If I were to ask you to name something you do far more today than you did a year or two ago, what would you say? You might mention shopping on Amazon, or ordering food through delivery services like DoorDash or Uber Eats, trends undoubtedly accelerated by the pandemic. But there's no question that streaming content via Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, and other platforms was becoming a way of life for most people even before COVID-19 arrived and upended everything. You'd be hard-pressed to find a person who doesn't consume TV shows and movies through at least one of these services while you're bound to encounter individuals who have ditched cable for good.  Here are just a few of the reasons why streaming content is all the rage: You have more control over the content you watch You can skip commercials  You can binge watch shows and movies you may have missed when they premiered  You can do it all in the comfort of your own home  Gone are the days when we had to settle f...

If you've watched your fair share of romantic movies or devoured a romance novel or two, this scene may be all too familiar to you by now: The handsome male lead doing everything in his power to sweep his love interest off her feet -- writing her poems, buying her chocolates, planting a kiss at the end of the night.  And even if the pair are already in a relationship together, it's the man who tends to be portrayed as the one responsible for making his partner feel beautiful and valued.  While it's certainly true that a guy should strive to make his lady feel appreciated, it goes the other way as well. Men may not show it, but they, too, yearn to feel desired, to feel needed. They love receiving compliments, being told they're attractive, and being chased by their significant other every now and then. This, of course, extends to the bedroom. Men like for their partner to initiate and take control when least expected. But even so small a gesture as a call or text to tell...

Hate doing the laundry? Detest washing the dishes? Do you often put off taking the dog for a walk because you'd rather be cozy in bed watching Law and Order reruns? We've all been there. When it comes to chores and other stuff on our To Do Lists that we loathe doing, we may find ourselves procrastinating -- so much so that we may come home to find the electricity has been shut off due to unpaid bills, we barely have any clean clothes to wear, or the leak we left unattended for weeks now poses a flood risk. While we may never actually grow to like these tasks, here's a valuable tip for helping you carry them out quicker and make them more bearable: With task enhancement, you add a positive stimulus/distraction to the mix so as to give your mind something more enjoyable to focus on while you complete the task. For example, I hate doing exercise after work, but I remind myself that it goes a long way toward keeping the pounds off. If I didn't have my iPod wit...

Today's quote comes from Abigail Adams (1744-1818), the second First Lady of the United States and wife of the second U.S. President, John Adams: "Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence." I agree wholeheartedly with Abigail. What she is saying is that people must take an active interest in learning. Books do not merely fall from the sky and into your lap -- you need to seek them out, whether at home or in the library. The same applies in the digital world, where you can find helpful videos on YouTube, informative articles on Wikipedia, and so forth. Unfortunately, far too many people believe learning stops the day you graduate from college. This couldn't be further from the truth. Just because you don't have to take exams or write papers anymore doesn't mean you can't learn how to play an instrument, read and write in a different language, or start your own business. Nothing enriches the mind like knowl...

If you're like me, there are at least a handful of songs and/or movies that hold a special place in your heart. We associate certain songs and movies with fond moments and times in our lives. Examples may include: The first movie you saw with an ex or your current partner A song that was played at your high school prom A song that you'd sing with your friends at summer camp Songs or movies that came out while you were in college, presumably a relaxed and carefree epoch in your life A song or movie that came out during other defining periods in your life, e.g., while you were serving in the war or traveling around the country. Songs and movies can take us back in time. Perhaps you've noted that a certain song or movie first came out before you had kids, converted to Judaism, began working for your current employer, or bought your two-story house. Indeed, some songs and movies lead us to compare an older version of ourselves (when they were first released) to ...

When you ask people what they might use to reminisce about the past, most will point to pictures they might have stashed away in their attic or garage. But I think music and movies can also serve to take us back in time, both of which are pretty easy to retrieve nowadays via the internet. Whenever I watch movies or listen to songs from my childhood, it transports me back to the time they were originally released. I ask myself questions like: How old was I when this song or movie was out? Did I watch the movie in the theater? Was I with my parents? With friends? Where would the song be played? On the radio? At school dances? Who else around me liked it? I realize some people might regard those details as minutiae, especially those who couldn't care less about the past or for one reason or another wish to put it behind them.  Another reason why I am so fond of music and movies from those years? I find them to be superior to the ones of today.  It seems the cont...

Studies have revealed that if you're inclined to reminisce about past events, you'd be wise to turn to pictures, movies, and/or music. Such media, the studies suggest, help us recall prior events and experiences that we may have trouble recollecting otherwise. And this makes complete sense. How many times have you heard a song that has taken you back to your high school days? How many times have you looked at pictures that have brought back memories of old friends or flames? And how often have you watched a movie and wondered what you were doing in your life when the movie was originally released? I consider pictures, movies, and music to be windows to our past. I love employing these mediums to take a trip down memory lane and remember some of happiest moments I've ever experienced up until now. Don't ever neglect taking a camera or tape recorder with you whenever you're slated to experience a potentially life-altering event. It'll give you somethin...

Between work, kids, and other responsibilities, human beings need a break from the humdrum of everyday life. Unfortunately, most of us don't have the wherewithal to set off on a cruise to the Bahamas every time boredom strikes. So what is one to do to break the tedium? That's when we resort to "mental" escapism in the form of: Reading novels Watching movies or soap operas Playing video games Writing stories And so on. I advise everyone to make the effort to carve out time in their busy schedules to engage in these activities. You don't have to be a movie buff or a bibliophile to enjoy a flick at the local theater or thumb through the pages of a good book or magazine.  The stresses of daily life can weigh on us and leave us feeling drained sometimes-- whether physically or emotionally. Mentally retreating into a different world -- be it one conceived by James Cameron, Nicholas Sparks, or yourself -- allows us to cast our worries aside at least ...