Russia

Hobbes was wrong. Life is not nasty, brutish and short. Life is nasty, and brutish, but long enough to embrace civic grace, public good and a life of purpose. By coming together in 2021 we can turn a horse chestnut into a chestnut horse, and join Dinah Washington in singing, "This bitter earth may not be so bitter after all."

My philosophy? Ok… Maybe a few questions: After long evaluation, I have decided to write down some of my philosophy and personal thoughts, politics included, which may or may not be agreed with.

The featured speaker at Monday's Carson City Democratic luncheon will be Patricia Ackerman, Democratic candidate for Nevada's 2nd Congressional District (CD-2). An Emerge Nevada graduate, Patricia ran an aggressive Assembly campaign against District 39 Republican Jim Wheeler in 2018.

This Saturday I will drive a good friend with 93 years of knowledge to our voting place where we will cancel each other out. It's the American way. Voting is the most American thing we do. My mother and father took great delight in canceling each other every four years without damaging their sweet relationship in the least.

The featured speaker at Monday's Democratic luncheon will be Patricia Ackerman, Democratic candidate for Nevada's 2nd Congressional District (CD-2). An Emerge Nevada graduate, Patricia ran an aggressive Assembly campaign against District 39 Republican Jim Wheeler in 2018.

In Episode 3 of Carson City Symphony’s Project Euterpe, Conductor David Bugli introduces the Rimsky-Korsakov String Quartet from St. Petersburg, Russia, playing "Nocturne" from Alexander Borodin's String Quartet No. 2.

This recital was performed in a Carson City home on March 15, 2019, and features Mikhail Bondarev and Ekaterina Belisova, violin; Alexi Popov, viola; and Anton Andreev, cello.

Trousers came into being when it was discovered, before Christ, that hand-to-hand combat was most unpleasant while wearing a robe, not to mention the discomfort endured while riding a horse while wearing a robe.

What the world needs now is a strong shared narrative that transcends politics, a strong shared narrative that transcends "us verses them" and guess what? That very thing is in the skunkworks. I can't tell you exactly what it is, for that would jinx the whole mission, but it's coming our way soon, perhaps by the end of January. Stay tuned to these pages.

The featured speaker at Monday's Carson City Democratic luncheon will be Patricia Ackerman, a Democratic primary candidate for Nevada's 2nd Congressional District.

Time to put a log on the fire, crank up Vince Gueraldi's "Linus & Lucy" and invite the neighbors in for an egg nog. It matters not weather those neighbors are Christian or atheist, white or of color, so long as they have good-fellowship in their hearts and a smile in their eyes.

In this long life of mine, nothing looms larger in my memory than riding the perfect wave, well, almost nothing. I could have been a Nick Beck if I hadn't fallen off my board. I used to watch Nick and Joey Cabell surf Cannons off the north shore of Kauai, and wish I could surf like that.

The popular sentiment this holiday season seems to be, "I'm going to save so much money this Christmas by talking politics at Thanksgiving."

I visited a performance center in Richmond, California last week and came away mightily impressed. How's this for a mission statement:

In human years our sun is 38 years old, so in another five billion years it will run out of gas, and without any emotion to speak of, will accidently vaporize its old friend the Earth. But do not despair. An insurance policy is on the way. By then we will have figured out how to move to a new neighborhood — a new universe, for we are explorers.

I had the honor of meeting some young authors at Edgewood Tahoe Resort the other evening, and was heartened to discover that the spirit of Mark Twain is alive and well, as represented by this handful of today's writers who invoke a Twainian sentiment.

It has been said that women don't sweat, they glow. Well, Mother Nature is starting to glow. While greed and conspicuous consumption thrive, carbon emissions continue to cook our planet. And so it becomes our solemn duty to leverage the power of markets, contain climate crisis, and rescue our Earth Mother.

Red Wing, Minnesota is the cutest town I ever saw. You can't see it without falling in love with it. I wanted to fold it up and take it home with me. They make shoes there, comfortable, sensible shoes. I was reminded of what my mother told me, "Honey, always have a good pair of shoes and a good bed, 'cuz you're either in one or the other."

The river life is a good life. Mississippi River life is as good as it gets, and when you're pretending to be Mark Twain it gets even better, as you become the one and only unfettered monarch in America, no matter what anybody else says. And fun? As Huckleberry might like to say, "I reckon not."

I fell in love last November with some ducks who marched in perfect procession down a red carpet to a fountain in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, and jumped in. They do it every day, and have been doing it for 85 years. To see it, well, it's enough to make an ogre smile.

The future of our world shines ever so bright, and the good energy is ever so palpable, as we welcome 75 Fulbright Scholars from 47 countries to America. These are the best and the brightest and they will do great things.

Lake Tahoe is a gateway for these young superstars, thanks to the Northern Nevada International Center and UNR.

There is no truth, as it turns out, to the rumor that Russian hackers plan to set off every car alarm in America at the same time, effectively making every man, woman and child crazy as a loon.

I know there is no truth to this rumor because I made it up. Still, we have to believe there are far worse scenarios brewing out there. The question remains, who is smarter, the good hearted cyber security folks, or the badass criminal hackers? It probably changes from week to week.

While in a wistful mood of late, I've been listening to the music of Miss Dinah Washington, who was on her seventh husband when she died of an overdose of alcohol and weight reduction pills at age 39, so young.

Dinah had a soft as cotton, tough as leather sound of someone who had seen more in her 39 years than you or I will ever see.

As Thomas Paine professed, "These are the times that try men's souls." Thomas must be spinning like a lathe. The framers of the Constitution had George Washington in mind when they entrusted authority to the office of chief executive. The framers could not have imagined a Donald Trump, even with stimulants.

My heroes will soon be floating away on a slab of ice with no internet, no phone service and no days off. These are the hearty scientists from 17 nations willing to ride around on an ice flow for months on a stretch, amidst the fastest changing climate in the world, the North Pole.

Will you agree with me that most people are good-hearted? Even robocallers, when they are done antagonizing the general public, must go home to their loving families and their loving dogs. Even tailgaters, when they are done terrorizing the general public, must go home to their loving families and their loving dogs. Well, maybe not tailgaters.

Shoe Tree Brewing Co. in Carson City received two Bronze Medals at the U.S Open Beer Championship held in Oxford, Ohio. Breweries from Russia to Rhode Island sent in more than 7,000 beers representing over 130 different styles for the 2019 U.S. Open Beer Championship.

While waiting in line for a lift ticket this past winter I passed the time by whistling, "Born to Lose." I don't know why I was whistling that particular Ray Charles song, though I'm sure a psychiatrist could tell me. Be that as it may, a mother and young son were walking by when the little guy asked, "Mom, why is that man whistling?"

"Because he's happy, Honey," she answered with a smile.

For those of us old enough to remember King George, his wrath, and our grievances, well, bearing witness to the list of monarchies still in existence in the 21st century is enough to make a cow laugh. How can you not do anything udder than laugh out loud at a king, a queen, a duke or an earl when their countries trot them out for our admiration?

The U.S. Open returned to Pebble Beach earlier this month and all the talk was about the par three cliffside 7th hole, a charming peninsula that sticks out into the ocean 100 yards below the tee box, and looks ever so inviting -looks that are deceiving. With a stiff onshore breeze you might want to tee off with a three iron. With no wind, which is rare, you might want a wedge.

Swathed in an elegant suit of red, white and blue and enveloped by a huge crowd of the same beautiful hues, President Donald J. Trump announced his re-election campaign Tuesday night.

After reviewing the failures and treachery of his opposition and the Fake News, he counted at length the accomplishments of the American people and his administration. He ushered in the summer of our politics, economy and culture and outlined the challenges we face and how we will Keep America Great.