Ron Paul and the Bard
February 17, 2012
BY DICK METHIA Ron Paul lost the Maine Republican primary to Mitt Romney by a squeaker, just a couple of hundred votes. Exit interviews with voters in Maine and elsewhere indicate that voters like the Texan’s libertarian views. They just don’t think he sounds presidential. Paul’s advisors are now urging the retired country doctor to [...]
Boosters, Backers & Bunnies
February 11, 2012
BY DICK METHIA Mitt Romney squeezed all the oranges out of the Florida Republican primary and then ran the table in Nevada. The two states gave Romney a huge boost in his slog to the Republican presidential nomination. Mitt Romney looked like Goliath. Then voters in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri cast their lot big time [...]
On the Campaign Trail: Sore Loser
February 3, 2012
By Dick Methia I attended a parochial grammar school. They called it that because the teachers actually taught grammar then. My favorite teacher was Sister Lillian, a beautiful, smart woman who could have been a corporate executive today. One of Sister’s key lessons was how to be a good sport. Along with subjects, verbs and [...]
Oranges and Orators
January 25, 2012
BY DICK METHIA It’s not just snowbirds encamped in the Sunshine State this month. The remaining four Republican presidential candidates are tearing through orange groves rounding up voters to help them win Florida’s important primary Jan. 31. This political foursome is a more entertaining attraction than Sea World. Former front runner Mitt Romney, desperate to [...]
What’s in a Name?
January 14, 2012
BY DICK METHIA William Shakespeare famously wrote, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But Billy the Bard never ran for president. In this year’s Republican presidential race, to have the word “moderate” stuck to you is worse than having an angry skunk in your garage. Like a thunderbolt from Olympus, Newt [...]
They’re Off and Running
January 8, 2012
BY DICK METHIA Iowa has spoken. Sort of. Iowa caucus voters’ historically strong voice was a mumble this year with three candidates sharing top honors. The top Republican vote getters in the farm state left Wednesday morning for even frostier New Hampshire in search of The Mandate. Between now and January 10, Mitt Romney, Rick [...]
A New Year’s Musing: Fifty and Happy
January 6, 2012
BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL Everyone wants me to be different. A friend invited me to a seminar she was running on “How to Change Your Life NOW!” News stories are reaching out to me to transform my appearance by changing the way I eat, wear my hair, and choose my make up; except for the [...]
The Year of Living Dangerously – weeks 51 and 52
December 31, 2011
As I write this, it is New Year’s eve. I was out having dinner at Docks restaurant with some very nice friends, but have come home quite a bit before midnight because I’m tired and kind of wanted to sit alone and reflect on the year. I generally don’t make any new year’s resolutions because [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 50
December 20, 2011
I can’t believe it is almost Christmas! It’s funny what a difference a year makes. Last year at this time I was packing up my office and looking forward to what I thought would be a couple months of not working. It turned out to be more than a couple of months but I didn’t [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 49
December 12, 2011
As I sit here writing this, I’m happy to say that I have finished my Christmas shopping. I hate to go in the stores this time of year so this is a real accomplishment. Every year I say that I will pick up gifts during the year so I don’t have to participate in the [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 48
December 5, 2011
As I sit here writing this, I am battling a little bit of a hangover. All 5 of my brothers were here last night and we went out to celebrate 3 of their birthdays. It was a fun night but the morning after…not so much. We went and had dinner at The Hurricane Club. The [...]
The Year of Living Dangerously – week 46 and 47
November 26, 2011
I’m including the last 2 weeks in this post because I was away for the holiday for a few days. I can’t believe that it is Thankgiving! I hope you all had a nice holiday but this year has gone way too fast. It seems like I just had my bathroom redone but that nightmare was [...]
Our Medieval Politics
November 18, 2011
BY DICK METHIA On America’s march through history we seem to have taken a bizarre u-turn back to middle age. I’m not talking about the day I finally admitted those tight jeans didn’t really shrink in the wash. I’m referring to the Middle Ages, the days before re-cycling and Lady Gaga. In medieval times, people [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 44 and 45
November 14, 2011
I’ve had to put two weeks into this blog because I just didn’t get a chance to write anything last week. Since I went back to work, it seems that time just flys by and I don’t get a chance to do everything I want to. Funny how having a job seems to interfere with [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 43
October 30, 2011
As I write this posting, I’m watching the reunion show for the ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey.’ Oh my god these women are trashy and classless, yet…I still keep watching. What is wrong with me? The addiction I seem to have for the Bravo network really developed when I was unemployed but nothing has changed since I [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 42
October 24, 2011
This week went quickly, but was fairly uneventful. Work was busy and I actually filled a job at my new company with someone I worked with at my last one. I’m happy she got hired because she is a nice kid who just graduated. I really feel for people getting out of college these days. [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – weeks 40 and 41
October 16, 2011
I got a little backed up this week so I had to combine my blog for the last 2 weeks. I went upstate to visit my parents last weekend so I didn’t get a chance to write about week 40 so I’ve included it in this posting. I love going upstate in the fall. The [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 39
October 2, 2011
I’ve just completed my third week of work and it’s starting to feel like my 8 months of unemployment never happened. I’m kind of back in the groove of working again. Week 3 went much better than weeks 1 and 2. I finally figured a few things out about their benefits and made some progress, I [...]
Pizza, Politics and Plain Speaking
September 27, 2011
BY DICK METHIA Every so often a public personality gives straight talk a shot in the arm. In December 2009, Domino Pizza’s new CEO, Patrick Doyle, filmed a commercial bashing his own product. In the ad Doyle admitted that focus groups found Domino’s crust tasted like the cardboard box it comes in. This year the [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 38
September 25, 2011
Week two at my new job. This week was pretty eventful. I don’t know if I mentioned that before I got there, they fired the office manager. Well now I am her and I’m finding out a lot of things she did that no one seemed to know about. During the week I got a [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 37
September 18, 2011
I have now completed my first week of work and I have to say, I’m exhausted! I can’t believe how tired I am! I guess after not working for so many months, it is hard to get back into the swing of things quickly. A friend of mine, who was also out of work for [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 36
September 10, 2011
After nearly 8 and a half months, it’s back to work I go. This coming Monday is my first day and I can’t decide if I’m excited or bummed out that my extended ‘vacation’ is over. When I got laid off from my last job, I really never thought it would be this long before [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 35
September 2, 2011
This has been my first week of not having to look at a job posting and it has been great. There is something about being unemployed and not having to worry about getting a job that is really appealing! I decided that in the remaining days off I have, I will do some things in [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 34
August 27, 2011
I’m writing this while listening to the dire predictions about Hurricane Irene hitting New York City over the weekend. They have done nothing on the news except show press conferences with city leaders talking about our plans for it. Most of the time these predictions never pan out. Let’s hope this is another one of [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 33
August 20, 2011
As I sit here writing this, there is a huge thunderstorm happening outside. I actually got caught in it without an umbrella so I’m drying out and very glad to be in my little studio apartment. I feel like I should announce this with trumpets but it wouldn’t translate well onto the page so I’ll [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – weeks 31 and 32
August 11, 2011
Well I must apologize for not writing this blog last week. I have had a flurry of activity on the job interview front and I had relatives visiting all last weekend so I didn’t really have a chance to sit down and write. It has been a busy couple of weeks. On the job front, [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 30
July 29, 2011
Well the heat wave is over…for now. Thank god…I don’t do well in weather like that. Is this what they refer to as the ‘dog days of summer?’ I hate having to stay in my apartment during the summer but sticking next to the air conditioning seemed like a good idea this past week. On the job [...]
Year of Living Dangerously – week 29
July 21, 2011
OMG … it is hot! This week has been brutal and downright unhealthy if you have breathing problems. I don’t do well in the heat so I have tried to stay indoors in the air conditioning — something I don’t like to do but it’s been necessary the past two days. I also don’t like to [...]
The Year of Living Dangerously – week 28
July 15, 2011
I’m writing this blog watching the Real Housewives of New York with my window open and a glorious breeze coming in. What a nice day….especially considering that the beginning of the week was so incredibly hot and humid. I hate that type of weather because I sweat like a pig in it! Today, however, was [...]
The Year of Living Dangerously – week 27
July 9, 2011
This week has been a little trying. I was in a bit of a freak out that I’ve been unemployed for over 6 months. In the scheme of what other people have been through this is not that long; however, it is the longest I haven’t worked ever, so I’m having a little trouble coming [...]