by Mad Dog
They say money burns a hole in your pocket but, funny thing, they don’t say where it goes when it falls through. That’s because they don’t have a clue. This is borne out by a recent survey conducted by Visa...
|
by Andy Cowan
Welcome, 1964 World’s Fair enthusiasts, to General Motors’ Futurama, a glimpse at the awesome world of the 21st century! By then, “awesome” will describe nearly everything under the sun, which, incidentally,...
|
by Andy Cowan
“Are you a man or a mouse?” This question may be redundant now that Japanese scientists have figured out a way to eliminate a rodent’s trepidation over his former arch nemesis, the cat. Who knew that removing...
|
by Andy Cowan
I’ve been kind of depressed ever since I watched that 60 Minutes report citing that anti-depressants may be no more effective in treating mild to moderate depression than sugar pills. I hadn’t yet tried...
|
by Andy Cowan
Now that Decision '12 is here, it's time to shine a light on that other world of imagery, manipulation and empty promises: the politics of dating.
Decision No. 1: to throw your hat into the ring. Is it...
|
by Andy Cowan
I recently came upon an honest test of my worth as a human being. My ATM spit out twenty dollars more than I had coming to me. I’m an honest enough person to tell you that my worth as a human being is twenty...
|
by Andy Cowan
Having left my heart in my hometown of "ugly people" (as reported about Philadelphia by Travel & Leisure Magazine) for the "beautiful people" of Los Angeles decades ago, I dismiss this...
|
by Andy Cowan
With New York's sanction of same-sex marriage, the first same-sex divorce can't be very far behind. The grounds: irreconcilable similarities. "You leave the seat up all the time." "You leave the...
|
by Andy Cowan
They say finding love is a numbers game, which is why a sole blind encounter stands about the same statistical chance of fruition as a distant future visit to the polar icecaps by former President Kucinich. So...
|
by Mad Dog
The Virginia General Assembly recently voted unanimously to express "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery. Hey, what’s 400 years amongst friends? They also expressed regret for "the...
|
by Mad Dog
Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but trendiness, well, it’s way down the bottom of the list sharing a spot with ugliness. If you don’t believe it, just look at any woman over the age of 30 wearing a Paris...
|
by Mad Dog
The Vatican, in its never-ending search to find something in your life they haven’t already issued rules for so you can feel extreme guilt when you don’t follow them and confess for what feels longer than an...
|
by Mad Dog
Like it or not, the Holiday Season is in full swing. The Holiday Season, for those of you who have been too busy pondering the irony of Paris Hilton taking up the cause of drunken elephants in India to pay...
|
by Mad Dog
It’s a shame, but we spend an awful lot of time, money, and effort trying to keep people from stealing things. We have alarms in our cars so they can go off at random times during the night and remind us how...
|
by Mad Dog
Reality is highly overrated. Granted we have no choice but to live in it — well, not unless you like the idea of a rehab clinic as your retirement community — but that doesn’t mean we have to like it. And...
|
by Andy Cowan
My life used to center on the fervent hope that important people were trying to reach me when I couldn't be reached. In the pre-answering-machine stone age of my youth, anything was possible. While I was out,...
|
by Andy Cowan
I know better than to invite a blind date to dinner. With all due respect, chew on this: Shouldn't you and I be the main course? The eventual meal, after we've hopefully grown to like each other a tad, should...
|
by Andy Cowan
AFTER centuries of technological marvels that would make any cynic's eyes pop out, you'd think most of us would be blasé by now. Over one out of five Americans alive today has never known a world without a...
|
by Andy Cowan
After I wondered if the saleslady could help me find the perfect gift for my wife, she asked if I could describe her a bit. “She’s nice, down to earth, empathetic, smart without flaunting it, an understated...
|
by Andy Cowan
With my mother's birthday fast approaching, picking out a card that properly expresses my gratitude is proving to be especially challenging this year. For no longer can I comfort myself with the rationale that...
|
by Andy Cowan
IT'S challenging enough competing for women when a singles haunt is littered with other nameless guys who have the same goal. But unlike most other cities, in Los Angeles we occasionally face a more daunting...
|
by Andy Cowan
WHY does perpetuating the species seem to hinge on hooking up with a person who inevitably has at least one major character flaw? Maybe it's because if you stumbled upon someone who was absolutely perfect,...
|
by Andy Cowan
When I was a kid, I used to feel sorry for adults. I had something they didn’t: Toys. The joy of anticipating them. The joy of receiving them. The joy of breaking them to figure out how they actually...
|
by Andy Cowan
IN this day of twice-and thrice-married candidates and miscellaneous marital mayhem, maybe it's time to address the elephant in the room that isn't solely Republican or Democrat. We need marriage reform. Yes,...
|
by Andy Cowan
AS with the early days of live TV, the early days of "live women" are starting to seem like a quaint remnant from yesteryear, yet another golden age we didn't know was golden until it faded away. I...
|
by Andy Cowan
We’re all guilty of it – conversational fluff. Those snippets of idle chitchat that pass for something meaningful. Whether initiating it or being fed it, I’m usually aware of the fact it’s taking place. ...
|
by Andy Cowan
It’s well beyond time to shine a light on a cliché that’s been spreading faster than cell phone pictures of people on cell phones... at the end of the day. No, I don’t mean that it assaults us merely at...
|
by Andy Cowan
I just returned from my annual trip on a time machine. Don't let those old episodes of Star Trek fool you. Time-travel is shocking to the system, which is why I generally limit it to once a year. However...
|
by Coby Kindles
Turning back the hands of time doesn't have to involve great physical and financial expense. Anyone can have great, healthy, glowing skin without spending hundreds on useless products and over-priced facials. ...
|
by Honey Barc
There's a new phenomenon among 18-34-year-olds who are active in social networking: hipster bashing. Being a hipster used to mean a person was young, and cool. It used to carry with it the connotation that...
|
by Mark Jacobson
I was born October 15, 1953. I was due to be born mid-January 1954, but more about that later. Being born three months premature created some problems. Perhaps the biggest problem of being born early was that I...
|
by Francesca Biller-Safran
Never mind that home foreclosures are at an all-time high, that $60 Billion has been spent thus far on the Iraq war or that 3,900 American soldiers and nearly 90,000 Iraq civilians have died.
Never mind that...
|
by Francesca Biller-Safran
It seems like just yesterday when being a “good enough” domestic goddess simply required some old fashioned elbow grease and trying out a new recipe once in awhile. But somewhere along the way, everything...
|
by Francesca Biller-Safran
While there is no greater joy in the world than having a happy, contented child; the same can be said for children in having a happy, blissful parent.
We can lavish all the money, entertainment and love...
|
by Francesca Biller-Safran
There is perhaps no feeling as surreal as realizing that you have in fact become your parents. The other day I actually heard myself saying to my youngest child, “Because I said so.” Just then I felt myself...
|
by Toi Moore
By Toi Moore
(Below is an excerpt from the new book, Unbreakable - A Guide to Understanding Marriage & Relationships, by GREGORY and TOI MOORE. Below are Greg's views of how to keep the fire...
|
by Toi Moore
by Toi Moore
Ladies, ladies, ladies! You've all heard that a man likes a woman who's a lady in the streets and a freak in the bedroom, wellllllllll, do what you have to do to please your man and trust...
|
by Nina Gass
When the Unexpected Happens
Losing your home and years of treasured possessions to a fire, flood, earthquake, tornado, hurricane or home break-in can be devastating; not having a detailed list of those...
|
by Francesca Biller-Safran
If there were ever a time for a woman to feel truly empowered during mid-life, now would be a pretty good one. In the past, women have not been afforded either the time or luxury to lament dreams unfulfilled,...
|
by Francesca Biller-Safran
Accidents, schmaccidents! If anyone should be crowned Ms. Reigning queen of tripping on her own feet, even if at times just for comedy's sake, I'm your girl.
But what isn't so funny is the following line I...
|
by Francesca Biller-Safran
Accidents, schmaccidents! If anyone should be crowned Ms. Reigning queen of tripping on her own feet, even if at times just for comedy's sake, I'm your girl.
But what isn't so funny is the following line I...
|
by Debbie Milam
What things can you do this holiday season and throughout the year to de-stress and bring more joy into your life and the lives of your children?
--------------------------------------------------------
...
|
by Leon Baxter
People are always telling me I’ve got it easy as a writer. I work whenever I desire. I enjoy what I do. I’m wildly popular and sickeningly rich. But, my job isn’t as cushy as it might first seem. I have to be...
|
by Leon Baxter
The biggest cop-out gift is the coffee mug. When you don’t know what to get someone, the mug seems like the perfect choice. It’s safe, right? Everyone drinks, and it can be personalized with a catchy phrase or...
|
by Leon Baxter
I attended junior high school in a smoky, backwoods town, with a population of maybe 800 in the redwood forests of California during the very early eighties. Now, we didn’t have a lot going on in our community....
|
by Leon Baxter
Every year I fancy myself a Turkey-Virgin, and every year I fail to stay committed to my pledge. After the holidays I try to refrain from indulging in a turkey feast until Thanksgiving. Sure, I’ll have some...
|
by Leon Baxter
Let me just get it off my chest right here at the start: I’m all riled up! I’m ticked; I’m peeved; I’m pissed off. I’m ready to drum up signatures for a petition, to call my congressperson to pass a law, to...
|
by Leon Baxter
My wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary last week. She got me some black socks and a silk tie for work, a little man-purse that attaches to my belt for my cell phone, and, because the traditional...
|
by Gail Rubin
“Just a simple casket, that’s all I want,” my father-in-law told me. That’s not a whole lot of direction when you want to pre-plan a funeral for someone. Although he’s still alive to provide more input, he...
|
by Leon Baxter
I remember listening to a Bill Cosby comedy sketch as a kid. His wife was having a baby, and Bill’s job was cheerleader: “Push it out. Shove it out. Way out!”
Gentlemen, our roles in the delivery room have...
|
by Leon Baxter
By February half of all Americans have already thrown in the towel when it comes to their New Year’s Resolutions. Sometimes it’s just easier to forget about your broken promises and start again eleven months...
|
by Leon Baxter
Ah, young love. Do you remember first falling for your spouse? Those late nights talking on the phone? Surprising her with a dozen roses you picked up from the local flower stand? Skipping sleep to write him...
|
by Leon Baxter
So, my wife falls into the toilet last night, and she blames me... again. And, when I say “falls into the toilet”, I mean nothing of the kind. There’s actually no falling involved. No tripping. No stumbling....
|
by Leon Baxter
We’re not nearly as bright as we’d like to think we are. South Coast home prices are outrageous. You need to hock a major kitchen appliance just to fill up your tank with a few gallons of unleaded. Oh, sure, we...
|
by Leon Baxter
You know, surfing is more than catching a few waves and wearing flip-flops and board shorts. The sport has a vast history. It encompasses language, music, dance, film, and fashion. So, maybe you can get up on a...
|
by Leon Baxter
Expecting fathers want the best for their pregnant partners. But, unfortunately, sometimes we’re just romantically challenged. Please realize if we knew what to do to soothe you and to bring romance to these...
|
by Leon Baxter
They’re out there, right under our noses. They’re in line with us at the bank. They sit in the pew alongside ours at church. They teach our children in school. They fix our computers when we get that scary bomb...
|
by Leon Baxter
Take a look at the “byline”. See my name? Leon. Noel backward. When people find out I was born on December 24th, on Christmas Eve, they always ask me, “Did your parents do that on purpose?” No. It was an...
|
by Leon Baxter
As I look back today, I realize I never particularly liked Star Trek… nor dog food, for that matter. I was maybe four years old. It was the early seventies, and my father was the poster child for the ...
|
by Leon Baxter
I miss small, medium and large. Life was so much easier when we had only three sizes. You wanted to buy a T-shirt. If you were smaller than the general public, you got a small. If you were bigger than most of...
|
by Leon Baxter
When we hear the name Abraham Lincoln most of us think of the gentle-giant president, the Gettysburg Address, and the Emancipation Proclamation. Rarely do we see our sixteenth president as a romantic, but...
|
by Margie Palmer
New Relationship? Better Get “Gay-Co”
A Fifteen Minute Call Can Save You 50% Or More On Relationship Fallout Damages
Margie M. Palmer
In the current day and age, you pretty much need to have insurance for...
|
by Margie Palmer
3 Degrees of Lesbian Separation
Margie M. Palmer
Sooner or later we all have to face the fact that the gay community is pretty damn small, and in terms of the dating pool it's all but impossible to meet...
|
by Anne Iredale
Would You Buy A Fake?
A lot of people aspire to the designer laden lifestyle but haven’t got the cash to back it up. You could scrimp and save for that luxury purse or pair of shoes or you could fake it....
|
by Marilyn Anderson
I always thought art openings were cool places to meet men. They cater to an upscale crowd. Men who have an appreciation for the finer things in life. And whose interests extend beyond screaming at Laker’s...
|
by Bonnie Moret
Any level of stress or peace you experience is directly related to the level of stress or peace within. If you are at peace with yourself, the world will appear peaceful. Thus, the more peaceful your inner...
|
by Bonnie Moret
Quantum physicist Werner Heisenberg is famous for the Uncertainty Principle. Heisenberg believed that reality is what can be observed. If there are different observations, there must be different realities,...
|
by Robert Soloway
I just got back inside from mowing my lawn. I do this about once a month just to keep my neighbors from getting crazy. My next-door neighbor keeps her lawn like a putting green so I’m sure she thinks of my...
|
by Robert Soloway
I’m a fairly passive driver. I’m not a right lane, speed limit creep, but I’m rarely in the left lane tailgating at 75.
I like to think I have a good driving record, although it isn’t perfect. I have one...
|
by Robert Soloway
I watched a travelogue last night. I know that doesn’t sound thrilling and I could think of many things I would have rather been doing, but anyway, there I was.
This team was going to visit a primitive...
|
by Robert Soloway
There’s a joke about the doctor who needs a plumbing repair and when the plumber comes over the estimate is for $1000. The plumber tells the doctor it will take about a day. “Wow”, the doctor responds, I’m a...
|
by Melissa Pilgrim
How dirty are your guest towels? I don’t mean literally— putting out grimy pieces of cloth next to your bathroom sink wouldn’t be the intended impression you meant to give your guests by even taking them out...
|
by Jonathan Cook
I had always known that something was different with me. I never really thought much about it though. I thought that I was normal. For as long as I can remember, this was the way I felt. As I grew older, I...
|
by Brian Josepher
Ask B, Relationship Expert
Dear B,
I am a 44-year-old woman who has had many female lovers in her past. These days, I usually date men. The problem I have is determining when I should be honest about my...
|
by Brian Josepher
Ask B, Relationship Expert
Dear B,
There is this older lady I work with, we flirt way too much for it to be work. She is married. I say she is older because I’m 20 and she is 34. Recently, the flirting...
|
by Zachary Kaplan
Chain Shopping
We are consumers. I don’t mean in the food chain sense of the word. Although the statement rings true for that as well. I am referring to society’s inclination to own tons of miscellaneous...
|
by Robert Soloway
I haven’t been poor for a long time. I was poor, I guess, in graduate school, but that doesn’t feel like poverty. You know it’s temporary, and beside you and the people around you are so busy in academia, you...
|
by Robert Soloway
It’s a funny thing about getting poor. It creeps up on you. When my income first fell, I hardly noticed it. My clothes were still in pretty good shape. My car ran, my appliances worked, my roof was solid,...
|
by Brian Josepher
Bob is an old friend of mine. His 90th birthday was five months ago. He’s been an eyewitness to quite a century. The stock market crash of 1929, the resulting Great Depression, World War II, the Kennedy...
|
by Brian Josepher
Over the last few weeks, while my attention has swung from the election to the interregnum – and those preposterous comparisons to Lincoln and his cabinet, more on that in the future but aside from Doris Kearns...
|
by Jeff Bressler
I was recently invited to Chevron’s Richmond, California refinery with a number of other journalists to learn everything there is to learn about their Techron detergent top tier gasoline and packaged ...
|
by Jeff Bressler
Anyone who owns a home is certainly familiar with what their mortgage interest rate is. But a large number of drivers, who purchase cars that can cost $30,000 or more, cannot remember what their interest rate...
|
by Kyle Quesnoy
%img%
Leave it to BMW to once again break the mold for the typical crossover SUV design with its 2009 BMW X6. It wasn’t long ago that the Bavarian automaker created the SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) segment...
|
by Michael Hauser
The wave of every New Year brings with it an attitude of I can do anything. These declarations of a brand new you ring high and wide, among many, across dinner parties, family rooms, bars, and bedrooms. The...
|
by Michael Hauser
“Why don’t you have a girlfriend? Everyone thinks your gay.”
That’s what my younger brother Stephen said to me back in 1977.
And I’m thinking, “I’m 13 years old and my fucking younger brother is dating...
|
by Debbie Millican
%img%
I am a little bit of a neat freak myself and if you were to ask my youngest son, he would probably go so far as to say I’m mildly anal. I am the person in the office who can work circles around most...
|
by Debbie Millican
%img%
I have known conceited people in my lifetime, and I think we are all guilty of being a little vain. Look at how much money women spend every year on make-up, jewelry, and clothes, not to mention shoes. I...
| |