This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Time flies like an arrow
Kevin E. Dayhoff

As I’ve grown older, the joy of the Christmas season has slowly but surely become overshadowed with pressure and chaos. Certainly not to be overlooked is the emphasis on the materialism and over-consumption that has insidiously eroded the joys of the season.


Mountain Climbing and Orchid Hunting
Tom McLaughlin
Santubong, Sarawak – The condo is like most in Ocean City. Thirty floors contained two sections. I am on the 13th. There are no others like them in this area nor can others be built because of the rainforest which is now a national park.


Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Whistling in the Dark
Roy Meachum
Among all presidents, George W. Bush appears the champion; he whistles in the dark best. The old expression may not be used much these days; it means making noises to scare possible boogey men away.


More Regulations, Less Result
Farrell Keough
When we were last together, we discussed the iconic imagery subtext replete within the film It’s a Wonderful Life. The pleonasm of this previous discussion was self-serving and self-evident, yet constructive in its perspicacious appraisal.


Monday, December 15, 2008
When American Cars Were King
Steven R. Berryman
American cars manufactured by the big three automakers are case studies of what not to do in a competitive environment. When engineering creativity and innovation fall by the wayside, what you get is a “car by consensus” aimed at the widest possible audience that – in the end – satisfies nobody.


Friday, December 12, 2008
Counting All Students
Roy Meachum
My position on illegal immigrants differs slightly from Sheriff Charles "Chuck" Jenkins' and, of course, County Commissioner John "Lennie" Thompson's.


ACLU Wants Wall around DC
Joe Charlebois
Now the Maryland chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has stepped into the illegal immigrant fray. Why?


Thursday, December 11, 2008
Here's the Answer! – A Review
Roy Meachum
If there's anything wrong about the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of "Twelfth Night," I simply didn't catch it. This is the most consistently comedic I've seen of any of the Bard's comedies.


Time for An Adjustment
Tony Soltero
Seventy-five years ago this month, America put an end to the most ill-advised and misguided social-engineering experiment in its history. With the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, the nation rectified the reactionary mistake made by the 18th Amendment and repealed Prohibition.


It’s All Corn
Patricia A. Kelly
Our country is under siege. We’re dropping like flies from obesity, coronary artery disease, type II diabetes, etc. Even our children are affected, with many diseases traditionally associated with aging showing up in them.


Wednesday, December 10, 2008
In Your “Koobface”
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last week I had all the pleasure and honor to be among the 120 million users of the social networking web site “Facebook” who were targeted by a computer virus known by the unusual name of “Koobface.”


Maryland in the Borneo Newspaper?
Tom McLaughlin
KUCHING, Borneo – Still sleepy and in the early dawn hours, I sat in a Chinese coffee shop in downtown Kuching. The thick black Sumatra liquid, with a finger of white condensed milk on the bottom in the clear cup, had yet to be stirred.


Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Eric Shinseki as Prophet
Roy Meachum
You might not remember Eric Shinseki's name. Among Army troops he's mildly infamous for ordering all ranks to wear berets. He's now been named by the incoming administration as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. That could never happen while Richard Cheney exercised power in the vice president's office.


Who Thought This Up?
Farrell Keough
Why is it that It’s a Wonderful Life seems to continuously play from Thanksgiving until Christmas Day? Is this some evil plot by Big TV to drive us crazy during this season? Or is it some other ghastly plot of excess?


It’s Good to Be a Teacher … Part 2
Nick Diaz

“Ten Reasons Why I Envy Teachers” is the title of an article by a New England psychologist, Dr. Michael G. Thompson. In my last installment, I referred to this piece as the basis to my assertion that teachers are, indeed, people who should be envied.

20081217 This week in The Tentacle