Friday, November 30, 2012

Angels around us

Sorry, I published this earlier today, then edited it and forgot to republish... so here it sits.  GRRR.

Have you seen this photo?  It's gone viral (that means shared/spreading rapidly) on Facebook and other places on the internet.

Jennifer Foster, of Florence, Arizona, snapped the photo while visiting New York City earlier this month when she saw a man without shoes asking for change near Times Square.

"Right when I was about to approach," Foster recalls, "one of [the NYPD] officers came up behind him. The officer said, 'I have these size 12 boots for you, they are all-weather. Let's put them on and take care of you.' The officer squatted down on the ground and proceeded to put socks and the new boots on this man."

What a touching story!  We so often see the media portray police in a negative light. This story is a welcomed example of what we ALL should be doing for those in need.

The officer in this photo is Lawrence DePrimo. If the photo and story keeps being shared on Facebook, there will soon be millions of people wanting to give me an "atta-boy" for his selfless act of kindness.

"Angels are everywhere," wrote Helen Hoglund, adding her comment to the posting. "We just have to see!!"

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Movie Critique: Wreck-It Ralph


Wreck-It Ralph tells is the story of Ralph, an arcade game villain who rebels against his game-role and dreams of becoming a hero. He travels between games in the arcade creating a threat that in the end he must eliminate or the entire arcade could be at risk.

Produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Wreck-It Ralph is presented in both normal and 3D format.

Character voices are provided by John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, and Jane Lynch.

True to most Disney movies, there is something for all ages. Kids will love the main storyline while the older kids, such as myself, will hopefully catch the salute to old-time arcade games like Pacman, Frogger and Qbert.

I generally will opt to see a movie in 3D -- even with the $2.00 surcharge for the glasses that I return.

Overall, it was a fun way to kill a couple hours on Black Friday.

While it's not an over the top winner, it is worthy of seeing especially with kids during the holidays.


TWO-AND-A-HALF POPCORN BUCKETS (0 to 5 Rating)
Screened on Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, Bay City 8, Bay City, MI


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Sleep aint cheap

Lately I find myself doing a lot of tossing and turning during the night. I seem to wake up achy and unrested. My solution, for longer than it should be happening, has been sleeping on the couch.

I need a new mattress.

You might tell me, "go buy one!" But a purchase that involves nearly one-third of my lifetime should not be made in hast.

Have you shopped for or purchased a mattress lately? It's been 20 years since I bought the mattress I currently call my bed.  Before that I was sleeping on a waterbed. Do you remember when those were all the rage?

This past weekend, on Black Friday nonetheless, I stopped by Art Van Furniture to get a price. I figured I'd slip in, get a price and be back out the door.

Silly me.  I forgot about the salesvultures that circle their prey in that store. Add in his pandering to me and I began feeling nauseous.

Somehow in convinced me to lay on their "sleep analyzer." He asked me a few person questions about my sleep habits and then instructed me to lay still and watch the computer monitor mounted over the bed.  I'm pretty sure the results were calculated from the questions asked and the instructions to lay still and watch the monitor was a ploy to get me to watch a video about how we sleep and what (Art Van thinks) we need to know about buying a mattress.

In the end, I found out I'm a "borderline red" which equates into a firm or a medium-firm mattress.

"Of course," the salesvulture told me, "it's really all about personal preference."

That comment cinched up my feeling about the sleep analyzer.

After trying four different mattresses, I found that I liked the foam mattress best. This is when the push-for-the-immediate-sale rambling began by the salesvulture.

Why can't salesvultures give me a price when I ask, "How much?"

Oh no!  Salesvulture need to go get the expert sleep-vulturemanager.  I'm sure he was given that title after an eight-hour seminar called "Clicking the computer keys and scratching on scrap paper to make it look like you're working at giving the customer the best price possible."

After hearing that I would be a nearly $300 matrress cover with a super-duper leakproof guarantee as well as not one but two really weird feeling $200 each foam pillows if and only if, I made my purchase by store closing the next day, I found out my mattress choice would be $1600.

Sleep aint cheap.

Needless to say, I need to do some shopping and research.

There's no doubt I need a new mattress. For now, I'm pretty comfortable on the couch.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Movie Critique: Lincoln


Lincoln is a 2012 Steven Speilberg historical drama film based in part on Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography of Lincoln. The movie covers the final four months of Lincoln's life, focusing on Lincoln's efforts in January 1865 to have the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution pass the United States House of Representatives.

Concerned that his Emancipation Proclamation may be discarded once the Civil War has ended. Lincoln feels it is imperative to pass the amendment and remove any possibility that slaves who have already been freed may be re-enslaved.

The movie, if it is based on any fact, gives a look at the backroom deals and lobbying that goes on today.

Beyond the story line, Daniel Day-Lewis runs away with the role and the movie. As a history buff, I loved this movie. It helps that I personally believe that Lincoln was one of the country's best presidents.

It was must-see movie for me, I'd recommend it for anyone else as well.


FOUR-AND-A-HALF POPCORN BUCKETS (0 to 5 Rating)
Screened on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012 at AMC-Great Lakes Crossing, Auburn Hills, MI


Friday, November 23, 2012

Thankfulness 2

Well Thanksgiving Day is past, but as I said yesterday, we should be thankful every second of every minute of every hour of every day.

My Thanksgiving Day was spent first at the home of my brother and sister-in-law along with a nephew, his family and my dad.

I consumed far too much food, but what can you do when there is so much and it's all sooo delicious?  Even a taste of this and a little of that adds up to far too much.

The afternoon included visiting, checking the Black Friday flyers and a quick game of Qwirkle before I moved onto my niece Gina's home.

She always has a crowd, including my brother Chuck and his family, less my nephew Erik.

While I was there, I enjoyed a Thanksgiving Day tradition: watching the Detroit Lions lose their holiday game. (I don't know why they bother.)

Of course there was more food. I enjoyed a small taste of a molded salad like my mom used to make.

We also checked out the Black Friday ads and played a quick game of a dice game called L-C-R. Congrats on the win Tommy!

Then I moved onto nephew Matt to spend some time with his family.  He had entertained his in-laws earlier in the day. My dad, brother and sister-in-law from earlier in the day also stopped by.

Of course, more food... some snacks and then the leftovers.  I'm such a sucker for mashed potatoes and gravy I had to have some.  Migrating to the dining room table, we played nine holes of the card game "Golf." Great-nephew Justin was the big winner there.

I finally made it back home around 9 pm.  I had plans to see a movie with a friend, but exhaustion from the day put that off for another time.

Today is a new day, Black Friday.  I have a couple items I'd like to pick up, but nothing that must be gotten during the wee hours of the morning.  I have until noon to save 20% on everything at Bed Bath and Beyond and until 1 pm to make my purchases at Kohl's.

I'm thankful we have this holiday under our belts, even though I know my gut is hanging over mine a little bit more.

It was a great day with family, and that's what the holidays should be all about.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thankfulness

Contrary to appearances, today is not just the day before Black Friday.  It's actually Thanksgiving Day. The one day a year that we should take a moment and be thankful not for possessions, but for all things.

I have so much for which to be thankful, I don't know where to begin. I guess my cup runneth over as I'm thankful for...

My parents. I'm so fortunate to have had two parents who loved each other and who loved me unconditionally.  I am rocked and saddened when some friends tell me about their childhood.

Family. Beyond my parents are my brothers and their families, my neices and nephews with their kids, and quite a cousins.

A family of friends.  I have lots of friends far and wide. Many of them are as close to me as my family.  They are there for me when I need them.

Employment. This is a golden standard that so many of us, especially in our current economy, include on our list of thankfuls. I'm thankful for more than a paycheck. I'm bless with a job that I enjoy and co-workers who are friends.

Support. I am blessed with people in my life who support me emotionally and spiritually. You don't find that very often.

Facebook. Yes, I am thankful for Facebook.  It has allowed me to reconnect with friends from my past and grow closer to family I really didn't know very well.  I've made friends of my friends friends and thankful for all of them.

Health. As I grow older, there are aches and pains. But overall, I have good health.

As I said, my cup runneth over and I could go on all day listing my thankfuls.

But most of all, I'm thankful for life. My life and the ability to live it freely.

So be thankful. Not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every second of every minute of every hour of every day.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Tuesday Tally: Holiday Movies

Here's my Tuesday Tally of upcoming holiday movies I'd like to see. The number one top choice should be obvious to anyone who really knows me.

  1. Les Miserables.  My favorite stage musical has been made into a movie. Opening on Christmas Day, I hope to see it on an IMAX screen.
  2. Hyde Park on Hudson. Based on facts, this is the story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret Stuckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the England visited upstate New York. 
  3. Life of Pi. A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor ... a fearsome Bengal tiger.
  4. Jack Reacher. A homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper who shot five random victims.
  5. Anna Karenina. Set in late-19th-century Russia high-society, the aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the affluent Count Vronsky.
  6. 16 Acres. A documentary about the rebuilding of the World Trade Center is the most architecturally, politically, and emotionally complex urban renewal project in American history.

Looks like I'll be busy during the holidays!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Who Am I?

Recently I watched a movie where the main character, facing a turning point, was asked, "Who are you?" His reply was a pondering, "Yes. Who am I?"

During the stage play "Les Miserable," the lead character sings a very moving song asking "Who am I?" should he allow another person to be punished for his crime.

Have you ever asked yourself, "Who am I?"

It's really a question of your character more than your lineage.

So that's how you and I can start our week.  We can ask ourselves, "Who am I?"  What characteristics make me, me?

If there are things about us we don't like, we can change or improve.  If we have traits that we like, we can polish and improve.

"Who am I" is a chance to be a better person.

So say it, out loud: "Who am I?"

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Movie Critique: Flight


After a night of sex, alcohol, and very little sleep, airline captain William "Whip'" Whitaker (played by Denzel Washington) uses cocaine to wake up, showers and head for the airport for a flight to Atlanta.

During takeoff the flight encounters intense turbulence until reaching cruising altitude where the co-pilot flies the plane while Whip secretly mixes himself a drink and then takes a nap. Minutes before final descent Whip is jolted awake by a mechanical noise as the plane goes into a steep dive/

Failing to achieve any pitch control, Whip rolls the plane upside down to bring it out of the dive and then maneuvers the plane right-side up just before crash-landing in a field. He loses consciousness upon impact.

During the remainder of the movie we learn of his life, his struggles and in the end, be a decent human being.

While this movie isn't one of Denzel Washington's best, it's still a good show. Other reviews have mentioned a "first for Washington" in this movie: a nude scene.  Don't get excited ladies, it's a butt shot of him being helped out of a hospital bed.

With all the other recent movie releases this time of year, you might want to choose another show. However, if you have the opportunity to see this show, it's not a waste of time.


THREE POPCORN BUCKETS (0 to 5 Rating)
Screened on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012 at Bay City 8, Bay City, MI


Friday, November 16, 2012

This is not English


hav U wondered wot hz hapnd 2 d eng language?  Do U tink dat kds R not b educated?  wen U git email o txt messages 2 U L%k @ it & sA 2 yourself, "Huh?"

DIS craziness started w d advent of d internet & d nEd 4 shortnD messages.

Today's email doesn't reqiR us 2 K.I.S.S. (keep it sht stupid).  bt txtN cn b limited, & d 140 character limit on Twitter keeps things sht & 2 d point.

aL DIS short-hand iz causing our society 2 raise a culture of idiots.  Seriously, we hav a bunch of idiots actually bn handed diplomas frm hI schools Ech yr..

dEz students hav n spelling o grammar skills nor d ability 2 uz capitalization o punctuation.

nw I knO I'm not d best @ NE of DIS stuff eithR. f I didn't wrte n a hurry & tried 2 proofread b4 publishing, I'd b n BetA shAp.

I don't knO d answer, bt I thawt it wud b :) 2 point out d obvious 2day.

Cheers All!


* * * * * *

Have you wondered what has happened to the English language?  Do you think that kids are not be educated?  When you get email or text messages to you look at it and say to yourself, "Huh?"

This craziness started with the advent of the internet and the need for shortened messages.

Today's email doesn't require us to K.I.S.S. (keep it short stupid).  But texting can be limited, and the 140 character limit on Twitter keeps things short and to the point.

All this short-hand is causing our society to raise a culture of idiots.  Seriously, we have a bunch of idiots actually being handed diplomas from high schools each year.

These students have no spelling or grammar skills nor the ability to use capitalization or punctuation.

Now I know I'm not the best at any of this stuff either. If I didn't write in a hurry and tried to proofread before publishing, I'd be in better shape.

I don't know the answer, but I thought it would be fun to point out the obvious today.

Cheers All!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

November 15

Here in Michigan when you say mention November 15, many people will get a rapid pulse and their eyes will glaze over. It's a date they look forward to all year long.  It's more exciting than Christmas or their own birthday.

It it: Opening Day of Deer Hunting Season.

By sheer estimates, Michigan has approximately 1.8 million whitetail deer roaming the woods and fields. In the northern counties, they forage mostly on leaves, berries and trees.  Here, where I live, they feast on corn, beans and various planting in home gardens.

Car-Deer accidents numbers in 2011 totaled nearly 56,000 with 11 deaths for those accidents.

I, personally, am not a hunter. But when I see hundreds of them grazing in the fields of crops on a warm summer's day I know someone has to thin the herd.

So today, I wish all you crazy deer hunter a safe and bountiful hunt.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Movie Critique: Cloud Atlas

An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.

BRAVO!

This movie is by far one of the best I've viewed in years.  It was enthralling, moving, thought-provoking and just plain interesting. The cast including Tom Hanks, Haley Berry, Hugo Weaving and Huge Grant, is awesome as they portray multiple character in the various stories along the timeline.

Cloud Atlas the movie intertwines six stories: The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing, Letters from Zedelghem, Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery, The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish, An Orison of Sonmi~451, Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After from the David Mitchell novel of the same name.

I was so amazed at this nearly three-hour show, that I actually want to see it a second time to catch what I missed the first time around.

Obviously I loved this movie.  It really is a must see!

FIVE POPCORN BUCKETS (0 to 5 Rating)
Screened on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012 at Carmike Theater, Saginaw, MI



Tuesday, November 13, 2012

A Time For Change

None of us really like change. Status quo become routine and we know what to expect.

Change for the sake of change isn't a good practice either.  It's said, "If it ain't broken, don't fix it."

I'm here to tell you, the Republican Party, as it operates today, is broken!

Last week's U.S. Presidential election was a good indicator of that fact. So are the numerous Op-Ed columns and old-guard Party member public interviews.

I have said this before, but it's worth repeating: "I am a voter without a party."  I'm often ashamed of the narrow-minded viewpoints of the current Republican party.  It's not the party I joined as a grassroots party delegate nearly thirty years ago.

That party died when the party took a hard right turn and never looked back.

Now before my Democratic family and friends start planning my welcome party let me point out that your party has major (negative) issues too!

But back to the Republicans... NOW is the time for change.  Please, reinvent yourself.  Become the party of inclusion and stop turning your back on people who want to belong.

It's time for you to understand that we can join your party and not agree with each and every plank in your platform.

More importantly, it's time for you to understand that minorities and woman and gays and lower-income and youth are coming out in droves to the voting booths.  If you want to win elections, you need to win their hearts and minds.

If you want a clue to the direction the Republican party must move, take a look at Facebook and the hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of groups telling you want to do.

Yesterday I read a post somewhere, I'm not sure where, that talked about two points the Republican's need to do before 2016: Disown Rush Limbaugh and stop talking to Fox News.

I couldn't agree more.  Rush Limbaugh's makes his money keeping people worked up and riding ultraconservative train.  Fox News screams "Fair and Balanced." But they're not.  They're trying to balance the scale by being as far to the right as CNN is to the left.  (I see a blog topic here!)

Those two points actions will start the Grand Old Party down a better path.  I'd like to add one more suggestion: Try some Red Bull and leave the Tea Party.



Monday, November 12, 2012

Out of sync

I've neglected this blog, again.

For some reason I'm not in the groove I was several months ago when I first started writing.

There's lots on my platter, much of it not getting done.  And what is getting done isn't completed with the quality I expect of myself.

I think that's part of my "out of the groove" issue.  I set my sights pretty high and miss the mark too often.

That's why I sometimes turn down requests to help with a committee or work on a project.  MY projects are going uncompleted.

Even this post has no real point. But I'll write it anyway.

A little whine in the morning to get your day started.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Thank those who serve


Today is Veterans Day, the official U.S. holiday honoring armed service veterans.

Observed each year on November 11th, it coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I.

So today I say THANK YOU to the men and women who serve or have served in the military around the world.

I pray for the safety of those in harm's way, so that I may be safe.


Friday, November 9, 2012

Off Broadway


Last night I made an hour-and-a-half journey to the campus of Central Michigan University to see the theater and music department's fall musical: The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Since I had never seen the show, AND a friend of mine was conducting the pit orchestra, I thought I'd check it out.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a play set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution. The story is the basis for many modern-day "masked superheros" stories such as Zorro and Batman.

How did I, in all my life, miss seeing this show in the past?  I simply loved it.

Many of the actors were exceptional with the leads having amazing voices. The sets were far minimal, but far beyond your standard school theater offering.  Of course the music was moving under the direction of my friend. (Congrats Evan!)

Last weekend I saw another college theater performance on the Ferris State University campus.

I love the theater and realized that I don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on touring Broadway productions. There are plenty of shows to see much more locally.

Pit and Balcony Theater in Saginaw will be presenting "Nuncrackers" in a few weeks. The show is a cross between Nunsense and Nutcracker.  It looks to be a hilarious holiday treat.

So in the coming weeks and months, I will be scanning websites from colleges and amateur theaters for shows to see.

The Scarlet Pimpernel was a surprise treat that I'm happy to have seen.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Moving On

Thankfully the U.S. Presidential elections are over for another three years.  The 2016 campaign shouldn't get going for a couple more hours.

This campaign was exhausting.  I couldn't stand listening to the bashing the various politicians gave each other and I hated the conflicting and confusing information presented to Michigan voters regarding the ballot proposals.

The results of this election are still being counted. Some voters in Florida were still in line to vote after the election outcome was announced.

Regardless of how you voted, it's over.

Now we move on. Ever forward.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Election Day Advice

It's Election Day here in the United States.  I have no great words of wisdom to share. No vote for him or turn down that proposal.

Just some advice on this important day for our country: VOTE! with your heart and VOTE! with conviction.

Nothing more to say. Please don't wait, go vote NOW!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Spring Forward, Fall Back

This past weekend, many of us here in the United States experienced the annual ritual of changing our clocks from Daylight Savings time to standard time. Arizona and Hawaii are the only two States along with the American territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and America Samoa that don't observe Daylight Saving time.

I'm not sure how that one-hour swing in time affects you, but it screws with my internal clock in a bad way.

In the Spring, when we move the clocks ahead and lose an hour, I'm exhausted and disoriented for a few days. I often feel like I'm running behind.  All of this is understandable since I did actually lose an hour of my life.

In the Fall, like this past weekend, we turn back time (homage to Cher!) and regain that hour. Again, I'm exhausted and disoriented for a few days. Rather than feeling like I'm running behind, I feel like I have hours before nightfall.

Actually, being a little out of sorts is common during the time change.  While our brains are able to understand what we see on the clock, our body uses it's natural internal clock in tune with our surroundings and environment.  While time has changed on the outside, our body doesn't catch up so quickly.

It doesn't take long.  We quickly adapt and nudge our body-clock into a new time zone by the changes when we rise in the morning, eat our meals during the day and finally crawl back into bed at night.

Even though it's fall, I'm going to try to spring forward this morning and keep moving ahead.

And in case you were wondering, the first idea of having DST came in 1784 by Ben Franklin in an essay he authored titled "The Economical Project." Thanks Ben!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

You can't go back

As much as we would sometimes like, we can't go back.  There are times in everyone's life, I'm sure, where we wish we could get a "do over" or a new beginning.  But the past is always there.

This weekend I made a trek to a land of my youth. To a magical place where life seemed very complicated, but was really very very easy.

It was, afterall, a time when I was much younger, I had my life ahead of me and I had the world by the tail.

It was my college year.  My time at (then) Ferris State College. It's now known as Ferris State University.

I had stopped by campus briefly, once, several years ago. But this trip was different.  I would also be visiting the past in the form of my former boss, Bette Hartig, when I worked for the college.  I also planned to attend a theater production with a friend (who is currently a student) at the theater on campus.

This crazy mix of past memories and the real and present world has been quite a whirlwind.

As I walked around the Rankin Student Center I hardly recognized the place.  Additions and renovations have made the old new(er).  I smiled when I turned a corner and caught a glimpse of early-eighties students who have long since graduated playing 25-cent video games that have long since been moved into the dumpster.

I took a drive around campus and realized that the roads had even been changed and the traffic moved in a totally different pattern from years ago.

Yet, I was flooded with memories of the hundreds of thousands of footsteps I had surely taken as I journeyed around campus over a four-plus year span in the early 80s.

Oh, it was a different time.  If I had only known then when I know now.

But we can't go back.

We we can, for a moment in time, forget where the years have taken us and relive the past through our memories.

For me, it was a happy time.  Maybe even a happier time.

This trek back into time has caused me to recall and reflect and look toward the future.

We can't have a new beginning, that chapter is written and the book is closed.

But the ending isn't written.  And what we do TODAY, is be the path we take toward that ending.

Make the most of it with no regrets.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Legally Blonde - The Musical

Attending a live theater performance is always fun.  Even bad theater is good in my book.  Performers on a stage deserve applause. Standing on a stage reciting lines of dialog -- or singing -- is not something I've done yet in my life.

I don't know that I ever will.

Last night I join a friend at the G. Mennen Williams Auditorium on the Ferris State University Campus to see the student production of Legally Blonde - the Musical.

The movie version -- which was not a musical -- is the love story of a ditzy blonde who is in love with a man headed to Harvard for a law degree and she decides to chase him all the way to becoming the valedictorian of her graduating class.

This stage version was rough at best, with many of performers giving it their best college try. Like I said, even bad theater is good.

It was a fun evening with a good friend which makes bad theater even better.



Friday, November 2, 2012

Significant Historical Event


November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 59 days remaining until the end of the year. Christmas is just around the corner.

Historic events on this day include:

  • 1895 – The first gasoline-powered race in the United States. First prize: $2,000
  • 1898 – Cheerleading is started at the University of Minnesota with Johnny Campbell leading the crowd in cheering on the football team.
  • 1947 – In California, designer Howard Hughes performs the maiden (and only) flight of the Spruce Goose or H-4 The Hercules; the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built.
  • 1959 – Quiz show scandals: Twenty One game show contestant Charles Van Doren admits to a Congressional committee that he had been given questions and answers in advance.
  • 1983 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs a bill creating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

There are hundreds of other important and significant events took place on November 2.  But none of them are as important and significant in my life as the birth of my mother.

My mother, Freda Jane, was born 84 years ago today to Peter and Flora (Parker) Kivel.  She was the seventh of eight children.

If it wasn't for this historic event taking place, I would not be here. You would not be reading this blog. The world would be, for some, a little different.

Eight anniversaries of her birth have passed since she died, but today isn't a reminder that she's gone. It's a day to remember, more than usual, all the time that she was here.



Thursday, November 1, 2012

Writing on the wall

I've never had good penmanship.  I can recall sitting in an elementary classroom, while my classmates were at recess, practicing my handwriting. It was never good.

My grandmother had beautiful handwriting.  I know many woman, and a few men, who do. My father has decent handwriting as well. He has talked about penmanship while he was in school -- spending hours practicing ovals and slashes, keeping your arm up off the desk.

It's fun to look at old handwritten documents from our past.  Many of them have fancy letters with loops and swirls.  Much more of what we now call calligraphy rather than handwriting.

I tend to print much more than I write anything. As a writer / blogger / emailer / computer user, my fingers are on a keyboard several hours a day.  And, I'm sure, all the typing I do has diminished my handwriting abilities.

Sadly, I'm probably a lost cause.

But what about future generations?  What about my young great-nieces & nephews? What about their cursive writing skills?

It appears that cursive writing will become a lost art.  With the ever increasing use of the keyboard and the need to teach more important subjects in the classroom, schools no longer see a need to teach kids penmanship.

It makes me wonder what communications will be like in the future.  How will kids of the future be after to read the information from the past?

Will everyone in the future need to have handwriting recognition software?

We can see the writing on the wall... it will be neatly printed on a piece of paper and pasted there for all to see.