Category: Fourre-tout

Every day a “celebrity” trumpets that she is pregnant and proudly poses to show off her “baby bump”. Many of these nymphets are single. They have a “fiancé” waiting in the wings and will eventually get hitched (so they say) but it seems that is far more important to be in the limelight than anything else.

I am no moralist and I am not speaking out of high-mindedness; I am just tired of this ostentatious display of vanity.

Wanting to be a mother is perfectly natural, but experts agree that a toddler will be better off with two parents. Raising a child is serious business and requires at least two committed people (preferably four) to do the job properly.
Getting pregnant before securing a “bona fide” partner is akin to building a sand castle. At the first tremor, the whole edifice might fall apart and some “unlicensed” procreators might be tempted to run for cover.

Frankly my dear, I am tired of hearing about unwed “single moms”. They are wearing their label like a badge of honor and seem to expect special treatment. “I am a single soccer mom, let me through”.
Personally, I have no particular sympathy for “single moms”. It is a choice that they made and the world owes them absolutely nothing.

The problem is that if celebrities play this game, many impressionable young women will believe that there is nothing wrong with this practice. But the big difference between working stiffs and celebrities is that celebs have plenty of cash and can afford help; impressionable young girls, on the other hand, are often jobless, broke and on their own.

If this trend continues, the West is soon going to resemble Third World countries teeming with scores of fatherless kids.

Motherhood, by all means, but carefully planned motherhood. It is difficult to be a mom, but extraordinarily demanding to be a “single mom”.

Raising a family is difficult enough. But it’s even more difficult for single parents struggling to make ends meet. They don’t need more obstacles. They need more opportunities. Bill Richardson

Alain

What do you think? I would like to hear from you. To leave an opinion, click on the Leave a Reply link located under the media icons. Thank you.

Nobody likes to talk about death, but I just read an article suggesting that when you are pronounced clinically dead, you still can hear what is being said around you.
Blimey!

“Death just became even more scary: scientists say people are aware they’re dead because their consciousness continues to work after the body has stopped showing signs of life.”

Well, it would be very interesting to hear what people would say if after whispering: “I left a million dollars under…” you took the last train to glory.
The semi-defunct might hear things like Old bastard! Son of a motherless goat! Blundering buffoon! Fopdoodle! Ass dandruff!

As a general rule, I avoid talking ill about people I know. But in the past, I felt that I could speak more candidly about the dead. Not anymore it seems.
Now, for fear of hurting the corpse’s feelings, I will hesitate to say, “No big loss. He was a drunkard and a cheat.” I might be more nuanced in my appreciation.

The world is changing. When I was a young man, I never heard of transgenders; now it seems that they are popping up everywhere. Not That There’s Anything Wrong with That!
People of the same sex didn’t marry. Not That There’s Anything Wrong with That!
Nobody relied on a phone for directions or advice… Not That There’s Anything Wrong with That!

And what about parking? In my heyday parallel parking without power steering was quite a feat. Today a car can park itself… and even converse (and argue) with you.

So a still contemplative dead person would not be that extraordinary after all. Soon, the departed will be communicating with you through Siri.

Hey Siri, tell that dude in shorts to f**k off? He is getting too cheeky for my taste.

Alain

“For three days after death, hair and fingernails continue to grow but phone calls taper off.” Johnny Carson

Life generally speaking is driven by a series of dangling incentives; promises that motivate people to make a greater effort in exchange for monetary rewards.

While I don’t believe in the “carrot and stick” metaphor, I still think that carrots will prompt individuals to try harder at what they are doing.

The success of a pétanque tournament is often measured by its attendance. The promise of monetary gains will persuade players to attend a certain event while bypassing affairs with negligible financial incentive. They don’t have any motivation to drive 50 miles for the eventual reward of just a few bucks.

For many players (like me) this is not an issue. They come to a tournament for fun, for the sheer pleasure of competing with their peers. They know that they have little chance to progress to the finals or even the semi-finals of a tournament. But beating the odds is a powerful incentive and winning a tournament would be plenty a reward; a few additional bucks would just be the icing on the cake.

A select few have a good chance to win and be rewarded with cash. But nothing in life is certain except taxes and death. A few missteps or rugged opposition and the dream is over.
In my opinion, the larger the piñata, the greater the attendance. And that is what a club should strive for, maximum attendance.

This is why I favor the idea of a club always offering topmost financial rewards. The sponsoring club should keep a certain percentage of the purse for maintenance and unexpected expenses but return most of the gross money in cash prizes.

In my experience, “agitare la carota” always works. Dangle cash, and like common piafs attracted by breadcrumbs scores of contestants will show up.

“All I ask is the chance to prove that money can’t make me happy.” Spike Milligan.

Alain