Parrots are my favorite bird. I think I know why. They are the only bird that can keep you company when you get an auto insurance quote. In fact, no other bird can sing a song or help you deal with the paperwork that can ordinarily stymie even the greatest thinkers of our time. William S. Burroughs was of like mind. He once remarked that all the autos he had driven in had made him sick. Not that he was one to seek vibrant health, but he didn't want to clog his lungs with carbon monoxide, and... Read Full Story

It is not irrelevant to consider your birth order when looking at your health. Indeed, people like William S. Burroughs, who was the second of two sons, generally take more risks with their life, according to birth order researchers like Frank Sulloway. The novelist's health, of course, was not optimal since he devoted nearly fifty years of his life to consuming heroin and other pernicious substances that gave him a quick thrill but that wasted his physical and emotional stamina. Many love h... Read Full Story

I like balls and blocks. But most of all I like water bottles. My favorite are Dasani water bottles. Next I like America's Choice quart bottles. I don't know what it is about them, but there's something attractive for a kid like me. Maybe it's the plastic and the feel of the soft bottle. Maybe it's the shiny coloring and the bright lettering on the bottles. Maybe they remind me of my baby bottles! Whatever it is, I know one thing for sure. Even when I grow up I'm going to love them. Read Full Story

Three simple solutions for three simple problems: First, barcode scanners, which solve the problem of efficiency. Second, hand-held calculators, which solve the problem of calculation. And third, smokeless cigarettes, which solve the problem of degenerative lung disease. All are modern marvels, and all can be integrated into the modern office environment with ease and style. Especially if you're looking forward to the twenty-first century way of living. And as a child of her age, I sure am! Read Full Story

William S. Burroughs said that he wished he lived in New York all his life. But his life in New Jersey was far from optimal. His thoughts of finding a working and workable drug rehab never really materialized. Instead, he became one of America's most avant-garde writers. He would continually harangue his friends with stories about his experiences, good and bad, and one day he jotted them all down and the rest, as they say, is history. Not only was he prolific, but he was full of poetry. I bet... Read Full Story

Family holidays are here and we are all waiting for a good snowfall. The tvs we watch may have a flat screen or a convex one, that's not the point. The thing that matters is the romance that settles over everything during the month of November and December. The world waits on the turn of events that all hinges on the weather. The nations of the world are rather like snowflakes, glittering in the moonlight. The darkness that steals over the hills of the Berkshires invites us all to contemplate... Read Full Story

Dr. Wilhelm Reich moved to Rangeley, Maine, in 1952 and set up a laboratory on the hill overlooking Dodge Pond. There he avoided all life insurance quotes and the other ephemera of modern society and focused, instead, on his life's work, namely, studying the atom and the constituents of cosmic orgone energy. When his research was complete he would go down to Main Street and get a haircut, then publish his findings in books like Character Analysis and Listen, Little Man! Wish I could have met... Read Full Story

November brings the rain, June the sun, and April the flowers of Spring. But an office supply that never runs out of bargains brings smiles all year long. That's why I am a child of the ages and love to shop where I can and when I can. It doesn't matter to me that it's November and the skies are gray. I love to run out in the droplets of drizzle and do my thing. I like hibernating on a cold December morning and then taking up my pen and pencil and making notes for my blog, secure in the knowl... Read Full Story

Now is not the time to be worried about meeting the winter, because the winter looks like it will be mild. Instead it's time to look at apartments for rent. This is the season to get a good Ray Bradbury novel out of the library, curl up with a good book by the fire, and then after that do some research into where you want to live next. If you're reading a book like Something Wicked This Way Comes you may be scared out of your wits. But that's par for the course in Bradburyland. But don't let ... Read Full Story

I thought I got stuck on the light rail train today. The story started when I got on the train, after which I noticed that I was alone on the first car. I saw the engineer leave the engine and go outside. The one thing that scared me so much was that the door was closed. Then I turned around and saw that there was nobody else on the car except me. So I started to bang the door so that the people outside would spot me and help me to get out. They just ignored me. I pressed the open button on t... Read Full Story