Dear Bonnie: I owe the IRS a huge amount of money. My aunt died a few years ago and left me the proceeds from her IRA – about $200,000. I didn’t know that I would have to pay tax on it and I kind of... Continue
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Be it ritual figures made for spiritual practices, decorations placed on everyday objects, hieroglyphs applied to rock faces, images created using colored sand, applied body paint, feathers or jewelry, so-called “folk art” is the natural and often spontaneous expression of the unity of creativity and... Continue
We live in an age of specialists and experts who identify themselves as at the top of their craft, experts like the financial wizards at JP Morgan Chase, who recently lost their company over $3 billion dollars. “Ooops,” they said. “We feel terribly stupid.” These... Continue
In our pursuit of self-identity we accumulate physical preferences such as hairstyle and body shape, various beliefs, likes, dislikes, and psychological habits. In general, we consider these accumulations personality, and once gathered, we protect personality with great devotion. In addition to personality, we also accumulate... Continue
That members of the Secret Service and U.S. Army shamelessly availed themselves of the services of Columbian prostitutes in advance of the arrival of President Obama is no surprise to me. For thousands of years, powerful men have blended their official power with their sexual... Continue
Does everyone have pent up hairballs or is it just me? Job security, pensions, investments, health, home ownership, and people’s moods are just a few hairballs in the air. What’s up? The cost of groceries, hip replacements, the divorce rate, homes owned by banks, violence... Continue
What, exactly, are we looking for, and why is it everyone is always telling us what we need and what to do? Need a new car? Of course you do and BMW has the answer. For that matter, so do Ford, GM and Chrysler. Need... Continue
Dear Bonnie: I’m puzzled about my taxes. This year I was finally able to itemize deductions. I turned over a big batch of receipts for medical expenses to my accountant and she said I couldn’t take the deduction. I thought medical expenses were something you... Continue
“But words will never hurt me,” says the childhood aphorism, yet nothing could be further from the truth. Try yelling “oatmeal!” in crowded theater and watch nothing happen but annoyed stares and admonitions to please be quiet. Yell “fire!” and watch chaos erupt. Words, in... Continue
Understanding of brain physiology has increased enormously in recent years, yielding answers about mapping, the role of various structures such as the neo-cortex, amygdala, corpus collosum, and so forth. Moreover, though we now know how various structures relate to processing new and retaining older memory,... Continue