Recently, I had a Queen weekend. When Queen was in its heyday 25 years ago, I liked them well enough, but now, their music sounds a bit different to my ears. The fact that my teenage daughter likes them says something about the ageless aspect of their work. One of my favorite songs happens to be “Play... read more

You can always tell the time of year here in Pittsburgh. It goes from Steeler Training Camp time to Steeler season to (hopefully) Steeler Super bowl playoff time, to the ultimate: Steeler Superbowl Sunday. Then, if the city is lucky, it’s Victory Celebration time for another month. Things are then... read more

Am I the only one who gets steamed at poor quality of customer service in department stores? There is a wide spectrum of tolerance-from those who accept poor service and still tip-to those who are ridiculously demanding. I fall past midrange, since I’m not irrational, but see no reason why those who... read more

In my never ending quest to clean up my files by deleting old articles, and rewriting/expanding and transfering preferred ones to other locations, I came across the following summary provided to a non-paying client. Since I like to make use of everything upon which I’ve expanded time and energy,... read more

Hello everyone, As I mentioned last week, I’ve been sort of busy lately with my own work, a good part of which is what the industry may term “Private Label Rights”-those articles you see when you google or search for a topic and there is no byline. However, folks who write for print... read more

Well, dear readers, I have not forgotten about you, but I do apologize for neglecting you for the last 6 weeks. If you have checked occasionally and have been disappointed, please accept my apologies, as well as my thanks for not forgetting about us here at the Compendium. I hope that your lives have... read more

There are probably many folks who acted in high school college productions, only to have their dreams of stardom placed on the back burner of real life. Their time in the spotlight has become a memory in between house payments, babysitting and overtime. But at some point, the desire to get back on... read more

The other day, I had to have a plumber to my house to fix my kitchen faucet. It wasn’t the first time that I’ve noticed an extreme sense of pride in workmanship from some of the independent contractors who’ve come to my home for various reasons. My noting this is not due to surprise, but in bemusement... read more

Prince. Yes, that is the subject of today’s piece. Have you thought about him lately? Last week, my daughter was flipping through the CD I’d left in my car player, and came across his big hits from the 80’s. She fell in love with “Kiss” and said that it was going to be the next one for her... read more

A few days ago, I decided to take my daughter to an old fashioned ice cream parlor, and it was a genuinely nice experience. The place we visited is the only one of its kind of which I’m aware. Perhaps it’s because it was decorated in pinks, reds, hearts and cupids for Valentine’s day, or perhaps... read more