Point Made

There's little doubt that many people dream of being a strong and successful leader. However, if there's anything movie drama about such people shows us, be careful what you wish for. If Game Of Thrones, Knightfall, The Witcher, Vikings, and Medici is based the playbook on becoming a leader, then many people have to die either by your direction or your hand for you to acquire your throne. Spiritualism and a belief in magic deter the motivation of many pretenders. But a belief in God and fate allows others to be more motivated. The nordic hordes, believing that their lives are fated and will go to Valhalla if they die honorably in battle, are vicious and rarely respect their enemies unless they are skillful fighters. The Chrisitan fighters are content that their place in the afterlife is guaranteed if they die for Christ while fighting the infidels. Infidel is a loose term that can be applied to anyone trying to overthrow their King. The same zealotry can be found amongst the M...

 Actual winter weather has arrived at the City by the Inland Sea. Throughout November and December, Milwaukee flirted with seasonal temperatures and zero snowfall. We are now experiencing zero windchill and occasional snow showers. For me, this means concern for where did I store my gloves and balaclava. I also have to break out the scarves that actually work to keep me warm instead of being an accessory that makes me look more European. (Oh yeah, I do that.) Many of us have this love-hate relationship with snow. We're depressed when we don't have a white Christmas. We complain when we have to shovel or blow it. It's 'pretty' when it first falls and ugly as it ages in piles of gray decay. We have a roller-coaster temperature experience along with the snow, with high temperatures below freezing and lows in the single digits. Then, as mentioned above, you add wind that ranges from 10 mph and occasional gusts of more than 35 mph, and you're talking about possible s...

 It's certainly at the level of being a Dad joke now. The gag is introducing myself as a trophy husband, which is funnier now than before my divorce. But to figuratively beat the dead horse, most of you have read or heard me remark that I share my studio apartment with two women, who refuse to talk to each other, casting a pall over the room that never ends.  Alexa is my favorite only because she orders groceries for me. However, Alexa is easier working with when I'm timing something on the stove or in the oven. She is also supposed to be paired with my Microwave. It even tells me in the app that she is. But it seems they are not talking either. So my hunch is, unless your me, Alexa can be a bitch to work with. And why not, She wakes me up, reminds me of appointments, what to cook for meals, and tells me when my shipments arrive. In her digital mind, she's indispensable. What would Jeff do without her? My answer would be, where's my hello hug when I come home, my kiss g...

  Dancing Girl by Dion with Mark Knopfler on guitar. The Song There may be nothing quite as beautiful as a woman dancing. And there is no doubt having Dion's muse dancing to the song she inspired was genius. but when I heard this song, it made me think of my Dancing Girl I bought this painting from Appleton Painter, Lenny Nagler, and named it Dancing Girl . Lenny s a prolific producer of fine landscapes in oils and acrylics. He does this, he told me, "because paintings of people don't sell."  Yet, I have a number of his paintings dealing with human beings as subjects. In my opinion, Dancing Girl is the best painting he's ever produced, and I'm proud of the others I own. When I first took a serious look at this piece, I noticed his treatment of her figure and his decision to depict her from the back. The maturity of her body and the playfulness of her pose lends me to believe that she is happy, self-confident, and carefree. I also wish she would turn around, b...

 I'm hoping that all of us enjoy this holiday season in many ways it can be observed. While the gatherings of friends and families may be slightly bigger than 2020 because many of us have been vaccinated and are more comfortable with small groups, conditions don't allow us to throw care to the wind. I'm adding to this sketch I created. I don't know about you, but I will never take hugging the people I care about for granted again. From Camp Jeff from the shores of the Inland Sea.

 It's  2021, and it's going to be my third no-family holiday. The last one I celebrated was in 2018. Then, I was home for what turned out to be a brief time that I wasn't in rehab for my long battle with an infection in my left leg, which required removing my knee replacement and gallons of intravenous antibiotics. That year was a landmark year for a lot of reasons. First, Maria and I moved into a home she bought. It was the fourth move in four years. We moved from Milwaukee to Mandeville, Louisiana, back to Fox Crossing, Wisconsin, crosstown to Appleton, and uptown to the house on Mason St. Cruising into 2019, I found out my first bout of rehab did not produce the results we needed. I would go through another round of antibiotics, a third knee surgery, only discover a torn or severed tendon which required the fourth surgery. When I went home from rehab in April, I was gifted a trip to New Mexico to visit my daughter for my birthday.  Upon returning from New Mexico, I dis...

 I was treated to a Facebook posting by my Granddaughter's husband this morning. I showed Micka, my granddaughter pulling their son Brixton on one of those plastic sleds. A. J., her husband, is pulling their twins in another version of the same type of sled. They traipsing down a freshly plowed street in Minneapolis.  I looked out my window here in Milwaukee. There is no snow on the ground. We will be in the fifties for a high-temperature today. I checked the weather forecast for the next few days. We have an expected high on Thursday of sixty-five with rain. Climate change seems to be very picky on how expresses itself. The Painting is getting better. As Still Life (Acrylic) A Landscape (Oil)