I recently took about a six-week hiatus from posting anything to my Facebook page, primarily because I was going through some personal difficulties which I am still dealing with to a mildly lesser extent. However, I do not post often anyway so it was not really an intentional thing, just a natural element of my prolonged social extraction.
After awhile, I noticed I was having these thoughts that after some initial contemplation seemed to unconsciously resolve into a Facebook-like snippet. I guess that is our how our minds are beginning to …

One of the quirky results of having a twin-television setup in my Man Cave is random parallels between the two screens. The frequent synchronicity is quite often startling, and also humorous or just plain cool.
The photo above (click image to see full-size photo) is a recent example of this phenomenon. I was watching MLB TV on the smaller screen on the left, with the Cardinals game being featured on the primary (flat HD) screen on the right. The A’s were using rookie relief pitcher Sean Doolittle to close out a …

As I enjoy the final couple of legitimately cold days, most likely, for the St. Louis winter of 2012, I feel vast disappointment.
One of my favorite characteristics of the U.S. Midwest is

If anyone has noticed the increasing prevalence of Blues City Deli stickers on vehicles around the St. Louis area, it can be easily explained: the place is wonderful.
While I think of BCD as a warm, inviting place where I can check out amazing musicians for free and drink hoppy beers for “keepin’-it-real” prices, it is really a combination of elements that sets this place apart from other establishments in our great city. St. Louis has a long, storied history of being a beacon that enables aspiring (or established) blues musicians …

If you adopt a certain point of view, it can accurately be said that we all have to sell ourselves to a degree. Even those of us who find any kind of self-promotion awkward and unnatural have to compromise at some point, whether it be for a job opening, business opportunity or just generally making a good impression to someone.
With that being said, I do not think I could be involved in sales full-time. In addition to trying to find suitable sponsors for my radio show, I am currently working …

I have always existed in a state of infatuation concerning night time. I do not like mornings; I love nights. This trait has become kind of a heavy burden to carry as I move forward in life as a father and husband.
Though I love to party, my affinity for the night life is unrelated. In high school, I went to school until noon, then “worked” the rest of the day at Pizza Hut as part of a program for kids who needed to be employed. I hid from my high …

It has been a full month since my family took a weekend vacation in Daytona Beach. I was reflecting upon this earlier today after being asked about it. It was a good trip, but the key to our enjoyment once we arrived was simple: our two-year-old little girl loved the beach!
It would have been very understandable if she had been scared of: the crowds, the sand, the waves, the water, the ocean’s seemingly infinite qualities … but it was all good. Thankfully.
It is always an extremely trying and maddening experience …

I really struggle with perspective on a daily basis. It is not so much a result of perpetual deep thinking or a consistent metaphysical point of view on everything. Well, sometimes that is the case, but the day-to-day mental grind I often encounter just deals with how I need to approach a given day.
It is safe, in my opinion, to assume that the majority of people over 20 years old deal with this same problem. Of course, a large segment of US society has genuine hardships, whether it is mental …

Sometimes when a headline is written, it can provide too much of a summary of the subsequent content.  In this case, that is no problem. It’s true.
My first weather-related memories revolve around family trips and vacations in which severe weather either changed our plans or scared the crap out of us. Though I was only 10 years old, I recollect returning to the Iowa family farm from a family vacation only to hit severe ice just about 30 miles from home.
Now that was messed up! In my mind, as long as my …

As fun as it is to play basketball, it is very physically challenging – and so I treat it as a full-fledged workout, as I should at my age. I make sure to handle the obvious; I stretch before playing, make sure to eat and drink plenty of fluids and avoid playing in pick-up games that may result in a heart attack. The idea is to get a good workout and be wise while staying out of the hospital – and avoid dealing with our health care system.
Whether it is …