When BARBIE© hit the market in 1959, she cost $3. But don’t be fooled by the low sticker price. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $29 in 2020.

Which reminds me.

The SDNY has been making some threatening noises about a certain other Barbie’s inflated invoices to her Daddy’s GREAT AMERICA SUPER-PAC for so-called ‘consulting fees.’ Mister Cyrus Vance seems to think that’s improper. Actually, it’s worse than improper. It’s a felony, although given the insane fuckery of the Trump years, I’m not so sure it’s even a misdemeanor anymore, or anything more serious than a parking ticket.

Now your conventional Barbie©…

I’ll admit to creep-stalking my Ex on Facebook.

When she came back into my head, I decided to use the memories as model for the protagonist in one of my novels-in-progress and, as characters often do, she literally wrote herself into the story. I always Google the names of potential characters beforehand, kind of like a title search before buying a home. You want to know who might hold a lien on the property before committing to the purchase, though it’s not like Natasha herself ever belonged to me, or to anyone.

The most worrisome thing is that there are…

My favourite internet radio station is called Tokyo Rose Radio. I stumbled upon it by accident and was first intrigued by the title then seduced by the music. It offers 1920s-40s jazz and swing era tunes on tap, 24/7. But why the title ‘Tokyo Rose’?

The station is dedicated to the memory of Iva Toguri, a Japanese-American woman wrongly convicted of treason and sentenced to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine ($110,800 in 2021) after World War II. I won’t go into her life story here, as there is plenty of background available on the internet and readers…

During one of Natasha’s increasingly frequent absences from the compound, Boggs concocted another task for David.

Before Boggs would allow them to depart for their proposed vacation at La Ceiba, he had to deliver a package to Carlos Miguel Aracena in Tegucigalpa, the same Aracena who managed the Tourist Information Bureau and to whom David had earlier handed an envelope of money. He would make the journey without Natasha who was away at another of her regular doctor’s appointments.

Boggs didn´t hide the fact that he resented her presence in the midst of his little black op and would have…

Toward the end of the nearly sixteen weeks it took to prepare their report, Natasha informed David that she was having some female trouble and needed to travel to Tegucigalpa to see a doctor for treatments. No cause for alarm, she assured him. David puzzled at this sinister piece of news.

Boggs, on the other hand, didn’t bat an eyelash. He seemed happier whenever Natasha was away and didn’t ask when she might be expected to return. In the meantime, he and David would be busy with the well-drilling program, he assured her. …

Universal free public healthcare systems are wonderful when they work. And when they don’t, well, they just don’t.

Here in the sunny Mediterranean, the traditional diet tends to keep one healthy. Fresh ocean fish, meats that are organically grown, good quality milk and eggs, and tons of salad and fresh fruits available year-round. In a zone without serious winter weather, one picks fresh lettuce from the garden while the rest of the world shovels snow. …

I’m in love with Tucker Carlson. Don’t know what I’d do without him. Not only is he clever as hell, but his antics have earned a pile of money for writers here on Medium. Like me. He’s the gift that just keeps on giving (like syphilis and gonorrhea).

I can’t predict how long our tainted love affair will endure. Like sweethearts everywhere, we’ve had our jealous spats. And at some point, puppet master Rupert Murdoch, who is a businessman, will decide to cut his losses and abandon his flagship news organ like a gangrenous finger that cries out for amputation…

They decided to petition Boggs for an advance on the fifty thousand dollar reward he’d promised, so they might enjoy a vacation together at La Ceiba, a resort area on the Caribbean coast that was popular with Americans and other expats working in or visiting Honduras and where they wouldn’t need their passports. That was the security they offered. No passports, hence no escape. …