Today marks the 1 month anniversary of Upscale Shack. A milestone of sorts, I started this blog on a whim, with very little thought about what I would post, or how often, but it has started to take on a life of its own in only a month’s time. Big thanks to all my followers and loyal readers, this is for you! Continue reading “Friday Music and Happy Birthday!”
Confessions of a literary snob
Question for discussion: Is it better to read anything, no matter how bad it is, than to read nothing at all? Continue reading “Confessions of a literary snob”
You know what? F*#@ Columbus
Hooray, it’s time again to celebrate the man who got lost, washed ashore on a land that had already been inhabited for tens of thousands of years, claimed it for his financier, the King of Spain, enslaved its inhabitants, left behind smallpox and syphilis, never really figured out whether he was in Asia or not, and was such an inept and brutal governor that he was jailed by his King. Continue reading “You know what? F*#@ Columbus”
Friday’s Tunes: Flashback to the 80’s
If a blog that is less than one month old can be so presumptuous as to claim that it has any traditions, then let musical Friday be this blog’s first tradition. Not one to let my loyal readers down, I present this week’s selections of what I’m listening to. I welcome comments and I’m open to requests or suggestions for future playlists. Continue reading “Friday’s Tunes: Flashback to the 80’s”
Chapter 3: The Just Friends Trap
The next installment of the ongoing fictional saga of Jake and Wakesho (working title of the whole thing is “For Tomorrow”). This one’s a bit longer, so bear with me. See related A Cape Catharsis and Fish Traps (it would help to read them in order).
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. All characters are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, alive or dead, is purely coincidental.
Jake was sorting through his mail on a Friday evening while sitting in his favorite worn-out secondhand chair listening to the local college station which was playing obscure alternative rock. Finding nothing of interest in the mail, Jake ventured into the kitchen, grabbed a beer from the fridge and scrutinized the contents of the cabinets. Finding the cupboard bare, he pulled a frozen pizza out of the freezer and slid it into the oven. Continue reading “Chapter 3: The Just Friends Trap”
Chapter 2: Fish traps
This is another installment in the saga of Jake and Wakesho, my long-running fictional tale of two people trying to figure out life. See my previous related post, “A Cape Catharsis.”
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. All characters are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, alive or dead, is purely coincidental.
Jake drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel in rhythm to the drum beat of the Congolese rhumba song playing on his stereo while impatiently eyeing the stoplight overhead. After what seemed like an eternity the light turned green and he released the clutch and began to roll into the intersection, only to slam on the brakes as he glimpsed a car speeding into the intersection out of the corner of his eye. The driver showed no sign of recognition that he was running a red light as he sped through the intersection. “Pay attention, asshole!” Jake yelled out his open window, flipping the man his middle finger at the same time. Continue reading “Chapter 2: Fish traps”
A Century of my Grandfather
Today would have been my grandfather’s 100th birthday. Harry Allen Prettyman was born on October 4, 1914 in rural Delaware County, Oklahoma. He was born just 7 years after Oklahoma statehood in what had been the Delaware District of the Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. The family lived along the Elk River near the small settlements of Cayuga and Turkey Ford, but they moved around a lot. Continue reading “A Century of my Grandfather”
Friday Music: Ladies’ Night
Time for another musical interlude. Today I’ve been thinking about some of the amazingly talented ladies I’ve been listening to lately. Some of whom I’ve just recently discovered, others I’ve been a fan of for years. Here are some of my favorite female musicians. Enjoy! Continue reading “Friday Music: Ladies’ Night”
Discussion: How to not be a jerk
A while back I saw one of those “ten things” lists on Facebook. It was titled “Ten Things to do to Make Your Girl Smile.” It was one of the most condescending and superficial things I’ve ever seen. Filled with things like “tell her she’s pretty,” and “buy her nice things,” and “make reservations and take her to a nice restaurant where all she has to do is show up and look pretty.” Because apparently women are just interested in material items and being told they are pretty. Continue reading “Discussion: How to not be a jerk”
Because Africa is an Adventure
Bring fancy quick-dry clothes made of rip-stop nylon (because the cruelest thorns in the world are found in Africa). The type of clothes that cost a lot of money in Patagonia catalogs. Preferably the pants that have legs that zip off and become shorts. Because you never know when you might have to zip down and run from a hungry hyena. Because Africa is an adventure. Continue reading “Because Africa is an Adventure”
