A craftsman I am not, although I can use some tools to complete certain tasks without major injury or property damage. Give me a pair of pliers and I will grip or twist or bend whatever needs gripping, twisting, or bending. Give me a screwdriver and I will screw and unscrew until (more…)
Before the mid-20th century decorative art was the exception, reserved for those looking to exalt wealth and status. Back then walking through a well-appointed manor was like strolling through an eclectic gallery accompanied by a guide with the social awareness of a melon and the subtlety of a gorilla.
I was just minding my own business…
“I shot this big fella during a safari on the Serengeti two summers ago,” the host bragged while pointing at (more…)
Take a moment and reach back to your childhood. Remember waiting for that special thing to happen, that special thing which you knew was going to happen. Remember how time seemed to crawl like a slug through thick, unforgiving mud. Remember the feeling of waiting waiting waiting for it to arrive, then the unmistakable sensation somersaulting in your tummy like the Flying Wallendas which accompanied the wait. Maybe it was (more…)
These guys are not trying to manipulate you in any way.
The timing of this topic is simply too sweet to be coincidental. Too. Sweet. Citing examples of language employed to manipulate others, what with it being the sprint to the election finish line and all, is like setting Susie Sweettooth loose in a chocolate factory with a bib and a dream. Just open the door and all hell breaks loose. A quick review of what the candidates have said and continue to say as they grapple for their political lives can be accomplished in minutes, seconds really. Far, far too easy. Surely an ugly underbelly, an insidious subtext, must exist which will blow this whole “lucky” timing thing to smithereens and turn the tables of buffoonery on those who gleefully point out the creative use of “candidate speak.” Perhaps it lies in a rarely enforced covenant of the Patriot Act which allows federal agents to (more…)
Yeah, it sucks having less money than other people, particularly when it is blindingly clear some of those wealth-basking folks are absolute Class A numskulls. It can be baffling tracing the egregious steps which resulted in you being more of a “have-not” than a “have”, especially when you bear witness to the goofy behavior of these well-to-do nincompoops. Understandably, context is a difficult construct when you are putt-putt-putting along in your cranky 14 year old two-tone Plymouth Neon, attuned to every creak, cling and clang emitting from (more…)
Ahhh, gift giving. The art of showing a person how you feel by negotiating the tricky minefield of buying tangible goods for them. Gift giving, in all of its manifestations, is a capitalist’s wet dream.
Gift giving comes in four flavors. Certainly multiple offshoots exist within each flavor, but when you (more…)
Remember when you were told as a child never to pull a loose string hanging from a sweater? Remember how you were warned if you pulled it the whole sweater would unravel? Remember how tempted you were to pull it anyway, how it pleaded to be yanked? And remember how you finally succumbed to that irresistible urge only to discover what you had been told all along was the truth? You didn’t understand the breadth of the connection between (more…)
The argument for marriage essentially boils down to one of four reasons, or a combination thereof.
– Love
– Security
– Companionship
– Unplanned Pregnancy
Love is a slippery, tricky beast, ain’t it? Physically grabbing onto a chunk of love so you can hold it in your hands and examine it as a (more…)
Trask Avenue 
common threads #16: thumb sucking
Posted: October 9, 2021 in Humorous Bits, Observations and CommentaryTags: behavior, Common Threads, humor, humour, life, stress, thumb sucking
The sucking reflex associated with survival disappears early, generally after four months. Yet the pleasurable sensations associated with it don’t just evaporate like a barista when you absolutely cannot get through the next 30 seconds without a triple mocha Frappuccino. The cravings it satisfies – comfort, security, contentment – remain powerful. Substitutes are needed to fill the gap, both in your mouth and psyche. People who study these things call post-infant thumb sucking a non-nutritive sucking habit. The fastest and most readily available understudy is your thumb. It is literally (more…)