Taste Test

While we can experience only five tastes:sweet, salty, sour, bitter and the elusive "other" taste known as 'umami'we can recognize over a thousand smells.-Tilar Mazzeo"The Widow Clicquot"May 31, 1984ThursdayOnce again it was lunch with Tony and Helen. This time we ate at ‘FATS” and I treated myself to a Coors. I chose Coors because that’s the beer that Chris Cordellos’ mom gave us when we went on our excursion to the beach.At work I moved to my...

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International Male

What is rice pudding?Nothing short of heaven.-Yann Martel"The Life of Pi"Twenty-five years ago today:May 30, 1984WednesdayToday was an all right kind of day (I guess). I ate lunch with my brother, Tony, and Helen over by Lake Merritt. Helen brought chicken in for all of us.I went to the ‘Sperm Bank’ after work and was told that I had an “excellent” count last time with 70% mobility. Barbara, the lady who seems to run the place, was impressed.“Would...

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Smiling & Biking

A smile makes you master of yourself.-Thich Nhat Hanh"Being Peace"Twenty-five years ago today:May 29, 1984TuesdayI went to the Record Factory to buy a couple of new cassette tapes when I was supposed to be at a doctor’s appointment. I was being naughty by pretending I had a fake appointment. I appeared at work at noon. Work sped by quickly and I came home to homemade hamburgers. I invited Sue Miller to go bike riding but she was studying. I didn’t...

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A Writer's Obligation

A writer has a duty and an obligation never to be understood by his own generation.-Paulo Coelho"Like The Flowing River"Twenty-five years ago today:May 28, 1984SundayIt was an erotic morning awakening in a sleeping bag in the Concord Hills.Chris and I ate at Bob’s Big Boy for breakfast (after we returned the sleeping bags to their proper place).We continued on the merry day with a visit to Sun Valley Mall with Chris’ mother. It was fun. When we’d...

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Gallivanting

I want no false coin from you.I want you to come of your own free will.-Philippa Gregory"The Other Boleyn Girl"May 27, 1984SundayToday is Chris’ Dad’s birthday. He was going to spend the day with his pop, so I was not really expected to see him today. Chris did say he may telephone me. I decided to telephone him at noon but there was no answer. He called me at 12:30pm from his Dad’s pad. “I just cleaned my Dad’s boat. And you know what?” Chris asked.“No,...

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The Future Is One's Past

It is scary to discover that one's future is also one's past.The anticipation of a world is inevitably the myth of an eternal return.-Jules Verne"Paris in the Twentieth Century"(The Lost Novel)Michael, 'The Gemini'At 11:59pm Pacific Time I was born fifty years ago today (May 26th) in Oakland, California. I celebrate my 'New 30' in Barcelona, Spain. Viva Espana! Twenty-five years ago today:May 26, 1984SaturdayWhat a way to start my Birthday morning!Chris’...

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A Pleasant Memory

When in doubt, drift off into a pleasant memory.-Mavis Cheek"Mrs. Fytton's Country Life"Twenty-five years ago today:May 25, 1984FridayI received a gift of a tie and a shirt from Helen Wong. She’s too sweet. Barbara Reynolds gifted me a T-shirt, a stuffed rabbit animal and my Birthday Cake. The Cake was luscious with that great real-whipped cream and strawberries. I thought I would get out of work early but—as it turned out—I could not.Finally, I...

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Random Clustering

Statisticians call this kind of thing random clustering,a useful way of denying its significance.-William Golding"Lord of the Flies"Twenty-five years ago today:May 24, 1984ThursdayIt was a swift day at work. Chris came over to Downtown Oakland to meet me for lunch. We ate at Monica’s and then managed some time to browse at I.Magnin and The Emporium. Once again we were unwilling to depart from one another but we did. After work I drove up to Concord...

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Clouded Judgement

I was trying to soothe myself by remaining busy.I felt tainted. The unnamed sensation returned......clouded judgement.-Ian McEwan"Enduring Love"Twenty-five years ago today:May 23, 1984WednesdayThe big news of the day was the fact that Barbara Reynolds and I were presented with our actual job offers to the City’s Business Service Center effective July 8, 1984. Hoorah! We’re out of here!After the exciting work day I munched down a quick dinner (chicken...

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Mind Power

By the 2020's, once nanobot-based scanning becomes reality we will be able to place sensors (in the form of nanobots) at millions to billions of locations in the brain and thus witness living brains in action.-Ray Kurzweil'The Singularity Is Near'PHOTO: Mind Power Extraordinaire,Angelique, The WitchDARK SHADOWSTwenty-five years ago today:May 22, 1984TuesdayMy boss (Robert) told me that Barbara Reynolds, Kent Wood and I are going to be ‘next up’ with...

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The Imminence of Terror

The imminence of terror lurked in what you read, what you did for sex, how you dressed,what you thought about religion,what you knew about science,where your political allegiances lay.It drove private life underground.-when describing life in Milano, Italyin the 1570's as read in the book"M-The Man Who Became Caravaggio"by Peter RobbTwenty-five years ago today:May 21, 1984MondayWhen I telephoned Chris Cordellos at 9AM he was still asleep.“Something’s...

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The Pleasure Seeker

As he grew older he began more and more to take refuge in books.-Nial Kent"The Divided Path"I will be seeking pleasure and excitement during my BLOGGER VACATION in Paris, Spain and England from May 20-June 8 2009. Therefore, the forthcoming blogs (after today) will be limited to a 'hopeful quote to ponder' and my 'Twenty-five years ago' segment.I plan to take a paperback that I found some months ago called "The Pleasure Seeker" by Jose Luis de Vilallonga...

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The Increasing Power of China

"You can't make anyone feel the way you'd like them to."-as heard while watchingthe TV series KYLE-XYThe following words 'On China' are from SPRING MOON, a Novel on China published in 1981by Bette Bao Lord:In the world today, what position do we occupy? Compared to the other peoples of the world we have the greatest population and our civilization is 4,000 years old; we should therefore be advancing in the front rank with the nations of Europe and...

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The Competitive Edge

"I'm sorry I'm so inadequate.I always feel so far away from you when you're in a mood like this."-Nial Kent"The Divided Path"During these rough economic times it is important to always have a competitive edge.My dear friend, Kay Strauss, of Minneapolis, Minnesota sent this amusing resume tip/joke. I thought this joke was worth the laughter for a 'Blue Monday'. Keep in mind that appearance does count and how you appear to others can make or break...

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How To Dazzle Them

Michelangelo Merisi's (aka Caravaggio) early work stunned his contemporaries because it seemed so real. He dazzled them. The quality of his bare skin on canvas sent people into delirium.-as read in the book"M-The Man Who Became Caravaggio"by Peter Robb I race too much. My brain races too much, so even if I’ve listened to everything somebody said, unless you show that you’ve digested it, people don’t think they are being well heard. Sometimes you...

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What People Are Reading

We will boldly go where no one has gone before.-Star TrekI was out and about in New York City a couple of days ago and I saw the following people reading these books:1. Love and Hydrogen: New and Selected Stories by Jim Shepard. Who was reading it? A bespectacled mid-thirties man, wearing light brown army fatigue camouflage pants and a denim baseball cap. He was on the Lexington Line Express train. I imagined him to be a former military based type.2....

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Flesh For LuLu

"Trust your aversions the same as you do your cravings."Ira Levin"Rosemary's Baby"After a grueling work day yesterday a ninety-minute massage was necessary. Bob Hope would be proud of me (you’d understand what I mean if you read my previous blog entry dated April 28, 2009).My Tui-na massage therapist is named LuLu. She speaks primarily Chinese. Midway through my treatment she mounted my back as if I was a saddle on a horse. She began massaging my...

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It's You I Like

Something about his build and the rhythm of his movements suggested reapers in an Egyptian wall painting.-Nial Kent"The Divided Path"Alan and I spontaneously bought tickets to the Second Stage Theater on W. 43rd St. in New York City for an 8pm viewing of 'Everyday Rapture' (about a young woman's psychological-spiritual journey). We saw it last night, May 13, 2009.The 'Everday Rapture' show was about a young gal from Kansas who had an Amish/Mennonite...

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Addictions

"You were not meant to sit in the shade of Life."-as heard in the HBO series"John Adams"Early this morning I stumbled upon a '5 Things You are Addicted To' question via the online social networking site of FACEBOOK. I surprised myself by thinking of '5 Things' very quickly. What is an addiction after all? It is an abnormally strong craving, yes? An addiction is being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically...

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