Craig's Corner

Its resolution season. 45% will make them this week and 8% will succeed at them. Losing weight, getting organized, spending less and saving more are the top three goals people have. I gave up on New Year’s resolutions some time back less out of frustration and more out of a realization that having self-improvement goals shouldn’t be tied to the calendar. A couple I know have a great tradition – on New Year’s Eve they write down their 10 resolutions for the upcoming year. They then open the resolutions from the prior year to see how they did. It’s a fun way to keep yourself accountable for a goal without all the hoopla. As we enter the 2016 political season, however, it’s all about hoopla. The media – television, newspapers, social media – have covered political campaigns like sporting events for more than a generation. Who’s up, who’s down is more important than what they stand for. The reason why a candidate supports a policy is far more interesting to speculate on than the is

Inspired by Major Henry Livingston Jr. (1748-1828)  (previously believed to be by Clement Clarke Moore) Liberally AND Conservatively adapted... 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the country Not a consensus was found, not even agreement; The issues were outlined by the pundits with care, In hopes that St. Freedom soon would be there; The politicians were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of re-election danced in their heads; And pappa in his earplugs, and I in my cap, Had just settled down for a long winter's nap, When out on the internet there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. Away to the windows I flew like a flash, Clicked open the laptop and logged in to see. The emails and videos of the candidates grew Gave the fact-checkers much work to do, When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny hopefuls, With a little old

I enjoy Star Wars – but am not a super fan. My partner is and we enjoyed all six movies (in episodic order) this week in anticipation for the first showing of Episode VII. Not everybody is a supporter of the George Lucas franchise – and that’s what makes America great. In America you’re supposed to be able to say “Star Wars is great” or “Star Wars sucks” and have it be ok. Spirited debate? Sure. It’s a little thing the founders thought of called the First Amendment. It was so important to them that it is, you know the  FIRST thing they agreed on to define the new country.  Too bad free speech is becoming a vestige of a galaxy long long ago. A middle-schooler wearing a t-shirt with a storm trooper holding a gun on it was banned from wearing the shirt. The school is in Texas . Texas! Texas is where you can wear a side arm to Starbucks or sling your shoulder rifle during a spree at Walmart. The ‘zero tolerance’ policy at schools takes no prisoners. Common sense isn’t part of the

I’m not book smart. I pick up things by watching and doing, less by studying and memorizing. This resulted in my being a mediocre student but a smart-ass wise-aleck in the classroom. Even though I learn a little differently than many, I have a deep appreciation for history. I agree with poet and philosopher George Santayana who said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." (Thanks Wikipedia !)  This has never been more true than today. Adolph Hitler  was an Austrian-born German politician who was leader of the Nazi Party, NSDAP), Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and Führer ("leader") of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. He was a decorated war veteran from World War I He gained popular support by attacking the Treaty of Versailles and promoting Pan-Germanism, anti-Semitism, and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and propaganda. He denounced international capitalism and communism as being part of a Jewish conspiracy.

We have a wonderful gift giving tradition in our family. My grandmother gave each of her grandchildren some money to buy presents at the holidays. Her premise was that there’s as much (if not more) joy and satisfaction in being the gift giver rather than the receiver. It stuck and I’ve been a giver ever since. In September I remember seeing the first holiday display go up in a store. People on social media bemoan the “early” start of the marketing and commercialization of the Christmas season. If nobody bought anything from that display until the beginning of December, it’s pretty much guaranteed that the displays would disappear until then. The marketplace is the decider. “Black Friday” has become its own event – rather than just a description accounting people use to describe the day after Thanksgiving when many retailers move from being in the ‘red’ to being in the ‘black’. Now there’s Pre-Black-Friday sales and Black-Friday specials all throughout November. It’s a

October 11 is National Coming Out Day .  I remember when it started in 1988 – it was a powerful positive program to affirm being LGBT in the face of the devastation of the AIDS crisis of the 1980’s. In short order it grew and became a national tradition that the Human Rights Campaign eventually took over and continues to run. I never much needed a day to “come out” as for most of the last quarter-century I’ve been affiliated with one LGBT organization or another making it easy to be out. I always appreciate having a day to celebrate the cause in such a positive way and remind the world of our difference. Today I run a non-profit with “gay” in its name. In the ordinary course of day to day life the result is that I am constantly coming out. (“What do you do for a living?” “I run ….”) I live in one of the more progressive and “accepting” areas of the world and have little issues when having these interactions. When I traveled  internationally recently it became an interesting refresh

I’m just back after two weeks away. A holiday. A vacation. A luxury that has been years in the making and planning. Sure my contract provides for three weeks of time off per year, but as a workaholic I’ve never quite been able to justify take the time, despite the support of the team I work with. In the past 3 years I’ve turned back (“use it or lose it”) over 6 weeks of time. I’m not alone. 500 million vacation days lapse each year according to The Boston Globe . The hectic and stressful preparation for being away is matched by the whirlwind and obligations upon the return. The time in between is worth it, especially if you can ‘check-out.’ I did stay connected every few days as that’d probably be more stressful than not – but I was able to really get into a different way of being for a while. With that perspective it was amazing to come back and see what happened in the world with some fresh eyes. The two weeks at the beginning of November is really a short period of time in th

I was a terrible waiter. The summer of my freshman year in high school I took a job as a waiter at a higher end restaurant. I figured if I was going to be a waiter I might as well do it for a place where the total bill was high – and therefore the tips would be high too. How delightfully naïve I was. The ultimate insult came not from being stiffed on the tip – there were plenty of justifications for that (“they forgot” “they didn’t like the food” etc.). It was when they would leave $0.10 or $0.25 or $1.00 on a $150 bill. It was a clear memo: we know we should tip but you were so horrible that you only deserve a few pennies. I think I lasted six weeks and spent most of them bussing tables rather than serving. Today I make it a punchline: I tell people this was when I learned that I preferred to be served rather than to serve! There’s a movement on that would change all that. Danny Meyer’s Restaurants (which runs establishments like Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe in New Y

I used to watch “ The Cosby Show ” as part of NBC’s “Must See TV” line-up on Thursday nights. It wasn’t one of those shows I absolutely had to watch, but if I was able to see it then I would watch it. It held the 8pm slot for all eight seasons and was an innocuous look at a upper middle-class family with issues – they just happened to be African American. The show was accessible to everybody, producing ratings and honors that previously hadn’t occurred. It won a bucket load of awards, including the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. The show lived on in syndication from 1997. In 2015, the last television syndicators stopped running the show, though it remains available on Hulu. Events of the last few years are unlikely to have ever been part of the show's premise. Bill Cosby, the show’s protagonist and namesake, had been a successful comedian and ad pitch man before taking on the role of Clifford Huxtable. After that, he continued to produce and star in television shows. He

In my fifth decade parts of my body remind me that I’m no longer in my second or third decade. Somewhere along the way I became that groaner – the one who expels a long breath/sigh after getting up. After a particularly long period of sitting at the desk I’ll rise and it’s like those old commercials for “Snap, Crackle and Pop.” I’m not complaining – I’m blessed with generally good health and most don’t think I’m anywhere near my actual age, which is always good for the ego if nothing else. Along the way, however, there are various things that have needed attention and as a result I take a couple of pills that those who are far brighter than I in such matters indicate that I need. Whether its my cynicism, bad luck or just the way the system works, it seems that the pills I’m on are always the ones that don’t have generic counterparts. My prescriptions therefore are quite pricey. I’m not alone. In September 2015 Martin Shkreli made significant news by raising the price of a drug

I joined America On-line in 1995. My account “name” was a series of numbers – you couldn’t personalize yet. I had a whole series of local phone numbers that the modem would try to connect to. After busy signals, the worst thing was the dreaded blue progress bar. The best thing was “You’ve Got Mail” calling out to you when you were connected. When spamming began a few years later I would naively reply back to each email with a polite “no thank you” or “remove.” Today my various accounts attract some 1,000 spams a week. AOL was responsible for moving the United States forward onto the information superhighway - at one point in the late 1990's half of all American's on the Internet came via AOL. The company was part of the largest merger in American history that nearly toppled and destroyed its acquirer/partner Time Warner. A variety of sales have occurred since then, the latest being Verizon buying the company in May 2015 for $4.4 billion. Today 2.1 million Americans contin