The Boomer Chronicles
A 50-something baby boomer examines midlife crisis, ennui in America, and other compelling ideas
Updated: 3 hours 30 min ago
BloggingBoomers Carnival #137
The gals at Fabulous After 40 are hosting the BloggingBoomers Carnival this week. Check out the Carnival now....
A Few Random Thoughts on Halloween
My talk yesterday on social media went great!
Ralph Nader spoke in Jamaica Plain last night
I heard a fabulous concert last night by the young orchestra A Far Cry. Almost all the members live in my Jamaica Plain neighborhood.
I am going to a Halloween do...
Friday Links Variety Show (October 30, 2009)
How to get a college degree for free
Five steps to going viral on Twitter
Watch this 4-part telesummit next week on senior living options
Read a scholarly article by a friend of mine on the creation of green jobs...
Social Media: Participate, or Become Invisible
I’ve been blogging at The Boomer Chronicles for three and a half years, and Twittering, Facebooking, Flickring and other social media-ing for months and years. These facts make me eminently qualified to give a lecture on social media at Simmons Coll...
Weird Wednesday: Crop Circles
This year was as active as usual in the English countryside, where crop circles spontaneously appeared in many locations. Here’s a gallery of 2009 crop circles....
A New Twist on The Bible
A friend of mine, Betsy Salkind, 45, is a Los Angeles-based comedian. But not just any kind of comedian. Check out her twisted (in a good way) take on the Bible in this 5-minute video....
An Important Update on My Violin Lessons
Assuming that many of my dear readers are champing at the bit to learn of my progress with my violin lessons, I humbly offer this report:
First, I want to say that anytime I tell someone — anyone — that I just started taking violin lessons, I ...
McDonald’s Closes Up Shop — in Iceland
I learned this morning that all three McDonald’s locations will close in Iceland because it has become too expensive for the franchiser to operate them now that the country’s financial structure has collapsed. I visited Iceland a few years ago...
My Blogging Guru is Famous!
When I started this blog back in April 2006 I was aiming for a quick start — that is, a very compact learning curve. So I placed an ad on Craig’s List and a man named Stephen Labuda answered my ad. He was starting out as a self-employed web an...
Two Weird Searches That Bring Readers to This Blog
I don’t know what it is about these two topics, but YEARS after I published the original posts I still get people searching for these and ending up on this blog:
Living in Your Car (a topic that’s more timely than ever)
What If You Have Two Di...
BloggingBoomers Carnival #136
I know it’s Monday because I have a new edition of the BloggingBoomers Carnival ready for you. This week the carnival is hosted by Ann at Contemporary Retirement....
I Just Met a Cornucopia of Boston Bloggers
Last night I went to the fab Boston lounge 28 Degrees to meet with fellow bloggers at Blogtoberfest 2009, organized by Jenny Frazier. It was a fun night with dozens of bloggers — a few I already knew, like Steve Garfield — and many others I di...
Friday Links Variety Show (October 23, 2009)
The top 45 sites for boomers and seniors
Soupy Sales died last night
How to be your own life coach and save a bundle of money
Your parents still worry about you even though you’re 51 years old...
I Will Meet a Bunch of Bloggers Live Tonight
Tonight I will be attending the Boston Blogtoberfest. It’s a chance to meet and hang out with lots of other bloggers. I’ve been to meetups and Tweetups and bloggers’ get-together, and I love them. I will have a report tomorrow morning. Y...
Economist Lays Out Her Plan to Fix Economy
I had a fantastic opportunity this morning to hear a talk by Dr. Lisa Lynch, a labor economist and chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Her message was nothing but doom and gloom, and I ate it up. She confirms everything I believe. Housing prices ...
Weird Wednesday: Police Psychics
I have doubts about psychics who participate in criminal investigations, but police psychics do exist. According to TruTV:
Vernon J. Geberth, author of Practical Homicide Investigation, devotes five pages to how police officers can (and do) work with psyc...
Find Out Who’s Turning 50, 60 in October 2009
Among the celebrities and other public figures turning 50 in October 2009 are:
Weird Al Yankovic, strange guy
Marie Osmond, entertainer
Simon Cowell, American Idols host
Sarah Ferguson (Fergie), royalty
Emeril Lagasse, celebrity chef
Maya Lin, sculptor, V...
The Bell Curve of Life
I really liked this poignant essay on midlife by Judith Warner (author of Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety), which was recently published in the New York Times. Here’s one line to whet your appetite:
This is the cruelty of middle ...
The Bell Curve of Life
I really liked this poignant essay on midlife by Judith Warner (author of Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety), which was recently published in the New York Times. Here’s one line to whet your appetite:
This is the cruelty of middle ...
Dan the Early Retired Man Marries Off His First-Born
My cousin Dan from Minnesota, who retired early from the U.S. Postal Service this year at age 53, saw his daughter marry this month.
Last weekend I experienced something momentous: the wedding of my child. At one point during the service I looked at my d...

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