Copyright 2010 Ben S. Pollock
Seeing the backstage drama Crazy Heart down at the Malco on its opening weekend here in Northwest Arkansas gave me lots to think about, being a good movie.
It’d be fine to wait for a home viewing, but leisurely, panoramic views of New Mexico increase the worth of a cineplex screen (Houston’s [...]
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Friday, December 18, 2009
Copyright 2009 Ben S. Pollock
My relationship with money sometimes irritates people. It would be none of their business of course, except when it comes up in conversation. I’m one who avoids specifics, but I try to be supportive of stuff that people say casually. Yet every once in a while I bite my tongue when [...]
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Saturday, September 12, 2009
Copyright 2009 Ben S. Pollock
Identity is a flummox. Sometimes it feels like you spend a lifetime — or the lifetime thus far — pursuing an identity, but your identity may not be you. I’ve heard of two senior or retired professors who said they chose their doctoral fields rather arbitrarily and lost interest as the [...]
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Copyright 2009 Ben S. Pollock
The Internet is not killing the newspaper. The economy is.
This would be obvious as it’s stated in every halfway decent article on the print media, but the copy usually includes comments by people who seem to throw their hands out and cry, “Ach, die Web” (Japanese for “OMG, did U C [...]
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009
DATELINE DREAMLAND — We must have gotten lost. My wife and I were on the road. It was a long trip, and it seemed to be in a foreign country, although we had a common language with the locals. We pulled over, rather than get more disoriented, and soon saw a native family in the [...]
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I’m vacationing in Lebanon, using this time to get up to speed on Facebook. How’s Arkansas treating you? Let me know when you can. Bye, Michael”
This came last August. I had just joined Facebook as well. After seven months, I figured out a reply.
I delayed writing for two reasons. One, Michael, is because you always [...]
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Copyright 2009 Ben S. Pollock
The news business is collapsing. Lots of other industries are imploding — banking, autos — but who can do without loans and cars, while who needs news in this time of peace (yes, it is)?
I. News Always Has Been Free, Almost
The explanation given is that the Internet is free. If people [...]
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I’m old enough and responsible enough that I no longer try to avoid funerals. I’m heading to one on Tuesday of one of my mentors, Connie. Now that I’ve attended a variety, eulogies have become fascinating. The best-intentioned speakers try to illuminate the mourners on less commonly known aspects of the deceased but alway end [...]
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Friday, December 19, 2008
Copyright 2008, Ben S. Pollock
Unexpect the Expected
Living up to your potential means failure if you drop out early. There have been moments, or a little longer, maybe moments and a half, in the last two weeks where I ponder, “I almost died,” which moves to, “I almost got crazy bad hurt. Now what?”
People keep asking, [...]
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Saturday, September 27, 2008
Copyright 2008 Ben S. Pollock
How do anyone know how much to give, to what to give to? Let’s label this, charity. Non-profit, that could be lots of things besides charities. My professional organization, can you call that a charity? A wing of it is a card-carrying (tax ID) non-profit and sponsors an annual scholarship contest, [...]
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