Left to my own devices

It's Sunday. This is the day that many Americans attend church, praising their God in whatever denomination they've decided upon. Worship services run the gamut, from strict conservative to uber-liberal, from "primitive" to modern. There are Christians, Muslims, Wiccans and a whole host of others who worship on Sundays, and several other days of the week, and here in the U.S., it's a very small minority that does not believe in a god, or who lacks faith. I am among that minority.

Just came across this, and had to post. It's Charlie McDonnell (of Charlieissocoollike fame).  *sigh*

Ladies & Gentlemen, Mr. Nick Carter (also of the Backstreet Boys)....

 Some can gaze and not be sick, But I could never learn the trick, There's this to say for blood and breath, They give a man a taste for death. -- A.E. Housman  Today is the 91st birthday of Phyllis Dorothy White (better known to her legion of readers as P.D. James). She is my absolute favorite author, as well as a human being I admire. To read one of her books is to read modern literature at its finest, and her deftly-written and plotted mysteries have given me immense pleasure ever since I picked-up her stellar novel  Devices & Desires two decades ago. To help celebrate her special day, I've concocted a list of the Top Five P.D. James books. I really hope you'll pick one up and read one if you have the chance.

I'm a worrier, have been ever since a weekend when, as a teenager, my mom went away for a week's vacation and left me to my own devices at the house during the summer (every teenager's dream, right?). I became so nervous and upset being on my own, with not much to do and no one to do it with, that I developed severe stomach pains, and ended up having to see a doctor once mom got back. He wanted to give me an enema. I didn't know what that was. When the doctor explained it to me, I said thanks but no thanks, we left his office, and the stomach pains evaporated within a day. This is the power of the mind over the body.

Saw Captain America last night. It was good. A summer superhero movie that took its time telling a story, and was about the size of the fight in the dog, not the dog in the fight. Good values, good actors and good special effects. Oh... and it, ahem, starred Chris Evans....

Roger Ebert's recent blog post (worth a read, by the way) about becoming an "old fart" in an ever-changing world has inspired me to be write about my own view of the changes I've seen happen, and how I've tried to adapt to them. Sometimes, adaptation has occurred without a moment's thought, and sometimes it has been a struggle. I'm still not sure what exactly precipitates one reaction vs. another.