So Sayeth the StickMonkey

Jump Off a Cliff

I Saw an Angel

When You Think

The Valley of Failure

Keep It Simple

The Truth About Responsibility

The Comfort Zone

Chose Wisely

The Odds are In Your Favor

Aloha oe, Ray Thomas. And thank you for forming one of my most favorite bands. Actually, thank you for being one of my father’s favorite bands. I first heard the Moody Blues because he used to play your earlier albums. Music sure has changed since the Moody Blues helped to shape –– I was about to say, “what we listened to when I was growing up.” But people didn’t even listen much to the Moody…

The StickMonkey hands a banana to Barbie

But only because it would be silly to fling poop at her…considering that this has to do with poop, anyway. Dog poop. First, her boyfriend, Ken, got a makeover that includes a man-bun. Now, her dog gets – maybe we should just call it a reality upgrade – with the additional new functionality of “poop-ability.” Barbie’s new dog is yellow, suggesting a labrador retriever – but you’ll have to come up…

The StickMonkey wonders what he’s doing wrong

I get a new Instagram follower just about every day. A real one. Most days I get five or six of new followers. The majority have Instagram names like Live2DreamLife or whatever. You get the picture. Their Instagram photos are a collection of the view of some exotic destination as seen from a comfortable lounge chair. Thankfully, most have bothered to get a pedicure before taking the photo, as the…

The StickMonkey ponders human potential over morning coffee

It’s Saturday morning. I take a cup of coffee to my desk and sort through email messages. There’s one from a magazine publisher. I can win thousands of dollars if I answer a few questions. That’s a fair reward. Most are binary questions. Yes/No. Agree/Disagree. And then when I least expected it, this question: Human potential is about going beyond one’s comfort zone to achieve what was once out…

The StickMonkey Hands a Banana to the Queen of England

Guilty pleasures. We all have them. Measure your guilty pleasures against whether they detract or complement your life. That’s my take-away from learning that the Queen of England has four cocktails a day. Every day. What does this 91-year-old monarch like to drink? Food and Wine reports that she enjoys four cocktails every day. A gin and Dubonnet with a slice of lemon, shortly before lunch. A…

It’s never been easier to express your displeasure.  Alas, that’s the default mode for the majority of us. Complaining takes far less time and energy.  I fell into the default mode yesterday after reading about the decision by the president of the United States to reinstate the military ban on transgender people. I took to social media—in this case, Facebook—to express my displeasure. It was a…