If you’ve seen the drama Manchester by the Sea, you will understand why Michelle Williams is such a strong contender for her first Academy Award. A certain scene on a town street where Williams’ character encounters her ex-husband (played by Casey Affleck) is a brief but brilliant depiction of two heartbroken people, lost souls whose lives will never be the same apart as they were together. Williams really isn’t in the film all that much, but that key moment lingers.
On Friday, January 20, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. The federal government’s current fiscal condition will limit Trump’s ability to substantially change economic policy; Social Security and Medicare comprise 50 percent of the federal budget. National defense and interest on the national debt comprise another 25 percent. Thus, 75 percent of the federal budget is essentially on auto-pilot before Trump takes office while the other 25 percent includes things such as income security, education and transportation, things unlikely to be substantially changed. Unless Trump is willing to cut entitlements or defense, which thus far he seems uninterested in doing, I would not expect substantial changes in government spending in his administration.
February is a month for hearts, flowers, and of course … groundhogs. Yes, you can be certain that everywhere you go until around the 15th of this month, the world will be awash with heart-shaped everything, and a whole lot of red and pink. Count on it.
Falling halfway between the winter solstice and spring equinox, February 2 – Groundhog Day – has roots in the ancient European tradition, Candlemas Day (the Christian festival of lights). The weather on that day was considered a predictor of when winter would end. An old English song goes, “If Candlemas be fair and bright/Come, winter, have another flight.”
Football fans all around the country eagerly await the annual contest between the champs of the NFC and AFC … the final game of the National Football League season and the year’s biggest sporting event – the Super Bowl. I have to admit, I’m not a big football fan, but I love to watch the Super Bowl! There is something special about watching the “best of the best” compete, and gathering with friends and family to cheer for your favorite team. Or, maybe I like it because of the abundance of yummy food that is involved (not to mention a friendly wager among friends and football squares). In any event, much of the world will be watching on February 5 as the Atlanta Falcons take on the New England Patriots.
When it comes to museums, I am spoiled. Some of my favorite haunts are not necessarily big-gunners like The Louvre or the Met, but I’ll visit the Mauritshuis in the Hague, the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, or the Art Institute of Chicago over and over again. So, on a recent trip to Los Angeles, the idea of spending some leisure hours at the Getty Center Museum was more than welcome.
A news story I just read reports that young people are starting to have their tattoos removed and their piercings spackled over (or however it is that doctors fix such things).
This winter, Americans will file their Income Tax returns and eagerly await their refunds. According to the IRS, the average tax refund is $3,120. Rather than do something “fun” with that money, Americans should use their refunds to save or pay down debt.
If you’ve ever watched film footage of a Beatles concert – and, once the Fab Four began to hurtle toward legend, there weren’t really all that many – you’ll notice that what you see and hear are out of sync. There are four young men mouthing words and playing on stage, but why is it that all you hear are the screams of young women?
I have been to California a few times – San Francisco, Napa, lots of wine country gallivanting and Bay Area exploring. But visiting Los Angeles always seemed, to be honest, a little daunting.
Roughly two months have passed since the election, and things appear to have calmed down. The chance for an overturn of the voting results looks very minimal with the inauguration of President Elect Trump around the corner. Agree with him or not, the stock market has made a move higher, as assumed economic growth policies are igniting hope in the hearts of investors. Whether these “policies” become real is yet to be determined; but, truth and time tell all. In my previous article, I referenced that the last time Republicans controlled Congress, the Senate, and the Oval Office was in 1928. Back then, the market shot higher for roughly a year before entering the Great Depression. I do not believe that history always repeats itself, but it does tend to rhyme.
Something I know how to do very well is spin my wheels. I’ve analyzed it every-which-way, and I think I finally figured out why I can get stuck or fail at a goal, or a New Year’s Resolution, for that matter.
