July 2016

Editor’s Page Guest Editorial by Greg Custer For more editorials, visit: http://thedarksideofthedream.com Say What! Weed Legalization in Mexico?   It’s a brave new world in Mexico. It seems there’s no end to the ‘say what!’ news in this the Western Hemisphere’s most evolving democracy. If you peek beyond the rhetorical and resort walls, what’s happening […]

CHOCOLATE and MEXICO—A Love Affair By Herbert W. Piekow   Chocolate has a four thousand year history and its origins are shrouded in myth. Mayans, Tolascans and Aztecs used the bitter chocolate mixed with chili in their religious ceremonies. Cortez wrote that Moctezuma consumed three gallons of chocolate per day as an aphrodisiac; although I

GET WHAT YOU NEED: Skills to Build Your Destiny Author: Anna Elena BerlinReviewed by Margaret Porter   Philosophers have debated the distinction of “fate” and “destiny” ever since Socrates held discourse in the Agora. In her book Get What You Need: Skills to Build Your Destiny (Wisen-Up Publishing; 200 pages), Ajijic resident and author Anna

Imprints By Antonio Ramblés antonio.rambles@yahoo.com   Padua (in Italian “Padova“) is less than half an hour’s drive from Venice, and even the time spent on a farewell breakfast at the hotel on Lido and a ferry ride back to the mainland to retrieve the car still allows for a mid-morning arrival. In fact, the distance between

JIM SPIVEY —Still in Pursuit of Answers to Unasked/Unanswered Questions By Margaret Van Every   A carrot and stick motivated Jim Spivey to fulfill his potential against seemingly impossible odds. The stick was having been born into grinding poverty; the carrot an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Add to these the synchronicity that put him in

Uncommon Common Sense By Bill Frayerbillfrayer@gmail.com Certainty and Doubt   Bertrand Russell once observed, “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are so certain of themselves and wiser people are full of doubts.” When I first wrote about Donald Trump several months ago, I was fairly certain he would have disappeared

Maki By John Ward   She was abandoned with her brother on the side of the highway. The sweet, considerate person who abandoned them wrapped them in a towel as some sort of conscious-assuaging salute to pseudo-altruism. They were four weeks old. Luckily a kind soul found them on her way to work. She picked

Coffee Shop Ritual By Katina Pontikeskatcpon@yahoo.com   The faint smell of jasmine tea vapor floated up to her nose, and she inhaled deeply, enjoying the warm mist. Suddenly she felt self-conscious and looked up. A man she had noticed sitting at the same table yesterday was staring at her intently. His gaze was soft, and

Inhaling Sunbeams By Michael McLaughlinReviewed By Harriet Hart   There may be readers out there who enjoy questions like: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” I am not one of them. To me, the answer is simple, there is no sound because one had doesn’t clap, if anything, it waves. Inhaling Sunbeams by

Letters to the Editor Dear Sir: I just wanted to comment on the Donald Trump (Guest Editorial by Victoria Schmidt) article in the Ojo this month. The article was “bang on.”  This man is scary and I pray for the future of the United States let alone the world should he be elected.  Mr. Trump is no