of the great paintings at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts is this terrifying 6 foot by 7 foot six inch masterpiece by John Singleton Copley, Watson and the Shark.

What's next: The Boston Market Museum of Fine Arts?

I have no problem with corporations supporting museums and asking for recognition. Recently when I was in Boston I visited the Boston Museum of For Arts, which was free when I was child, but now has a $25.00 admission charge. This means, of course, that art, like theater is no longer for the poor. The museum, one of the largest in the United States was founded in 1870, and contains more than 450,000 works of art, one of the most comprehensive collections in the world. I don't know how we did it, but as children from Roxbury, a poor neighborhood, we often went to the museum unaccompanied. So even as a child in the 50s I was exposed to the great art of the world. Admission was free then. During my recent visit, it still had the same magic: All the paintings I loved as a child are still there: The Sargents, the Van Goghs, the Winslow Homers,  and John Singleton Copley's terrifying masterpiece Watson and the Shark. As I said at the beginning I have no problem with corporations announcing their support for such worthy institutions as museums, but I was completely offended this year to see that the Bank of America, not content with a sign or plaque had apparently insisted on having their name permanently carved into the marble at the entrance to the museum. I happen to detest the Bank of America anyway for their low business practices and their many rip-offs for which they have been repeatedly sued. But I take special exception to the vulgar act of adding their name to the facade of one of the most admired museums in the world. 

Religious freedom is basically the freedom to be superstitious.

I know you're out there.

Yesterday I had 298 page views, a record for me. I don't know why I suddenly had so many people reading my blog, but what bothers me is I almost never get a response, a comment, an argument, a threat. One friend is my most frequent commenter. Is she the only one who knows how to do it? Another friend says he hasn't a clue how to respond. Nor do I, by the way, but, then, I am an admitted Luddite. So if anybody is pleased with anything I've written, or wildly offended, and knows how to respond, please do.  And if you can clearly explain to others how why does respond, that would be really appreciated.

Be very afraid.

Isn't it interesting that while the media frighten us with stories about bird flu, Isis, tornadoes, floods, fires earthquakes, and terrorists of all stripes, they almost never mention the greatest danger to America and the world: Monsanto. Monsanto is a vicious giant, a monster of enormous power and reach, a super-wealthy corporation who consistently endangers our food supply, poisons our produce, threatens farmers, and constantly devises new more scientific ways to harm the planet and its people. From the days of its earliest poison, saccharin which it sold to Coca Cola as an artificial sweetener, Monsanto has introduced product after fatal product, including its highly destructive polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Ushered in as an industrial wonder chemical, it soon proved to be a potent carcinogen. But the crimes this amoral company is perpetrating on the world today—with the help of many politicians who share in the enormous profits—are too many to list.  However you can be sure that your life is being endangered by Monsanto in some way every day. So you owe it to yourself to get on the Internet and do some research on Monsanto, considered to be "the most evil corporation on earth."

Why I hate taxis.

Given the choice I would rather take a city bus or trolley than a taxi or walk if possible. It has nothing to do with affordability, though taxis can be overpriced. I hate taxis because you never know what you're getting into. Some drivers are charming, their cabs are clean and quiet, they don't speak unless spoken do, and, best of all, they're honest. Others are grumpy, dirty, play music I detest, talk too much, mostly about themselves, and drop all kinds of hints on how they really are in need for cash for the little ones or for mother's operation. Worst of all, they take the long route to up the meter price. Recently when I went to Philadelphia, the cab fare was about $28.00 and the ride from the train station seemed endless. Later when I took my first walk from the hotel, I crossed a boulevard from which I could see about a mile way, within walking distance, the train station. Recently when I arrived home from Miami, I took a cab from the Amtrak station (which is in the middle of absolutely nowhere). The ride was fine, but the driver was playing rock music, which I despise. Since he seemed mad at the world anyway, I decided not to ask him to turn it down or turn it off.  Oh, well the luck of the draw. That's why I hate taxis.

The most annoying section of New York.

What should be one of the most fascinating sections of New York City is one of the most irritating. What should be a center of pride is an area of constant badgering and repetitive harassment. Even its famous 5th Avenue address doesn't add a single note of refinement to this two block section where one must run the gauntlet at almost any hour of the day. For 5th Avenue between West 33rd and 34th streets is where a wide variety of aggressive and independent hustlers sell tickets to the Empire State Building Observatory. Not willing to wait for to you to approach them, they assume everyone is a tourist and verbally assault you. The landmark building insists that these street agents are not employed by them, but don't seem to make any effort to curtail their activities. I have no idea who employs them, what kind of commission they make, or why the law allows them to be such a constant New York nuisance. I recall first coming to a less chaotic New York in 1959, and standing on 5th Avenue along with a handful of other tourists looking up at this magnificent building. I don't think you could do that anymore without being trampled by hordes of tourists, New Yorkers, and ticket sellers.

They just keep coming.

There must be a benefit to seeking the Republican presidential nomination that I don' t know about. If not why would so many born-losers even consider it?  Surely Bobby Jindel, Rick Santorum, Carly Fiorini, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson and Marco Rubio must know they don't stand a chance in hell of getting the nomination. And if they don't realize that, then they're too dense to be president. Rand Paul or Jeb Bush, as unworthy as they are,  might get the nod. But if they do, they can later join McCain and Romney in the "What happened?" club. So, except for these two dorks, why are the others running? To get away from the duties they're being paid for? To say they ran? Because they like flying around the country? For the fun of wasting their foolish supporters' funds?  Or is it, sadly, that they are such egotistical jerks they think they will get the nomination? Come on, Bobby, look in the mirror. Do you really see our next president grinning back at you?

Why pull when you can poison?

Here's an important message from Roundup.  If you have a few weeds on your patio, don't bother safely pull them up by hand in just a few minutes. Instead spray lots of poison onto the small offenders and add still more long-lasting contamination to our already-abused planet. Later, you can relax in your hammock without a moment of guilt for being such a lazy, arrogant, contaminator of the earth.

Note: Roundup is another highly dangerous poison from Monsanto and its use goes far beyond killing weeds. It is one of the major weapons in the Monsanto arsenal, which is causing health and pollution problems world-wide.

Another popular rip-off.

More and more I suspect that greatest victims of corporate greed are senior citizens. I have already raged about the high cost of prescription eye drops, which many poor people find absolutely essential to keep their glaucoma at bay. Today I had to buy Metamucil to add to my cats' food to cure their diarrhea. Unless psyllium husk from the plantago ovata plant only grows on a single mountain in Tibet and only when conditions are perfect, I can't imagine why a 29-oz package costs as much as $19.99 (you're not supposed to notice that's $20). I am assuming, of course, that fiber supplements are most needed by the elderly, but that rip-off price isn't any more digestible for young stockbrokers. I am also more and more convinced that what is most wrong with America is that its citizens do no complain. We assume we must, must, must comply with every new price hike that is thrown at us. My new rule is "Unless you're rich, bitch." With enough complaining, prices will come down.

Should D.C. be no-fee?

One of the nicest things about visiting Washington, D.C. is that so many museums and attractions are free thanks to a generous government. But is that really such a good thing? Yes, American citizens should have free access to the institutions supported by their taxes. But should the hordes of foreign visitors also get free admission? It's not like we can tour their museums gratis. And how deeply do these visitors and their children really appreciate our treasures and artifacts when viewing them requires nothing more than showing up? Wouldn't we be likely to have fewer crowds and far more appreciative attendees if we required some kind of admission fee from those who are not citizens? I think we would. It would also give us more funds to maintain and constantly improve these facilities. As Americans we are very proud of our nation's capital. But as it becomes more and more popular with tourists, it becomes increasing costly to maintain, considering the human traffic that takes it toll on every open-to-the-public building. I think it's time that Uncle Sam stopped picking up the enormous tab for foreign visitors touring our capital and requested some of their capital in return.

What else is there to do in a town like this?

I love Texans. They are such a combination of piety and filth. Bible thumpers and constant humpers, they give a new meaning to hypocrisy. The latest Lone Star lunacy took place at Crane, Texas, at the local high school. It seems this abstinence-only center of learning and yearning prided itself on students who, being good Christians, agreed to forsake any kind of sexual encounter until, of course, they were married in the eyes of the Lord. But, lordy, lordy, by some miracle 20 of these celibate students have developed a sexually transmitted disease: Holy chlamydia! Is it serious? Well even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called the outbreak a health issue of epidemic proportions. Of course this evangelical-leaning school was not about to provide any information about disease prevention, so our horny young students went off (literally) unprepared.

What I saw in Boston.

Boston, surprisingly is a pathetic theater city. Most of its movie palaces have become homes for rock groups. There is very little theater to speak of and most of is not that good. For about a thousand years, they have been pushing a mediocre comedy called Shear Madness and The Blue Man Group has been there nearly as long. A sad little kiosk (more like a hut) at Copley Square advertises that it sells half-price theater tickets. But of course once they add taxes etc, you really don't save all that much, which doesn't really matter since there's little to choose from. During my recent visit, however, I was lucky enough to see two excellent shows. The first was Merrily We Roll Along performed by Emerson students at the magnificent Majestic Theatre, which was worth the admission price in itself. It was far superior to two Sondheim shows I saw on Broadway in recent years, (not Stephen's fault, but the directors'). Would love to see it again if hadn't had such a limited run as do all student shows.  The second event was the play Come Back Little Sheba. Having only seen the movie with Shirley Booth and Burt Lancaster, I was wildly impressed with this 66-year-old play by William Inge which was more engaging and powerful than any of today's formulaic, and generally vulgar, productions. (Please bring back Picnic, Bus Stop, Dark at the Top of the Stairs) The cast was very talented, but anyone my age could not help but imagine just how magnificent Shirley Booth must have been in the original, which makes Ms. Krstansky brave as well as talented.

Above: Adrianne Krstansky and Derek Hasentab, two excellent actors with poorly chosen stage names, were the wonderfully tortured leads of Come Back Little Sheba.

What I didn't see in New York.

The bad news is that Broadway is now only for the wealthy, with acceptable seats starting at about $125.00 and taking off from there. The good news is that while in New York there was not a single show that aroused my interest. I would have liked Gigi for the costumes, and An Act of God to see Jim Parsons. Audience would not have have been worth it just for Helen Mirren. Unlike everyone else in the world, I have no interest in The Book of Mormon since it doesn't totally attack that ridiculous religion. I am opposed to seeing any Disney musical since they have juvenilized Broadway, and avoid shows I already saw decades ago like Les Miserables which I loved, and Phantom of the Opera, which I didn't. I was told, however, by several people that An American in Paris was absolutely wonderful, brilliantly staged, superbly danced, and overall breathtaking. Still, as I said at the beginning, with the prices they're asking for tickets these days I could practically be an American in Paris.

Ode to Boogie.

One of the highlights of a recent visit to New York was running into this cat on my way back to the hotel. I thought he was just a stray, but he was obviously too cool and too well-cared for to be anything but a New York celebrity, which he was. Seems Boogie is the mascot for Ladder 24 and one, I felt, deserving of a poem.

The Firehouse Cat
The firehouse cat
Sits on the sidewalk
On West 31st Street, New York.
Proudly Tuxedoed,
He watches the traffic
Of people going to work.
Around his neck
A tiny medallion
Shows he belongs to the station.
Proud and alert, the firehouse cat
Is as noble as any Dalmatian.

Or, in this case, woman.

Nutcases are so lucky. Because no matter how demented they are, the lazy American media will happily promote any form of madness rather than report real news. The latest winner in the media sweepstakes is Sylvia Driscoll, a 66-year-old mental defective from Auburn, Nebraska. This loon has filed a federal lawsuit against all homosexuals. Like many crazies, her basis for argument is the Bible, from which she cites passages that describe homosexuality as a sin against nature. I'm not quite sure what she hopes to accomplish because the media never cover these stories with any clarity. But If I could gain entrance to her padded cell I would ask her why her god made so many millions of gay people, many of them rich, famous, talented and gorgeous if he hated them so. But I'm sure like many misguided Christians she would only babble chapter and verse while at least one of the reporters while jotting down her ravings would be thinking about having a fabulous meal with his boyfriend and the great sex they would have after dinner.

No kind of a lady.

Sorry, but while everyone is interviewing and discussing and, mostly congratulating Bruce Jenner, I find him beyond annoying. While there are many genuine transgender men and women who are truly trying to find their role in the world, I think he's a fraud. Judging from the interviews I've seen, I would say he's not terribly bright (which makes him an ideal companion for the Kardashians). But more important, he's not sincere. This is not a man who has suffered role-identity so much as a thrice-married bisexual cross-dresser who wants to wear pretty dresses, apply lots of makeup, and enjoy the kind of attention that his unworthy stepdaughters are getting.

Note: During his Diane Sawyer interview I found his dismissal of President Obama's support offensive, but not at all surprising for someone stupid enough to belong to the Republican party, which detests persons like him.

The mystery of Boston's Fens.

The name for the famous home of the Red Sox, Fenway Park, comes from The Fens, a picturesque park not far from Boston's famous baseball field. On a recent visit to Boston, I was once again struck by how appealing this 115-acre site is, with its weeping willows, rose garden, rustic bridges, victory gardens and slowly winding creek bordered by rustic acres of tall golden reeds. But I was also surprised at what was missing from this rustic eden designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. It wasn't monuments since the Fens featured statues celebrating such poets as Katherine Lee Bates and John Boyle O'Reilly, as well as three imposing monuments engraved with the names of soldiers lost in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. It certainly has more than its share of distinguished neighbors, including The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Simmons College and other renowned names in education and medicine. Then what was missing from this bucolic setting of wide dirt paths, gently sloping grass borders, darting sparrows, drifting ducks and amazing quietude in the heart of a busy city? Simply that this perfect place to escape from the cacophony and chaos of the modern-day world,  this ideal setting to take a restful break from the busy traffic of life, this beautiful park that invites you to meditate, ruminate or just stop for a brief period of serenity, this Fens, alas, does not have a single park bench.

I'm back to complaining.

During my recent vacation (more later) I found myself in New York without a reservation. As much as I hate these soulless hotel services, I made a reservation with Orbitz for a hotel on East 31st Street. Since I also hate taxis, I decided to walk to the hotel from Pennsylvania Station despite the unseasonably cold weather and light rain and the weight of my luggage. When I got there, the desk clerk informed me they were full up, had no rooms, and knew nothing about an Orbitz reservation. When I got home and saw the e-mail confirmation, which I am sure they will still bill me for, I noticed the following line, which makes me wonder: If I have to contact the hotel anyway, why do I need Orbitz?

* Special requests were sent to the hotel but cannot be guaranteed. Orbitz recommends that you contact the hotel directly to ensure your request can be accommodated. Note: The good news is I discovered  a wonderful hotel just two blocks away: The Woolcott. Happily the only room they had available was one with three twin beds which had all the charm and coziness of the home of three bears.