The Senior Slant

The world is changing and evolving at a tremendous pace. Technology has changed the way we work, how we communicate and socialize with one another, and the way we get information. Technology has even opened up new avenues for making money or breaking into a new industry. It seems like there’s no end to what technology can do to improve our lives. So what about in our homes? Every year, new tech products can make life at home so much easier. This article will look at some of the tech gadgets that everyone should have in their home! [Read more]

Ah yes, the occasional squabble between husband and wife over some issue so unimportant it’s too embarrassing to admit, as in “You left the light on in the kitchen” or “Why didn’t you pick up the mail when I asked you to?”  In reply, I have two options.Option one: “So I forgot… “followed by a pugnacious “What’s the big deal?”   (Dumb! Don’t even think it! Pandora’s Box will open wide!).Option two: “Sorry, hon, I wasn’t thinking…” followed by “My bad, I’ll do it now.”  (Smart! Realize wife worked all day. Quickly conclude a smidgeon of humble pie is zillion times preferable to pie thrown in face).Life is short, my friend! And I have learned time and time again that taking a stand over a petty issue is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person...

I was watching Saturday Night Live recently, enjoying the skits, when the host introduced the evening’s musical guest, Young Thug. I listened, moved closer to the set and listened more intently. This was music?What had I missed along the way from Dick Haymes to Sam Cooke to the Beatles? Evidently, I went deaf after Whitney Houston. Lollapalooza comes to Chicago, and I know about two or three of the acts and ninety-seven are from Mars. Playboi Carti? Modest Mouse? I’m about as relevant as a party-line, wall-mounted, rotary telephone. But then I get to thinking. My parents, who shimmied to “Minnie the Moocher” and smooched to “The Way You Look Tonight,” must have thought I was lobotomized when I wore out the linoleum to “Twisting the Night Away.” (Let me explain, Mom, “Chickinsl...

There are days when I wake up feeling hopelessly despondent and about as relevant as a party-line, wall-mounted, rotary telephone.  That’s my daily challenge, to resist the self-deprecating tendency to think I have nothing left to live for; no value to contribute; no purpose whatsoever for still hanging around.I have to remind myself that I am not suffering from the creeping hell of something like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or living under a viaduct trying to survive by begging for quarters with a crumbling Starbucks cup.I take a shower instead of a pity bath.  And as the disturbing headlines and distasteful tweets that greet us every morning grow in number, I take my place on the side of love.As I’ve grown older I’ve learned that vulnerability is strength, no...

The slant - The insanity of the Trump administration's stance on climate change was baffling. Merging the environmental disaster that looms in the future with the finances of obsolete industries was despotism for gain at its worst. President Biden convened leaders of the world’s most powerful countries on Thursday to try to spur global efforts against climate change by cutting emissions. “Meeting this moment is about more than preserving our planet,” Biden declared, speaking to a virtual summit of 40 world leaders, “It’s about providing a better future for all of us,” he said, calling it “a moment of peril but a moment of opportunity.”

The slant - Blah blah blah. For all his bluster and barbaric human rights violations the fact remains that Russia, while a formidable military foe, is no match against the US when the battle comes down to economic and financial arenas. And even as Putin lashed out at foreign enemies real or perceived in a state-of-the-nation speech on Wednesday, tens of thousands of Russians defied a heavy police presence to pour into the streets to challenge his rule. In Moscow, some gathered across the street from the Kremlin to chant, “Go Away!” It was a snapshot of Russia in the third decade of the rule of a leader facing an increasingly angry and desperate opposition.

The slant - Dear Republican readers. Getting vaccinated has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with saving lives. Your neighbors' lives. The nation cannot achieve what is called 'herd immunity' if you refuse to be part of the populace that plays by the rules. About 31 percent of adults in the United States have now been fully vaccinated but 70 to 90 percent of the total population must acquire resistance to the virus to reach herd immunity. In counties with low rates the disparity has mainly broken down along political lines.

The slant - Calls for racial justice touched nearly every aspect of American life on a scale that historians say has not happened since the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The “Black lives matter” slogan was claimed by a nation grappling with Mr. Floyd’s death. But for many Black Americans, real change feels elusive. There is backlash to the George Floyd verdict. Republican-controlled state legislatures have proposed bills to reduce voting access, protect the police and effectively criminalize public protests. It is not clear how the nation will tilt in the coming years. But one thing is clear, we will forever look back at this moment in American history.

The slant - Privately owned SpaceX is making progress to popularize space travel. The ability to re-use rockets and capsules is first step to affordability. The commercial flights have ended the U.S.’s reliance on Russian rockets, which is a good thing. The private company already has put six people in space, as many as NASA’s Project Mercury did back in the early 1960s when it launched the first Americans. The upcoming flight will boost that number to 10.

The slant - Where did the idea come from that the pandemic was over, or even waning. Covid-19 infections have risen at an alarming rate for eight consecutive weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned, as the virus sweept unabated through hotspots in several corners of the globe. More than 5.2 million new cases were recorded last week and deaths also increased for the fifth straight week as the pandemic officially claimed more than 3 million lives. The warning counters unfounded optimism that the end is in sight as the pace of the pandemic accelerates even as some countries tout their own improved vaccination programs.