THROUGH THE LOOKING EYEGLASS!

THE SENIOR SHOWER

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE!

 The saying "laughter is the best medicine" suggests that laughter has a positive impact on overall well-being, similar to how medicine alleviates illness. It implies that laughter can help people cope with stress, improve mood, and potentially even promote physical health. This is according to an article in Wikipedia. I can't assert laughter is really the best medicine but in my case...it definitely is and these cartoon characters and  comedians are an essential part of my well being, so here's a small celebration of those comedians and cartoon characters that have made my life brighter and joyful!

STAN LAUREL & OLIVER HARDY

HARRY LANGDON.                                      BUSTER KEATON

CHARLES CHAPLIN                                           HAROLD LLOYD

BEN TURPIN

MOE HOWARD, LARRY FINE AND CURLY HOWARD

BUD ABBOTT AND LOU COSTELLO

                             DON ADAMS, BARBARA FELDON & EDWARD PLATT

INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU.                                           MR. BEAN

MISTER MAGOO.                             NICK MURDOCK

IS THAT THE CLOUD?

Okay. I get it. There is the Cloud, the iCloud, the Google Cloud, the Creative Cloud, the Computing Cloud, the Public Cloud, the Private Cloud, the Hybrid Cloud, the Storage Cloud, the Network Cloud, the Music Cloud and the just plain, ordinary, everyday, cloud you see in the sky. So where in blazes is all my stuff when it goes to The Cloud? 

More On The Inevitable Aging Process!

                                       (Or going from Humphrey Bogart to Walter Brennan!)

The Clarinet, Benny Goodman and Me!

THE WONDERS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE!

Believe it or not, everything in this photo is absolutely real...

except for the tux!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY 2025!

TURNING 74 TODAY!

It's been a long journey but I'm hoping it is far from over!

Portrait of the Cartoonist, as an Old Man on July 3rd, 2025

THINGS I'VE LEARNED SO FAR!

MONSTER BURGER!

I love hamburgers. I even think hamburgers are my most favorite food in the world. But sometimes, hamburgers can be a bit of a problem when certain hamburger joints go nuts with their promotional campaigns and try to outsize the competition. Really, there's no mouth big enough to take a bite out of these massive creations! (However, that doesn't stop me. I'll accept the challenge!)

FATHER'S DAY, 2025

This is a good moment to watch A BEAR FOR PUNISHMENT, the classic Father's Day cartoon from Chuck Jones, which incidentally, was released in 1951, the same year I was born!

So anyway, Happy Fathers Day...including myself!

HOW OLD AM I ?

The old body joints ain't what they used to be!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALLANA!

My little girl who is no longer a little girl is celebrating her birthday today! Sending her all my love and best wishes for making my life happier and more meaningful with her beautiful smile and her unbridled love and joy. Many happy returns, my dear Allana!

DOING MY OWN STUNTS!

The new MISSION : IMPOSSIBLE movie is out and the stunts done by star Tom Cruise are amazing, plus the fact that he does them all by himself is nothing short of remarkable. However, in all modesty, I must confess I've also done my own stunts all through my life!

THIS IS BENNY GOODMAN!

Benny Goodman was born on May 30, 1909 and passed away on June 13, 1986. In between, he gave us many years of great big band music, the kind only the King of Swing could play! These were two of my favorite albums back when vinyl was the main way you could listen to recorded music. 

PHILOSOPHY 101

As you get older, you'll find you stumble into things more often than not.

MY INSTRUMENTAL SIDE!

I love music but I am not very talented when it comes to playing an instrument.

However, I taught myself to play the clarinet many years ago with the help of a book manual on how to play the clarinet and trying to follow recordings by Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band at a time when there were no video tutorials and the internet was non-existent. Today it's a lot easier to learn the right way to play the instrument by following step-by-step coaching in the many pages and videos devoted to teaching the basics to mastering the clarinet.

I am still learning the darn thing and can actually play a few pieces of music at a very basic beginner's level. Anyway, good or bad, I've found playing a musical instrument is a very nice occupational therapy.

Playing the guitar never appealed to me but I faked it on a recent trip to the NBC Studios Tour in NYC.

I did play the clarinet on stage on a music show many years ago. The audience was very kind and actually applauded my rendering of AS TIME GOES BY and ST. LOUIS BLUES with a piano accompanist.

I once tried learning to play the piano, back in my preschool days but my lack of talent in that endeavor was appalling. Nevertheless, I sat at the piano at an art exhibit in Manhattan just for show.

At first glance, this appears to be a picture of me playing the accordion. In actuality, it is a photoshopped image of Lawrence Welk with my face pasted on.

These however, are real photos of me back in first grade when I took accordion classes from Miss Ann Pertack Raush who was the school's accordion teacher. As a soloist, I played IN THE MOOD at a school festival. The highlight of my accordion year was a performance with the complete Modern American School Accordion Band at the Manuel M. Ponce Hall of Mexico City's Palace of Fine Arts. I have no recollection whatsoever of what we played at that concert.

AWKWARD MOMENTS!

MORAL OF THE STORY : A simple "Hi" would've been enough because you know,

 it was not nice to meet him!

NIGHTMARE AT THE AMERICAN SPACE MUSEUM

"There's a weird creature on the wing of the ship!'

This could only happen...in the Twilight Zone!

ALEXA'S WAKE UP SCARE!

BAD DAY AT THE SUPERMARKET

You know you're doomed when you drop a can of soda at the wrong place and at the wrong time. 

Unfortunately, my Health Insurance doesn't cover being mauled by a tattooed gorilla

 in a supermarket aisle.

MORE ON ACTING!

FAMILY REUNION! - 2025

My son, his wife and my grandkids dropped by for a visit in Mexico City on April, 2025!

Unforgettable memories!