A lot of people in Florida are still awaiting an explanation. There was a power failure in parts of Florida last week that was triggered when two nuclear plants south of Miami went offline. I've never been a worry wart regarding nuclear power plants - yes, I remember 3 Mile Island (a close call) and Chernobyl (typical Soviet stupidy, only they couldn't hide that one.) But nuke plants don't scare me. And the two power plants did shut down, as they were designed to. Yet it's been week since... Read Full Story

I live in a state, Florida, where school teachers are paid minimal wages and often purchase school supplies with money out of their own pockets. I'm sure this is common in other parts of the US, but that doesn't make it right. And, as I learned yesterday via the St. Petersburg Times, there are many Florida civil servants, from judges to tax assessors, who are currently using a loophole that allows them to retire and receive a pension while remaining at their position as an employee of the... Read Full Story

I haven't blogged in two weeks. During that time, I've been working to finish an action/romantic screenplay, that I'm certain will make it to film in some way or another. It's called, Stealing Cars, Saving Lives. It's the story of a high school teacher's midnight run. Yep, 117 pages of pure genius. Lots of snappy patter. Lot's of action. Lot's of romance. (hence the action/romantic label) That's all I'm going to say about it at this time. But besides that, I'll tell you what's... Read Full Story

What did we do before we had....? I'd like to answer that question as it pertains to a number of massive change agents that have infiltrated and altered society in the last 20 years. Don't look now but up is down, left is right and life will never be the same from year to year, let alone from decade to decade. Let's say today, February 5th is your birthday, just for an example and you're in your early 50's. Think back to your birthday 20 years ago. The age of high hair and metal rock... Read Full Story

I like the title of this blog. It sounds like an infomercial of some sort. Or one of those 'ezine' articles. You know what they are, don't you? Articles of varying value written to lead buyers into internet marketing dealings of one sort of another. http://ezinearticles.com/ Ah, but now, on to the content of this blog, which in reality is my homage to ezine articles. But before that, let me disassociate myself from this content, meaning, I certainly DO NOT CONDONE the actions suggested... Read Full Story

I've been watching MSNBC since probably 1994. I think it was the entire OJ Simpson mess that got me hooked on the cable news outlet. I bet I wasn't the only one who discovered cable news during that fiasco. And over time, NBC News or NBC Entertainment or whoever the hell runs programming at MSNBC has re-tooled that mother a number of times. They've given Geraldo a show and Michael Savage a show and Charles Grodin, Rita Cosby... the list goes on and on, all in the attempt to break into a... Read Full Story

During the month of December, while the Writer's Guild of America remained on strike and most new television programming ceased, an original HBO television series import aired its final episode. The show Extras, which was Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant's follow up series to The Office, aired a special 90 minute final episode on December 16th. Extras aired for two seasons, like the BBC version of The Office. But that final episode of Extras was one of the truly great, single television... Read Full Story

As a veteran of at least twenty round trip driving excursions between Chicago and Florida, I've learned the route as well as most any non-truck driver can. Sure, I prefer to fly, but sometimes a road trip in the Tribbia van is required. And over the years, especially during Christmas time, the trek northward has been made via I-75, I-24 and I-65. The day and a half it takes to drive this route has always had a cathartic effect on the family. Let's classify the odyssey as something between... Read Full Story

I really needed to write something about my dog, DeeOhGee Tribbia. She died eight days ago, a few months shy of her 12th birthday. Dogs die young. I picked her out from a litter of about eight Golden Retriever pups back in 1996. She was four weeks old. As the years passed, I realized that I hadn't chosen DeeOhGee - she had chosen me. And for every lesson that I taught her, DeeOhGee taught me two. Patience, love, loyalty, dedication and so much more. She radiated those traits every... Read Full Story

Yes, even ten years after filming its last episode, the television show Seinfeld continues to exert its influence on pop culture. This came to mind after we rented Seinfeld's season 9 DVD's. I may have originally viewed the 'Festivus' episode, formally entitled, The Strike, ten years ago this week, but watching it last night did not disappoint. The Seinfeld writers were creating something for the ages, not simply 1997. Isn't it something that you can watch some TV shows again and again... Read Full Story