I ask for your indulgence. This one is going to take some explaining. Settle in. Names have been changed for the usual reasons. I live in Los Angeles, but I was raised in an outlying desert suburb that seemed like a totally different world from here. The town was no great shakes, but far from the worst place you could be. At the time, there was a lot of the rural area-type of naivete that you might find in a less cosmopolitan state. To give you an idea, back in the year of my high school ...

I've been hearing them since November of 1963, the year I turned 13: (fill in the blank) killed John F. Kennedy. Ditto Robert Kennedy & Martin Luther King. The moon landings were all faked. Watergate was an attempt by Nixon to become permanent dictator. Elvis Presley is alive. The government had John Lennon murdered. The government has covered up UFO landings and alien contact. Haliburton, the CIA, major corporate interests, the oil companies, and the Bush family (take your...

Reading different entries, it's obvious to me that there are haters out there. People have their targets and their own individual reasons for hating. Everyone has a right to their opinions. I also have a list of people I absolutely hate. People who absolutely are quite capable of making my life miserable. I'll bet I'm not the only one who hates these people. Here is a small listing of some of them: SINGERS: We've all run into them, and never by choice. At work, school, city streets, standi...

I'm not going to try to stir up a hornet's nest with the subject of illegal immigration. There are good, well meaning people on both sides of this time bomb issue. The people who could be labeled "bleeding hearts" are trying to help poor, uneducated people reach the desirable dream of a better life in "el Norte." Groups like the Minutemen, as misguided as they might be, are passionate and truly care about their country. It's an issue that is volatile, and there are no easy answers to solve...

By now, everyone knows about the series finale of The Sopranos , where the ending left viewers with far more questions than answers. HBO's website was inundated with so many angry emails immediately afterwards that the site crashed. Sopranos creator David Chase decided he was doing people a favor by leaving the question of what happens, especially to Tony Soprano, up to the imagination of the audience. Once again, a TV honcho doesn't get it. Audiences watch TV shows, especially those with...

For my first post, I thought it would be more appropriate if these words from my sister Diana were shared. She was reluctant to post them anywhere, and I told her that if she didn't, I would. I'm keeping my word. My only regret is that I didn't post them earlier this month, for reasons that will soon be obvious. From this point on, the words are from my sister Diana: I'm not very sure which year it was, but I remember that it was a beautiful day in June. The sun was shining. The sky was a...