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Author Archives: Richard

Who Is Elizabeth Warren?

27 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, The Outer Loop

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

"A Fighting Chance", CFPB, COP, Elizabeth Warren, Senator Warren, TARP

I’m a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. For nearly all my life I would have said I’m a teacher, but I guess I really can’t say that anymore. Now I have to introduce myself as a United States senator, tho I still feel a small jolt of surprise whenever I say that.

This is my story, and it’s a story born of gratitude.

Elizabeth Warren

A few weeks ago I went with Ellen and some friends to see and hear Elizabeth Warren talk about her just published book A Fighting Chance.

Over the last few days I took the time to read that book, the tenth one she’s written.

In her appearance, Elizabeth (Betsy as her friends apparently call her) was mostly speaking to the choir. The audience didn’t need too much introduction to this new political face. Some had known her for years, some had been her students, some had worked with her, some had worked for her campaign in Massachusetts, and some had been won over by what they had learned of her in the last year or so.

I fit into that last category.

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“Ida” – Look for This Film

26 Monday May 2014

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

"Ida", Agata Trzebuchowska, Agneta Kulesza, Eisiskes, Pawel Pawlikoski, Poland 1962

large_8F83ceVQBqcGHZ8aglA6kevKa3g

Ida *****

I’ve got another film for you.

It probably won’t be around for long (pity). And it may not even show up where you live. But if you can find it somehow (Netflix?), go out of your way to watch it. I think it’s probably best to see it on as big a screen as possible, but however you can see it, I suspect you’ll be enthralled.

At least we were.

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“No Place to Hide”

18 Sunday May 2014

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, The Outer Loop

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

"No Place to Hide", Abuse of Power, Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, NSA, Sen. Frank Church, The Fourth Estate

I realized that they were building a system whose goal was the elimination of all privacy, globally. To make it so that no one could communicate electronically without the NSA being able to collect, store, and analyze the communication.

-Edward Snowden explaining to Glenn Greenwald what moved him to action:

NoPlaceToHide__140514164818

Wednesday night Ellen and I attended a book lecture by Glenn Greenwald.

Friday, I took the whole day and read Greenwald’s book on Edward Snowden, on the NSA, and on his assessment of what he believes is the meaning of these revelations.

When I finished the book yesterday, I was tempted to do something I’ve never done on this site, write a post that said this book was a Must Read. But thinking about it overnight, I reminded myself of my belief that there is no such thing as a ‘must read’ article or book.

Instead, I’m simply going to try to capture some of the impact Greenwald’s appearance and book has had on me.

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What MillersTime Readers Predicted for 2014

14 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

Baseball Predictions, MillersTime 2014 Basebal Contests, Who's (Hu's) on First?

by: JamieD On  9/3/10, Total ProSports.com. If you've never seen or want to see the Abbott-Costello piece again: http://bit.ly/1mV1fyH

by: JamieD 9/3/10, Total ProSports.com. (If you’ve never seen or want to see the Abbott-Costello piece again: http://bit.ly/1mV1fyH)

I’ve finally gotten around to summarizing some of your 2014 MillersTime Baseball Contest predictions. There are too many variables to put them all on a spread sheet as I’ve done before, but here are some of what the wise and not so wise fans said:

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A Terrific “New Yorker” Article: “Schooled”

13 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Cory Booker, Education, Mark Zuckerberg, Philanthropy, Politics, The New Yorker

Politics. Education. Philanthropy.

As in Cory Booker, Newark Schools, Mark Zuckerberg.

If you’re on the MillersTime mailing list, you no doubt have interest in at least one of these topics (unless you got on the list solely because you’re family or you’re interested baseball).

And you may remember a few years ago that then Newark Mayor Cory Booker (now NJ Senator) announced that Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was investing $100 million in what was to be an effort to revamp the Newark public schools.

In this week’s New Yorker Magazine, Dale Russakoff has a fascinating article about what has happened as a result of mixing politics, education, and philanthropy. It’s a long article, but once I started it, I stayed up until I had finished it.

You can read the article, Schooled, on line or get a copy of this week’s magazine. You won’t be disappointed.

Once you’ve finished it, I encourage you to leave a Comment on this site as to what is your ‘takeaway’ from Russakoff’s article and what has happened in Newark.

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Join Me at the Ball Park

13 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

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Tags

Free Tickets, MLB Baseball, Nationals Park, Nats, Washington Nationals

photo

A few more opportunities to join me at a Nats’ game or, in a couple of instances, get two tickets for yourself:

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“Finding Vivian Maier”

11 Sunday May 2014

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

"Finding Vivian Maier", Documentary Film, John Maloof, Photography

self.portrait.1029

                        Self-Portrait – October 18, 1953, New York, NY

Finding Vivian Maier *****

It seems as if it’s been a while since I’ve seen a film I wanted to write about and to recommend for your consideration, only one in March (Child’s Pose) and one in April (The Rocket). Even our movie club seems to have hit a dry spell.

Yesterday, however, we saw one that I can enthusiastically suggest you add to your ‘to see’ list, Finding Vivian Maier.

It is several stories.

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5 Used Laptops, 5 Tablets Needed

30 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Richard in Family and Friends

≈ 6 Comments

Do you have (or know someone who has) a laptop computer that is not being used?

How about an iPad, a tablet, or even an e-reader (Kindle, etc.)?

You can put your ‘used’ technology to good use by donating it to The Rainforest Academy in rural Belize.  Your donation will help young people who do not presently have access to technology.

Screen-Shot-2013-06-02-at-9.20.33-AM

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And the Winner Is…

28 Monday Apr 2014

Posted by Richard in Family and Friends

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bog Brother vs Little Brother, Caption Contest, Siblings

1509151_10152382669129776_3568234577916405474_n12. “You may be Big Brother, and I may be Little Brother right now. But one day, when I am 2 inches taller than you and outweigh you by 16 pounds, you will be Elder Brother, and I will be Younger Brother.”

Submitted by Land Weyland of Chino, California.

When I asked Land if he was Big Brother, Little Brother, Elder Brother, and/or Younger Brother, he wrote:

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Vote for the Best Caption

24 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by Richard in Family and Friends

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Big Brother/Little Brother, Caption Contest

1509151_10152382669129776_3568234577916405474_n

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Should We Be Worried About Our Grandson(s)?

21 Monday Apr 2014

Posted by Richard in Family and Friends

≈ 6 Comments

Readers of MillersTime know I enjoy offering contests of various types.

Today I am posting one that everyone can enjoy, with no need for any expertise at all.

I’m looking for the Best Caption for the photo below of grandson Eli, who is five, tho he looks enormous, as he plays with/looms over his 10-month old brother Ryan.

1509151_10152382669129776_3568234577916405474_n

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“The Goldfinch” and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

18 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

"Favorite Books of MIllersTime Readers in 2013", "Goldfinch", "Stoner", "The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian", "The Dinner", "The Lowland", "The Son", Donna Tartt, Herman Koch, Jhumper Lahiri, John Williams, Philipp Meyer, Pulitzer Prize, Sherman Alexie

goldfinch

A dear friend with whom I often discuss books and many other topics wrote me the other day, upon hearing that Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch had just won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, saying, “I guess that means we have to read it.”

At the time of her email, I was 82% finished with the almost 800 page novel (I knew that because my e-reader tells me how much I have read). I finished The Goldfinch the next morning and wrote back the following:

Too long.

Includes too much about stuff I don’t really need to know so much about (addictions, alcohol, drugs).

Needs to be at least 200 pages shorter (700+ pages in all).

Found myself forcing my eye down the page quickly numerous times.

Almost tossed it at several points.

Glad I didn’t.

With all its faults, there is enough of value to make it worth one’s time.

Especially the final 10%.

When I finally began to read it about a week ago, it was largely because one contributor to MillersTime Favorite Reads of the Year had put it in his list. Given its length, I wasn’t sure I wanted to devote that much time to one novel, but I carved out most of three or four days and began reading.

It read quickly, and I found myself engaged in the story. Then, about half way through, it began to drag, and I found myself skimming, mostly wanting to know (and fearing) what would happen to the main characters. Fortunately, I didn’t quit.

The Goldfinch is a story about grief, about art, about adolescence (and about a number of other stages of life), about friendship(s), about what’s important in life, about mother-son relationships, about father-son relationships, about decisions, disastrous and not so disastrous ones, it’s about the heart, about the mind. It asks the reader for some suspension of disbelief. And it asks for much of the reader’s time.

It’s also well written and has enough sense of mystery about the outcome of the characters that once begun, it carried me along.

Whether it deserves the Pulitzer for fiction more than its competitor, Philipp Meyer’s The Son, a lengthy four generation, historical saga about two Texas families, one white, one Mexican, I guess has been decided, at least by the Pulitzer judges. But I enjoyed The Son very much.

If you are looking for shorter novels, I have recently thoroughly enjoyed several other suggestions by MillersTime readers, including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie‘s Americanah, Sherman Alexie’s The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Herman Koch’s The Dinner, Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland, and a much older one, recently recommended, Stoner by John Williams.

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Take a Kid to a Nats vs Cards Game for Free

10 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ 2 Comments

Saw my first 2014 Nats’ game last night, a four hour (OK 3:56), 17 run, 25 hit, 18 strike out, three error, 364 pitch game won because the Marlins chose to intentionally walk Anthony Rendon to fill the bases and face Jason Werth, who responded with a grand slam home run.

A good ending to a long night filled with everything that is good and sometimes not so good about baseball.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to offer two terrific seats, fifth row behind the visitor’s dugout between home and third, for the Friday, April 18, 7:05 PM Nats vs Cards game.

I’ll be glad to donate them to someone who will take a young person to the game.

If no one wants to do that, I’ll sell the two for a total of $100.

The face price of the tickets is $80 per ticket. But since I pay $50 for them, I’m offering the two for a total of $100.

Let me know if you’re interested in either offer.

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“The Rocket” – A Boy Cursed?

10 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

"The Rocket", Beasts of the Southern Wild, Laos

The Rocket.110433_gal

The Rocket ****1/2

The screening of this film is what our Sunday morning Cinema Club does best: offers films that one is unlikely to see elsewhere but rewards the audience with a good drama, well told, that reveals life and struggles beyond our own, often narrow shores and brings to the screen unknown talent.

The Rocket tells a story of a young Laotian boy and his struggles to overcome the label of being cursed. Along the way, the audience is treated not only to a good drama but also to insights about a land cursed by war, the effects of war and the building of a dam.

The acting, especially by the two youngest characters, Ahlo and Kia, is terrific, but all the performances are good.

In some ways, The Rocket reminded me of Beasts of the Southern Wild, but I also liked it because it took me to a world I barely know and made that world more understandable.

You’ll have to look for this film, but if it shows up where you live, you’re in for an hour and a half treat.

For a short trailer, click on this YouTube link.

*                    **                    **                    **                    *

Update – 4/13/14 – Our Cinema Club gave the film a rating of 94.57% (excellent/good) and 96.59% would recommend it to a friend. Also, if a friend suggests you see the Swedish film We Are the Best, you might want to reevaluate that friendship.

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At Fenway – Celebrating the 2013 Season

06 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by Richard in Family and Friends, Go Sox

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

2014 Ring & Flag Ceremony, Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, Fenway's Finest, The "Bricks", The Family

 April 4, 2014 – At Fenway Park to Celebrate the 2013 Magical Season

Outside Fenway:

welcome to fenway.unnamed

 THE-verticle.photo_1-e1396794169525

back of scoreboard.photo

Inside Fenway:

at bricks.noname

 bricks.noname

     3 finest.photo

father_daughters.unnamed

On the Field:

verticle flags.noname7_4.noname13_7noname13_players.noname

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