Swipe Those Cards

Hurry! Buy now! Last day sale!
How gullible can we be
To fall for everything fake?
To entertain ourselves,
Something we deserve
After a 40-hour work week?

A roof antenna was all we needed before.
Now it’s a subscription. And what? Pay per view?
A landline with a long cord was all we needed before.
Now there’s a plan. And lots of apps. Something new?
We line up for the latest phones. Why?
There’s just one new feature! Oh, my!

Why do we always want what’s new?
Shiny, slim, fast, automatic... What’s your point of view?
Dad’s car, TV set, piano, typewriter lasted forever.
Mom’s gas stove, sewing machine, washing machine,
Floor polisher, fridge, radio, camera lasted forever,
So we could afford birthdays, holidays and picnics.

Why are we so restless? Why the need for speed?
Why push buttons, voice or motion activated,
Keyless, driverless? No need for skills and muscles?
Fashionable, trendy, up-to-date? Go right ahead.
Swipe as many cards. Drown in debt.
The billionaires are wildly entertained.
MLJ31102025WhyAreWeSoGullible?

Whatever happened to natural intelligence?

 

“Why are you a billionaire?”

 Billie Eilish CALLS OUT billionaires during innovator awards speech

Honestly, why are you a billionaire?
As Billie Eilish asked. Yeah. What do you care?
Why are you the 10% who own global wealth?
Because you profit from every cent?
Because you pay workers loose change?
Because you don’t know honest taxation?
And think you’re forgiven with your donations?
MLJ31102025BillieEilishCallsOutBillionaires

Never Enough

"Never Enough" is my theme song. Why? Because each day is never enough – never enough time, never enough practice, never enough learning… Today’s wish is we’ll accomplish more tomorrow. Maybe there’ll be less disruption from needy students.

Never enough students either! No cap on class size! I get new students every now and then, until the end of every school year. Glad to have all these precious children of God under my wing, but my feathers have shriveled. I'm not sure how much further they can last. MLJ02112025NearingRetirement

Dodgers vs Blue Jays

As the gladiators battled it out on the field
I sat in my room with Laurence Perrine’s
Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense
And came across The Old-Fashioned Pitcher
By George E. Phair. I thought old-fashioned
Players indeed! Heroes they were on that field
As long as they played for their team,
For their name and not for any wager.
MLJ02112025DodgersVsBlueJays

Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven Song by Albert King

 Everybody wants to laugh

but nobody wants to cry
I say everybody wants to laugh but nobody wants to cry
Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die

Albert King - Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven

Suffer the People

 How did we choose these leaders?

Mixed Media Practice

Red Cracker

Owl Butterfly

Mixed Media: And then you're out of ink!

 

Where the Falcon Flies by Adam Shoalts

 For the adventurer in all of us: geography, history, perseverance, appreciation of the wild, and belief in humanity. 

I SUPPORT CUPW

 

What kind of society do we live in? Ticket gouging should be punishable by law.

 

More practice with watercolor pencils

 

Monarch

Orange Tiger

Beggarsticks

A pregnant deer in Carburn Park

Support Alberta Teachers

 STOP THE EXCUSES

Support local businesses instead

 What are governments doing to protect their people and the environment with the increased use of AI and robotics? Are we still shopping til we drop? How about a Buy Nothing Day? Multinationals won't stop their speedy production and will keep on feeding their insatiable thirst for profit as long as we keep on shopping at their behest. Buy now! Shop now! Get it now!   

More practice with watercolor pencils

 

Thanks to my sister for the art supplies

 

When all eggs are in one basket, what happens during an outage?