today is New Year’s Day. let’s use the occasion to catch our collective breath and do a thing we’ve done twice before. below, I’m re-posting a piece that was first published in March 2023, and then again in October 2023, where I talked a little bit about myself and then asked the commenters to do the same. we all had a great time reading each other’s bios, so let’s do it again!
I’ll return to chronicling all the clownfuckery tomorrow.
in two days, on March 28th, this little substack of mine will be five months old is now over two years old. an amazing community of commenters has grown around this site — I truly believe that comments here are more informed and entertaining than the ones on any social media app. I am thrilled that you all found your way here — and chose to stick around. thank you for that.
so, in the spirit of community, today I’m asking you all to tell us a little bit about yourselves.
I’ll go first.
I am 67 years old. Ms. Spouse and I have been married for 40 years.
we live in the Hudson Valley region of New York.
we get some pretty good sunrises here.
the sunsets aren’t so bad, either.
we have a daughter. she works in the aerospace industry.
back in the day, I worked in the advertising, design, and publishing industries. for a few decades I ran my own graphic design studio.
nowadays I mostly write these posts.
I subscribe to way too many streaming services. I watch a lot of movies.
I’m also a pretty good chef.
I play guitar.
my very first vote was for Jimmy Carter in 1976.
now it’s your turn. go.
the title of this post, by the way, is a Firesign Theatre reference, and I don’t expect anyone under the age of 60 to have recognized it as such.
here’s your daily reminder that I can be found on Blue Sky at this link.
this is going to be my closing message for the foreseeable future:
practice self-care. do what you need to do to keep sane. if that means you need to disengage with my daily posts for a while, I get it. this community of ours will still be here when you return.
to all the people who have signed on in the days since the election, welcome aboard. settle in as we all try to deal with the shitfuckery that’s ahead of us.
we are all in this together, and we are all here for each other.
of course if you *want* to talk about the news — or anything else — down here in the comments, I won't stop you
I was a middle class kid from Chicago. I dropped out of the U of Illinois in 60, went West, joined the Navy and became a journalist. I got my BA, then after the service earned an MA. While on Okinawa took the Foreign Service Exam, passed it, and eventually joined the U.S. Information Agency. Served behind the Iron Curtain in Bulgaria, was posted to Zambia, Ghana, the U.S. Mission to the EU, where I met my wife of (now) over 40 years. Then to Yugoslavia, then to Delhi and Madras in India. Retired ages ago and have traveled extensively since. Now, at 85, have four grown grandchildren. We live in Brooklyn, NY