http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world Chuck's World RSS Feed http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2012-02-01_everything_old_is_new_again There oughta be a word, and I oughta be able to make it up. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2012-02-01_everything_old_is_new_again http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2012-01-25_steal_this_column_ I admire the writer John Scalzi for several reasons, including his impressive body of work and the fact that he is the father of a 13-year-old girl. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2012-01-25_steal_this_column_ http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2012-01-18_a__snowy__blast_from_the_past When the average person ponders Greek philosophers, most of whom are now dead, we tend to skip over the really interesting ones and focus on the empiricists. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2012-01-18_a__snowy__blast_from_the_past http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2012-01-11_digging_into_the_disorder Wallace Amos is an American success story by any measure. A child of a broken home, Wally dropped out of high school to join the Air Force, where he had a distinguished career. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2012-01-11_digging_into_the_disorder http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2012-01-04_let_s_resolve_it I entered 2012 the same way I left it, by which I mean wearing the same clothes. So no big deal. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2012-01-04_let_s_resolve_it http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-12-28_looking_up__looking_away_and_looking_back_at_2011 There’s something to be said for waiting in line, something that probably shouldn’t be printed in a family newspaper. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-12-28_looking_up__looking_away_and_looking_back_at_2011 http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-12-21_so_this_is_christmas It was an easy climb, at least for a skinny teenager. One foot on a concrete fence, the other on a small shed. It was all in the legs, and in seconds I was on the roof. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-12-21_so_this_is_christmas http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-12-14_feeling_the__actual__love An old friend met me for coffee in Edmonds last Saturday, and as we stood on the sidewalk afterward in the drizzle, wrapping things up, I pointed out the Edmonds Bookstore just down the block. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-12-14_feeling_the__actual__love http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-12-07_the_love__actually_project_ A couple of times a year, I make tacos for myself. It could be more than a couple of times, since I’m thinking that saturated fat has an effect on my memory. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-12-07_the_love__actually_project_ http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-11-30_catching_some_zs_this_holiday_season There are people in this world who would not take kindly to your observation that they appear to be losing weight, but statistically speaking these are people you don’t know. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-11-30_catching_some_zs_this_holiday_season http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-11-23_old_habits__new_movies According to AARP, an otherwise reputable organization, I am some sort of senior citizen. This is ridiculous, as loyal readers know. I’m barely past adolescence. I haven’t picked a major yet. I’m this close to moving back in with my parents. I eat CRAZY stuff. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-11-23_old_habits__new_movies http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-11-16_the_least_of_these It was a dark and stormy night. In the distance, a dog was barking. Could have been a couple of dogs. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-11-16_the_least_of_these http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-11-09_generalizing_generations Thirty years ago, as three former U.S. Presidents – Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon – gathered for a photograph, Sen. Robert Dole made an observation. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-11-09_generalizing_generations http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-11-02_facial_hair_and_the_secret_lives_of_fruit_flies My daughter, at the age of 26, began graduate school this fall. I approve of this for several reasons, among them my general belief in higher education and my other general belief in things I don’t have to pay for. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-11-02_facial_hair_and_the_secret_lives_of_fruit_flies http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-10-26_margin_call_at_the_movies The sign was pretty clear, as far as signs go. Big. Bright. Flashing. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-10-26_margin_call_at_the_movies http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-10-19_dancing_with_the_future I’m a skeptic when it comes to memories, mine in particular, having been burned a few times in this column. Meaning I’ve written about something that happened years ago, only to be corrected after publication by a person who shall remain nameless but has the initials My Mom. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-10-19_dancing_with_the_future http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-10-12_a_decade_of_no_dents__just_friends There was a sense of irony in last week’s news, but that’s as far as I’m willing to go. “Irony” is a loaded term, policed as it is by word-usage authorities (i.e., anyone who likes to comment online), and as much fun as it is to annoy those people I want to be accurate. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-10-12_a_decade_of_no_dents__just_friends http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-10-05_the_once_and_future_me In this house, October rides in on syllabi, as if a strong September wind blew through an open window and scattered many, many pieces of white paper. I live with a college professor who spends all summer thinking about her fall classes and then most of an autumn weekend printing stuff out. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-10-05_the_once_and_future_me http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-09-28_when_autumn_falls_on_a_friday I’ve found myself thinking of Kurt Vonnegut’s calendar recently. The late Mr. Vonnegut, at various times and places throughout his long career, suggested that four seasons weren’t enough, that we needed to insert two more into our annual line-up. These would bracket winter, as I remember, and he called them Locking and Unlocking. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-09-28_when_autumn_falls_on_a_friday http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-09-28_living_with_ill_fitting_genes I see my father all the time. It’s been eight years since he passed away, and still I recognize him, on the street, in the store, walking by. Not so much in the mirror, but sometimes mirrors can be tricky. http://mukilteobeacon.com/chuck-s-world/article.exm/2011-09-28_living_with_ill_fitting_genes