Posts Tagged With ‘ @LIFETALK ’

I wake up most mornings with questions on my mind. Generally, they’re relatively innocuous or inconsequential things like: Why do I have the theme from Mannix stuck in my head? Do bald men think toupees are fooling anybody? Why do so many people believe in gravity? Why do some Kindle books cost more than the same books in print? If I pay my Social Security taxes, why am I taxed on the money I paid into Social Security when I get it back? If Santa Claus knows if you’ve been bad or good, why did he bring me anything, ever? Who the hell did let the dogs out? If an asp in the grass is a snake,... Continue Reading

Some people know what they want in life, others figure it out along the way. Rocky Michaels, multi-award-winning independent singer-songwriter and recording artist was encouraged to learn the piano at a young age and the rest fell into place. We learn by watching others and it can stir something within that takes us down a path for our own growth and understanding of how we fit in the world. In this interview I explore with Rocky his roots in music, how it evolved over time and some nuggets to help others find their way. Eileen: You have been a musician for a very long time, since the age of 5.... Continue Reading

An artist is someone who has a special and unique connection to the inner self bringing to the world a deep emotional releasing that can be felt at the core. Madison Tayor powerfully expresses feelings and the relationship between the human experience and the unspoken parts through her lyrics and songs. She grew up with natural talents and an undeniable desire to bring messages of hope, love, and a richness in life’s journey through music. Madison is wise beyond her years, bringing a sense of understanding of the complexities of human emotions with an intention for joyful and happy outcomes. I... Continue Reading

I don’t think I fully understood or appreciated the effect political correctness has had on language until I took my car to the repair shop one morning last week. Ernie, the service manager who wrote up my service order, told me he’d call to let me know what his team found, to get my permission to do the work, and to give me estimates on the cost of that work. Later that afternoon, my phone rang: Ernie: Mr. O’Brien? Me: No. Mr. O’Brien was my father. He was older than me. My name’s Mark. Ernie: Ha, ha, ha. That’s a good one, Mr O … Me: Mark. My name is Mark. Ernie: Right. Mark.... Continue Reading

In the October 2nd episode of my program, The Anxious Voyage, I welcomed a guest named John Tejada. After being imprisoned on a sexual-assault charge, John wrote the manuscript for a book called, Searching for Redemption. During our conversation, I told John I’m conflicted, torn between two points of view: On one hand, I believe Frankenstein should be required reading because its abiding lesson is that we have to live with the monsters we create. On the other hand, I don’t want to consider myself an absolutist; that is, I don’t want to believe all things are irretrievably right or irretrievably... Continue Reading

Because I love true crime shows, it should come as no surprise that I love the Oxygen True Crime channel. My favorite show on the channel is New York Homicide. I love New York cops just because I love the way New York cops talk. And even if the show were a waste of 59 minutes and 59 seconds (it isn’t), it would be worth it for the one second in which some detective pronounces the word, apartment, as apawtment. It’s the one thing you can only hear on New York Homicide. There are other words you can hear in every true crime show, regardless of where the story takes place or what department... Continue Reading

Once a bureaucracy grows beyond a certain size, it exists only to sustain itself and to grow. No bureaucracy ever recognizes its inefficient dysfunction, nor do the people who serve it ever examine it, seek to improve it, apply logic and reason to it, or say no to it. If the people who suffer its abuses are lucky, the monolith may one day collapse of its own weight. But until then, everyone who suffers by it is stuck with it. Case in point: the United States Postal Service (USPS). On September 3rd, I ordered a cap from a hat shop in San Diego, California. The graphic on the left shows the circuitous... Continue Reading

Author’s Note: People ask me fairly routinely, “What the hell do you think about?” I don’t know why they do that. And I’m not at all sure they really want to know. In any case, this is what I was thinking about after I read a recent headline in a local business journal. Read it at your own peril. If you want to know how long the financial-services industry has been around — and if you want to know how long women have been involved in that industry — check out this headline from the Hartford Business Journal (HBJ): “First woman becomes head of Northwest Community Bank”. The first... Continue Reading

According to the United States Census, 1 in 6 people in the United States are 65 and older. That compares to 1 in 20, a hundred years ago back in 1920. Social Security benefits are received by 48.6 million Americans. 10,000 Baby Boomers are turning 65 each day. Introduction Retirement is a significant life transition that marks the end of our professional careers and the beginning of a new phase. For many, it’s a time of excitement and anticipation, but it can also bring about feelings of uncertainty and apprehension. How we handle retirement can greatly impact our quality of life during our... Continue Reading

You know you have met an Old Soul when you feel a deep knowledge not only through how they communicate their thoughts, but also the presence they hold. Tarzzy Metta is one of these people! He comes from Papua New Guinea with over 20 years as a creative Indie Artist. Combining his traditional tribal music and bridging the Western culture music, Tarzzy has a dream for the world to embrace the ethnic, soothing, and authentic sounds of the past, present, and future. In this interview, we do a deep dive into Melanesian traditions in music, the creation of his band Ancient Dusk, Tarzzy’s thoughts... Continue Reading