Notes From A Bear's Journey

     We may be at a medical crossroads as political camps once again split...do we or don't we trust the medical world these days?  More specifically, the pharmaceutical companies?  It would appear that we have grown so used to taking a pill and poof, we've lost weight or our persistent rash has vanished.  And one has to admit that pharmaceutical ads are everywhere, from streaming between movies, to print & digital, so much so that most of us can't wait for these actor-portrayed ads (why can't they use actual patients?) to end so we can get back to our show (anyone else tired of Harold and his bow-tie?).  Okay, we know the possible side effects are many, so many that those side effects end up being most of the ad, sort of ignoring that most of those side effects were discovered through animal testing.  But hey, aren't my plump lips and mannequin-forehead worth it?  And if I actually do have a side effect, I can always see my doctor "right...

      We all seem to love surprises, well, as long as they're not the coming home early from work, type; or the FBI breaking down your front door type.  But that pleasant, unexpected gift or announcement (or promotion) is always --or at least if you're not too old and your ticker is still quite strong-- a welcoming bright spot to your day.  It's the same when you read something or are told something that you never knew, or didn't expect: Mabel did what??  My car will cost how much to fix??  You're pregnant??  But none of that here, although it is time for me to unload a bunch of miscellaneous tidbits from my readings or watchings.  And what better place to start than with a brothel...    Photo: Brotheler       Back in the day, the Mustang Ranch was the premier, or at least most known, legal brothel in Nevada.  We high school teenagers fantasized of telling our buddies that of course we'd been there and had had t...

     To those who may have read earlier posts of mine, you know that every now and I then I veer off track and vent, almost out of necessity as if I've become an old-time steam locomotive about to derail.  It doesn't happen often but every now and then, it just does.  And you also know that once all that steam is let out, all is calm for awhile and everyone reading can sort of breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that whatever topic bothered me would fade away enough to let me get back to whatever the title subject was of the post, which in this case is truly about cows and beef.  However, speaking of cattle, here's my real beef (here goes, so skip by this rant or bravely read on) -- this whole Iran "war" and the alleged threat of its nuclear enrichment program : wasn't it Trump himself who pulled the US  out  of the agreed nuclear agreement with Iran back in 2018, one in which members of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) were allowed f...

          In many ways I chide myself for not knowing more about clouds, although this post isn't really about that since I've written about clouds in earlier posts.  Still, is it cirrus or circus, cumulus or columbus?  Strata something, but I can only think of those classic guitars.  But once outside, I look up quite often, that "picture show for free thing," the clouds changing as often as the sunrises or sunsets. Some days the skies are stunningly spectacular, and on other days they are almost blank, as if having all been called back inside after recess at school.  I mention storm clouds in the title because we did have our first storm in a long time, my state in the West being in that megadrought and all.  And with the storm came snow which snarled streets and had plow operators work overtime; but the snow also brought a sigh of relief to everyone.  Spring was truly acting as if it were around the corner with some tulip and daff...