I’m just a guy who reads the papers — that is, when I can find a good newspaper anymore. I grew up reading, as well as delivering, newspapers. From the comics pages to the sports section, I’ve loved everything about newspapers. I even enjoyed those long ago days of folding, bagging, and loading huge Sunday editions of The Denver Post into handlebar bags and driving through the neighborhood flinging ‘em onto porches all around North Denver. (Although such adventures weren’t always so much fun, as I’ve detailed in a blog post on another site regarding my most memorable bad weather bike ride.)
When I grew up, newspapers were a major source of both information and entertainment. Although “the papers” as I’m using it here are rapidly dying out thanks to the Internet and 24/7 cable television, they still hold a special place in my heart. These days, my wife and I actually pay for a 7-day-a-week newspaper habit so we can read the shrinking local paper’s lamed-down equivalent of those papers of our youth. Heck, it makes for great entertainment during breakfast at the local coffee shop.
And that’s exactly what this website is all about: I’m just a guy who STILL reads the newspapers and love to share my curmudgeonly old opinions about what I read. Of course I am including not just the papers here but the various television news and views programs, newspaper and magazine websites, blogs — just about any source of information and entertainment that strikes my fancy. And since it’s MY website and not yours, I’ll feel perfectly free to rant about those eminently rantable people, places, and things assaulting today’s short attention spans.
Of course, I try — yeah, I really DO try! — to be fair in my rants. To be honest, I’m probably socially pretty liberal and I try to be pretty fiscally conservative. If there is such a critter politically/socially/religiously, I’m maybe right in the center. OK, maybe about one-quarter LEFT of center. I admit it.
I have little patience with a lot of the stupidity making the rounds these days masquerading as conservative politics/culture/religion. I grew up in a time when conservative also mean intelligent. That’s hard to say for much of the stuff making the rounds as “conservative” these days. At the same time, I have no special patience for stupidity or idiocy masquerading under the liberal banner, either.
And I’ll be the first to admit that I’m often too quick to speak my mind and too quick to jump all over such stupidity — whether it’s labeled “conservative” or “liberal.” (Ever notice how seldom these days anyone or anything is labeled “centrist” or “middle of the road”? Why is that, I wonder?)
I do try, even when I’m in the middle of one of my misbegotten “rants,” to remain charitable and civil. And if/when some good reader points to my nastiness or stupidity — I really, really try to own up to it and issue any apologies as necessary.
Here’s are some tips for you as you roam around this website, assuming you’ve read this far and haven’t given up on me already. Every time you come back, you’ll get this page of info about what I’m trying to do here on the site. (OK, so I’ve rambled a lot and maybe you haven’t figured me out yet — read it all again.) Each new article I write will be listed under “Recent Articles” in the sidebar. (The narrower column either on the right-hand or left-hand side of the site.) The most recent 4 or 5 articles are shown there by title. After those, you’ll see the words “View all.” That’s a clickable link which (should) open a Sitemap that will show you links to every article I’ve written.
So now you know your way around the website. You’re welcome.
Given all that, I hope you’ll hang around here often. Read what I’ve got to say. Read — and leave — comments posted here to tell me what YOU have to say. Just between you and me, it’s lonely here without you, Good Reader, and your discussions. So hang around and be a friend, or at least a useful critic.
Go ahead. Think of me as an Old Curmudgeon if you wish. I’ve been called worse. But perhaps you’ll learn to think of me as a Kindly Old Curmudgeon!