CohenConnect.com, Honest, accurate & outspoken: Lenny's thoughts on this world of ours
"These are the times to remember" (Billy Joel lyrics pluralized)
It’s Jan. 11 and that means today marks four years since my very first blog post at http://www.CohenConnect.com. Back then, when I started, I was still in Florida. Being new in Bristol & the Tri-Cities March 8, 2015 Getting settled at home March 14, 2015 Getting settled at work March 15, 2015 Getting settled in Bristol March 16, 2015 I hadn’t yet moved … Continue reading Anniversary means time to start something new
It’s always good to be remembered, and hopefully being your last new year’s message of the year will keep some of my thoughts on your minds. (I’d be embarrassed to post something like this more than a week late, even by a few minutes!) Let me start with the most important: that I became an … Continue reading Odds, ends and new beginnings
Sometimes, interesting things happen when you read friends’ Facebook pages. I’m not talking about going to look on purpose, which I’ve done before. I’m just referring to seeing something on your news feed and clicking on it. That got me, as the title clearly says, banned from Facebook pages twice in 2 days! The one … Continue reading Banned from Facebook pages twice in 2 days!
Philadelphia is a great place to live. It has so much, so close-by: history, museums, sports. It’s walkable, livable, has green space. No, it didn’t get Amazon’s HQ2 and yes, it’s often overshadowed by New York and Washington. Too bad it has people in charge who don’t care about serving the public. This goes along … Continue reading Level-headed moderation needed now in The Birthplace of America
It was 20 years ago tonight. Not exactly. It was actually four days off, on Nov. 25, but what really matters is it was the night before Thanksgiving in 1998. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuVRhuk8kmQ I had been producing the 11pm news at CBS affiliate WFSB-3 in Connecticut. It was my last newscast there, before moving to Philadelphia – … Continue reading The end of an era, and beginning of this one (Part A of this one)
I’ve known I had another blog post “due” before the election, if you know how I think, but too much on my mind and so much going on – personally and in the news – to actually do it. After this morning’s attack in a Pittsburgh neighborhood where I have family and have been to … Continue reading Not a good day for political thoughts, the USA as a whole
It’s a happy moment at CohenConnect.com. (Online definition of moment: “a very brief period of time.” The italics are mine.) September’s blog numbers were high with more than a thousand views, despite the fact I only published four posts. (I know. I have to do better on that. And I can’t complain about the time, but … Continue reading News starting out good but going downhill fast
President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be giving the Senate Judiciary Committee calendars from 1982 to back up his continued denial of sexually assaulting Christine Blasey Ford. That’s according to The New York Times, late Sunday afternoon. The year 1982 was 36 years ago. Do you have your calendar from back then? Heck, … Continue reading Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, justice and becoming a Justice
I try not to go more than a week without posting something. Unfortunately, it has been 11 days dues to holidays that won’t be letting up anytime soon, and also my IT support specialist classes. (Last night, I finished Course 2, Week 1, out of 5 courses.) I just don’t like blogs that give a … Continue reading Eric Trump and his shekels
I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure you’ve had a busy week, between getting used to having your kids in school or planning what to do on this long holiday weekend. Sorry for the folks in “sunny Florida” with plans ruined while dealing with Tropical Storm Gordon. (But you're welcome for this souvenir to help … Continue reading Labor Day weekend leftovers
What a morning, and I hadn’t even gotten to the vet’s office! It was time for Frisky’s first annual physical. That’s not counting the office visit she had a year ago, after I adopted her from Morris Animal Refuge on Clear the Shelters Day. Frisky has always been a tough one. She was only four … Continue reading Not the typical pet, not the typical vet appointment
This was starting to get a little hard to keep track of, and I wrote most of this last night. Good thing I waited to publish, because I had to really rewrite today! It’s looking like the big media merger I’ve been writing about so frequently may not happen! Even better, it looks like one … Continue reading Big merger, big problem, big surprise!
I tend to stay away from politics that I really, really care about -- simply due to my background as a journalist and the habit it created over all these years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ncv7QZqwxc But yesterday, while waiting for the final Bastille Day celebration at Eastern State Penitentiary which we ended up not even waiting for because … Continue reading You may be right but don’t let some on the left know (and vice versa)!
Philadelphia may be one of the biggest cities in the country and arguably the most historic, considering it is the birthplace of our country. However, it's a whole lot more than Old City and historic places like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall that attract tourists from all over the world. Philadelphia is also known … Continue reading From Philly? How your neighborhood (or one nearby) got its name
The first thing I have to say is this blog was planned for today. It doesn't have anything to do with Wednesday's Supreme Court decision on public unions. Instead, it has to do with the calendar. The reason, as you see in the picture, is that my Florida teaching certificate expires tomorrow and since tomorrow will … Continue reading Certification expiring, definitely done teaching
Aug. 26, 2018 UPDATE: Grave marker raised and leveled, in early August. I may be back in a few weeks. I don't go on many vacations and didn't plan to write a blog on this one, but the most unusual thing happened while trying to visit my grandfather's grave at the cemetery in Royal Oak, Michigan. … Continue reading Grave situation for hours outside Detroit
Who would’ve thought of me as some type of music expert? Definitely not anybody who knows me! I’ve been planning this blog for a little while and the lyrics immediately came to my mind as the headline. (Of course, I’ve never heard of Five Man Electrical Band. They sang Signs in 1971.) It’s actually pretty … Continue reading Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Most of us strive for perfection. Some of us do it too hard, and it can affect our well-being. On the other hand, there are people who just don’t know any better, or worse, don’t care. I don’t watch TV nearly as much as I used to, especially newer shows, shows not on network TV, … Continue reading The Big Bang Theory’s wedding episode succeeded where Publix failed
I don’t know about you but yesterday, I couldn’t stop “hearing” about what the people who listened to a certain audio file heard. Most insisted it was one thing: just not the same thing. That became the Yanny-Laurel debate. What you think you heard became the side you were on. Sometimes listeners even switched teams. … Continue reading Forget Laurel and Yanny. Did Cecily call Adam a moron?
First, happy Mother's Day to everyone to whom that applies. I hope you're having a great day! Second, today is also the celebration of Yom Yerushalayim, or Jerusalem Day. It's the Hebrew anniversary of when the Israelis recaptured the eastern/holy part of the city in the Six-Day War of 1967. It's where no Arab country's leader … Continue reading In defense: The good Facebook can do when used by the right people
This is my 90th blog post and like most journalists, I identify mistakes all over and somehow -- often through publicity -- try to get them fixed. But not on this milestone. There's too much good to write about. I also want to point out the page CohenConnect Headlines Sitemap has a list of all the blog … Continue reading Who says everything I write is negative (but correct)?
I’m not writing to take an opinion on the issues of sanctuary cities or illegal immigration, but have to say I’m pleased a gang of Republican-appointed federal judges were willing to rule against a president from their own party. Philly.com reports from the Associated Press that this afternoon, “A federal appeals court in Chicago has … Continue reading Sanctuary cities judges show they know justice, not politics
I didn’t know much about James Comey until about two years ago. Since then, I thought pretty highly of the guy and that really hasn’t changed. Arguably, Comey was the big political story of the week – so far. Today, his new book A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership was officially released and Sunday, … Continue reading Comey comes alive with tough talk against Trump
They did it again! Villanova University’s men's basketball team is celebrating its second national championship in three years. According to the school’s president, Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, “In 2016, it had been 31 years since our last national championship for basketball, and now, just two years later, Villanova is once again the national … Continue reading Villanova Victory, Volume III
There are two big changes in weather: The snow has stopped and The Weather Channel is being sold. Also, you can say the owner is a real person for two more reasons: The new owner is not a partnership between three corporations, like in the past – and he was one of the stars of the … Continue reading The Weather Channel’s new owner, a real controversial person
People who know me can never, ever say I’m not loyal to people I like and respect. You’ll see that in a moment, along with an example of the opposite. (Is your mouth watering yet?) Yesterday, one of Philadelphia’s daily newspapers published an article called “Is the morning news format that fuels Mike Jerrick's 'weird … Continue reading Be nicer to Mike Jerrick, and other thoughts on what’s making news
Surprisingly, I haven't seen this reported at all by South Florida media. Yes, they’re still consumed and reeling from the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day, but this involves THEM, darnit, and they know it. There was nothing in the Miami-Herald, Sun-Sentinel, or New Times about it, nor TV stations WSVN … Continue reading WSVN without Fox? It’s possible if….
How many of you watched the Super Bowl this year? Of course, in Philadelphia, that's a loaded question with the underdog Eagles in the game and beating the seemingly perennial winners, the New England Patriots. Same thing in New England. Their team was in the Super Bowl and they don't get sick of Tom Brady … Continue reading Got cable, satellite? You’ll foot the bill for Fox’s Thursday Night Football
I really didn't know what to make of school districts cancelling classes for a parade and celebration for Super Bowl LII champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. That's probably because I've never been in this situation before. And it's certainly historic, not just for me but for everyone around here. The Birds have won championships before, but … Continue reading School out, Eagles’ championship parade on!
Talk about ungrateful and too much attention for a minor story. The only thing major was the size of the animal. About a year ago, you’ll probably remember all the interest that started to be given to a giraffe named April, that was pregnant at a small zoo called the Animal Adventure Park in … Continue reading Eagles’ fans give April the Giraffe an ‘F’