Just be quiet. it always works.

How to respond to rudeness. When someone is rude to you, it is easy to sink to their level and respond with harshness. However, if you do that, you speak to your own character, and everyone can see that. You don't win, you lose, and the other person wins.

Better to ignore it and chalk it up to experience. If someone is rude to you, they are not worth your time or trouble. Don't dignify their rudeness with any reaction, which is what rudeness is all about anyway - provoking a reaction.

Remain silent and smile. Upon reflection later, you will regret any direct response that you offer - either it wasn't loud enough, or too loud, or it was too cutting, or not cutting enough. You'll inevitably come up with a better comeback hours later. Anything you do at the time, you lose.

Just smile. Even with them a nice day if you are in the mood. Then, move on to people that matter, because the rude one no longer does.

2019

The Lion King speaks the truth! Listen to the Lion King!

Ok, I admit it, I'm a big fan. "The Lion King" rules. And, it is full of wisdom.

Bad things happen, and there's not a thing you can do about it.

And now for a musical interlude.


It's all true!

2019

Treat Them All The Same

So, you're a big liberal, eh?

Do you know how to be truly even-handed?

Got it all covered? Don't treat anybody worse than anybody else? Except for, well, those who deserve it - they are ones you screw over as best you can, right? 'Cuz they deserve it? Am I right?

Well, I've got a better plan. This is my plan for being truly even-handed.


Works for me!

2019

Some Day, Some Way We Will Get There, If It Takes A Thousand Years

All those nasty questions! The nerve of people, always calling the motives of our friends the chickens into question! Let love rule, don't question their intent, look in the goodness of their hearts!

I dream of a world where chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned.

2019

The Chinese like Big Things: Big Walls, Big Snow Sculptures...

The below pictures are sculptures from the 26th China Harbin International Snow Sculpture Art Expo in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China. The sculptures are in Sun Island Park.

This expo displays many artworks made solely of snow. The pictures were taken on December 20, 2013.

Chinese snow sculptures. I love these snow sculptures and try to post them every year. You may compare these with last year's efforts here.

It must be horrible when it warms up and they melt!








2019

Dating Tips

The reality of dating. Every guy wants a good girl to be bad just for them. Every girl wants a bad boy to be good just for them. Good girls, bad guys. They're what make the world go 'round.

2019

Guy Advice: The True Meaning of "Fine"

True Words.

What is the meaning of "fine"? In my continuing effort to nail down what perhaps is obvious to some and completely foreign to others, I present the above. The meaning of "fine" has changed over the years. You used to go to your mechanic and say, "Please check the oil and the transmission fluid," and he would say "fine" and smile with a clear assignment ahead of him.

All too often nowadays, though, you will engage in a discussion with someone near and dear, about which there is, shall we say, disagreement. The closing words by the other party will be that ominous word, "Fine."

Once it is said, it's too late. The die is cast, the damage is done, and you can do nothing but await the consequences. That train has left the station.

Beware any conversation with anyone that terminates with the word "fine." You will rue the day.

2019

Man Advice: You Don't Want To Hear These Words

You don't want to hear these words!

The fact is, fellas, that no matter what girls say and what they write and how they sometimes act, most of them do NOT want to be with a guy who they say "Awww thanks" to unless they're already married to them.

Women tend to be attracted to a guy who they don't talk to like a child. Imagine that.

That is, except on their 20th wedding anniversary.

2019

The Robinsons Send their Best Wishes!

Space family Robinson is still roaming the galaxy, having been lost in space these past fifteen years since their 1997 launch. They bid you a Merry Christmas! A Lost in Space Christmas!


Marta Kristen of "Lost In Space" celebrates Christmas with the Robot during the series' run in the 1960s.

Below, the entire family.


2019

William Shatner and Twitter

The Man and the bobblehead.

Anyone who follows any celebrities on twitter - and I only follow a very few - quickly realizes that the One and True Supreme Twitter Celebrity is none other than Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner. The William Shatner Bobble-head.

There's something about Shatner and Twitter that goes together like ham and eggs, or eggs and Canadian bacon, or maple leaves and Toronto. Shatner has taken Twitter and made it into his own personal fiefdom or, dare I say it, Star Trek Enterprise bridge.

This is just one interlude among many for the Shat-man, wherein he decides that his bobblehead is worthy of promotion among his legion of devotees on Twitter. No, I am not promoting Mr. Shatner or his bobblehead, I just think this is hysterical that he is so comfortable with Twitter that he casually takes a picture of himself in his office, wearing what appears to be a rough tee-shirt, holding his bobblehead with what can only be described as an impish grin.

For the record, I think the bobblehead in the car has something to do with his famous Priceline classic commercial with Kaley Cuoco of "The Big Bang Theory."

Anyway, Shatner is beyond being a good follow on Twitter, he is like the God of Twitter for anyone who is even remotely a fan.


2019

Me, When I Wake Up

The meaning of coffee!

No coffee, no workee. This is the true meaning of coffee.

2019

Ah, the Problems of the Stars

Miley Cyrus is different than you and me.

Now, in case you were succumbing to that wayward notion that celebrities really aren't any different than you and me, the above classic deleted tweet should set you straight.

It's awful to have that monkey on your back!

Of course, she later married the guy. But that's a whole different story.


Get that monkey off your back, Miley!

2019

That about says it.

I can lose weight for free. You need about ten grand to fix your face! Classic comebacks, take 1.

2019

Falling in love.

Anyone who has fallen in love realizes this is so true.

It reminds me of that old "Star Trek" riff, where Kirk talks a sentient bomb out of destroying the ship by programming it to believe that everything he says is a lie and then saying, "I'm lying to you."

You fall in love with someone. You think, well, they're not perfect, but maybe I can change them into something better. Meaning, something you didn't fall in love.

Love is cruel.

2019

Some mornings are worse than others.

Have you ever felt like that in the morning?

I bet you have. I have.

2019

The famous viral "mermaid" picture.

Maybe you've seen the famous "mermaid picture" where a scientist is crouching near a mermaid skeleton.

The up-close-and-personal version

Well, where does this picture come from?

Sadly, where it came from.

Some folks, from some of my posts, may think that I'm just some gullible hick who believes everything he sees posted on the Internet.

Well, I may be a hick, but I'm not gullible!

Above is the famous "mermaid" picture that has been floating around the Internet forever. It is the "proof" that mermaids exist.

Well, mermaids may indeed exist - you can't prove a negative, that they don't exist - but sadly, the pictures being floated about are not the proof. And believe me, I want mermaids to exist just as much as the next Disney fan.

Oh, and just to get this out of the way - no, there aren't any giants being unearthed in the desert, either. Some of the attempts aren't even that clever.

Obviously, the guys are just joking around and standing far back in a forced-perspective shot

All sorts of tricks are used to create these illusions.

This one is a little more clever, but, no, it's not real. It's a photoshop. And that skull looks like something out of "Terminator."

Recently there were a series of photos from excavations labeled The Sumerian Giants, which had archeologists digging out extremely large skeletal remains from rock and desert areas. These were proven to be fakes and product of a Photoshop Contest taking place on the web.

Sorry, Ariel.

2019

Before and after.

The magic of makeup. This picture has been going viral among some dark circles of the Internet, and I love it so much that I just had to post it.

There is some discussion about whether the composite picture above is faked or even the same girl in both shots. If you look for this photo on Google, you won't find the answer to that. Nobody seems to be stepping boldly forward to claim credit for this. You probably have a strong opinion about it and are absolutely certain you are correct.

I believe it is the same girl, and it is not faked. That is her, from start to finish. Of course, she used a great deal more than some foundation from Estee Lauder to accomplish the transformation in the photos. If my hunch is correct, that is the famous Jenna Marbles from Youtube, who became famous by posting a video that has gotten like a gazillion hits and made her almost as famous with some folks as that other Youtube sensation, Justin Bieber.

If her abilities astound you, perhaps you will feel better by knowing that she doesn't always pull it off quite this well. But she's good. Very good. The trick with this kind of thing is to make the "before" picture as absolutely awful as you possibly can. Which, as you see above, she achieved, in spades.

This, incidentally, is how you get famous these days. For real. Go from dancing for day rates in clubs and at private parties to a media mogul in one video. She did it. All of her videos - and she has a lot of videos out - get literally millions of views. That's a success, baby. Texas tea. Video gold.

Below is the famous Jenna Marbles "How to Trick People Into Thinking You're Good Looking" video. You be the judge. It's one of the funniest videos you'll ever see. Beware, some raw language in this one.


Here's a bonus video along the same vein by the amazing Jenna Marbles:


2019

The Prettiest Girls Alive

Victoria's Secret Models.

These are Victoria's Secret models without makeup and hairstyling and so on and so forth.

Just in case you were having a bad day or something. :)

Oh, an extra cookie for you if you can name them.

2019

Taylor Swift Showing Off Her Moves Like Jagger

Taylor Swift - the legend! But Taylor Swift should stick to singing.


Taylor Swift is a hugely successful singer. However, when she's not on stage, she has a tendency to do things that, well, a lot of other people just don't do.

This little clip shows one of them.

Taylor - stick to singing. That's your skill set.

2019

Snow - in Cairo?

Cairo. And Snow. Together again!

It snows in Cairo on 13 December 2013 for the first time since before the Wright Brothers got off the ground. That's a long time. Think the kids got the day off from school for this? There is Global Warming and then there is reality.

2019

Jennifer Lawrence Explains It All For You

Jennifer Lawrence.

Jennifer Lawrence on being fat.

Anyway, not being a teenage girl, I don't have a clue how much of a motivation any teenage girl would have to skip dinner in order to look like Katniss from "The Hunger Games." Thus, we take her statement at face value. However, I can't keep myself from adding the snarky observation that Katniss is considerably more glammed-up in the sequel, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." Oh, and that she's quite cute whether she's glammed-up or not.

Here are some more bonus Jennifer Lawrence insights:

Jennifer Lawrence takes on Kate Moss.

And, one more:


Okay, I can't resist, one more:



Oh, heck, you've come this far, one more won't kill you:


Come on, you have to admit this girl is priceless, like Yogi Berra or Chauncey Gardener in "Being There."

2019

9/11 - the View From Space

View from space, with smoke drifting away from the Twin Towers to the southeast.

Pictures of New York City is a continuing theme of this blog, and here's a cool one that you might not have seen before. This view is looking with the west at the bottom and the east at the top. The date is September 11, 2001, probably about mid-morning. A view from space of the 11 September 2001 disaster.

2019

Empire State Building.

The Empire State Building is a majestic structure.


Light shows from the Empire State Building. Believe it or not, they now have light shows at the Empire State building. It's kind of weird to see the first time, and I can only imagine what a distraction it must be to certain people whose windows face the ESB. However, it's kind of cool.

2019

Empire State Building.

In honor of Nelson Mandela's passing, they lit up the Empire State Building in the South African national colors.  A very nice tribute.

The shot was taken on Fifth Avenue, looking North, from around 31st Street.

The New York Yankees also will be placing a plaque to him in the Monuments section of Yankee Stadium.

2019

I love this song!


I just happen to like this song and video. Actually, I like the video more than I like the song - but I like the song, too. Kind of an ode to the past.

Alice in Chains. Rooster.


2019