The 2016 Wrap Up!

2016 was a fantastic year of family, travel and personal growth.

It started with a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, a place I'd long wanted to visit. My wife Kath and I had a fantastic time seeing sites like the Counry Music Hall of Fame, Grand Ol' Opry and we even got to go to the NHL All-Star Fanfest which happened to be in town.



Soon after, this little guy joined our pack and quickly stole our hearts. His name is Finley and he's a Morkie; which is a mix between a Maltese and a Yorkie. He's far more Yorkie in personality, being full of spirit and mischievous.

I also made another trip to Japan in May. Unfortunately, I had planned to go back to Okinawa to see old friends and train but due to a serious incident on the island that I thought might make it not a safe time to be there, I cancelled. Hopefully sometime in 2017.



While I was in Tokyo, I had the privilege of training with a group of senior Shotokan practitioners, thanks to my friend Kitano-san. I had a fantastic time, learned new things and making some new friends. After our training, they took me out and we had quite a bit of sake from various prefectures across Japan.



Summer brought trips to the UK, where I visited London and Bristol. I also traveled down to North Carolina for the 2016 Inter-national Seidokan Karate seminar. It was a great weekend meeting new friends and old including Jason Fitzpatrick, my new mate from the UK. I caught up with him again in October and we hit the pubs in London. 


In September, I finally made it to Paris, France and got to speak at a celebration for completing a major project for the French Air Force. I took a whirlwind trip around in a hop on/hop off bus and got to see some of the sights, but promised my wife I'd save most of it for a personal trip with her in the future. The next week, I was back on a plane for Germany and this time Kath joined me. We had an amazing time visiting Bavaria, Austria and Northern Italy. The Alps may have been the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Both Kath and I really can't wait to get back there! We also hit Oktoberfest in Munich as well, another must do again.

The Bavarian Alps

When I got back from Germany, my karate class and I participated in the Northeast Karate Championship. As you can see from the photo, we did okay. Three participants and four medals.

My wife and I then headed out to NYC for NY Comic Con. She shopped while I navigated the halls of the Javits Center. I made a few good contacts and as always had a good weekend. At night, Kath and I took in the city including seeing Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes at BB King's in Times Square.


I also made one more trip to the UK and had the honor of having dinner at the Royal Air Force Club. It was something I'll always remember, especially for someone like me who loves history.
 
On the creative side, I finally managed to finish the first draft of my new Ronan Marino book, something that has vexed me for many years. I'm hoping to have it ready for release in summer.

I have big plans for 2017 so keep checking back here. Until next time! 

Random Thoughts of a Busy Mind (Part I)...

Today, I'm just going to push out some random thoughts that should hopefully spur on some thoughts of your own....

* The 2016 Presidential Election may very well be the worst in America's history. We have two main party candidates who can't be trusted, lie on demand and will do nothing but continue the slow decline of the world's last great superpower. I'd say we deserve better, but We the People have brought this on ourselves by continuing to reflexively vote for a corrupt two party system. 

* Maybe I'm crazy, but perhaps America doesn't need to take the lead in fighting ISIS. I know that the Guns, God and Murica' crowd will take offense to this, but we're not really accomplishing all that much over there. Yeah, I once believe we were, but this had become a generational struggle for us. In a few years, we'll have troops fighting who weren't even born when the Twin Towers and Pentagon were attacked in 2001. 

Maybe the Middle Eastern powers such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar, whom are all buying billions of dollars in advanced weaponry, should be taking the lead. After all, they have far more to lose than America or Europe does in this struggle. ISIS is a much bigger threat to their sovereignty and security.

* Hollywood may be out of good ideas. with this summer of remakes and sequels. I've only been to theater once since April. Don't get me wrong, there are some films that lend themselves to remakes, but there are others that don't need to be rehashed. There are plenty of good books out there that would make excellent films (cough, cough...Ronan Marino), but the movers and shakers in Tinseltown aren't willing to take the risk.

Most of the good stuff is on Amazon Prime, Netflix and pay cable these days anyway.

* Speaking of Hollywood, does it bother anyone else that some celebs rant about gun control, yet work in an industry that glorifies violence and guns?

There's one huge reason (other than being far more educated and wordly than the vast majority of them) I can't take any celeb serious when they preach about the issues of the day. They do not practice what they preach. Take a look at climate change issue. Leonardo DeCaprio preaches on the topic, yet flies on carbon spewing private planes, sails on fuel hogging yachts and rides in gas guzzling limos, yet he's going to tell us we need to take action to save the planet?

Sorry, not buying it from you, Leo. Ditch the yacht, mansion, private plane, etc. and we'll talk. Same with all the celebs who want to talk about banning guns, yet make films with gun-toting heroes or have armed body guards. Apparently they've never once heard the term hypocrite.

*Sadly, in terms of music, we live in age of forgettable one hit wonders. I look at the charts and barely recognize any of the names in the Top 40. In a month, it'll be an entirely different set of "musicians" I've never heard of, most of whom will never be heard from again. 

I miss the days when artists would put out an album and have four or five hits that would last for generations. I'm not critiquing the music itself, but the business model brought on by the .99 download. If this trend continues, the days of artists like Elvis, Sinatra, Springsteen, etc. who spanned decades and remained beloved will be gone forever.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on some of my random thoughts.

My Presidential Platform..

Wow, been a busy few months and I haven't blogged much at all.

Since my last post I spent a week in Japan and got to do some incredible training with some fellow Karate-do practitioners, taken golf back up, my youngest graduated from high school and I got serious about writing that next Ronan Marino book.

Meanwhile, someone recently asked me what my platform would be if I was running for president and I thought it would be kind of fun to lay it out. Hmmm, President Corricelli...no chance of that ever happening, though I would like a shot at a House or Senate seat one day (probably only a slightly better chance of ever happening).

So if I was running for president, here's some some of my platform:

Personal Taxes - the entire tax code would be abolished and replaced with a graduated tax. You pay according to what your income is and the entire thing is done on a postcard. If you make X amount, you pay X amount; no deductions, no loopholes nothing.

I'd also consider a temporary valued added tax (VAT) on luxury items (boats, aircraft, cars over $50K, diamond jewelry...those type of things) that would be locked into paying down the national debt. The law would be written so this money could not be used for more than the debt and would sunset after five years. 

I would not allow Congress to increase spending because this VAT money was coming in.

Corporate Taxes - I'd lower them to a rate comparable to other western nations but all subsidies to energy, etc. would be taken away.

"Not for Profit" universities and churches would no longer be exempt from paying taxes either. 

The Economy - My first day in office I will call in all the Fortune 500 CEOs of American based companies and ask them what they need from me to bring manufacturing back to our country. If I found their responses reasonable, I would work with Congress to make it happen.  

I would work with Congress to ensure trade protections for American goods. I would look to enact higher tariffs on foreign goods that compete 

Foreign aid - most of it would end and instead be used to improve our roads, bridges, etc. Sorry, rest of the world, but we cannot send billions overseas and not take care of our own nation. It would be on a case by case basis.

The Military - I support a strong military. That said, we don't need to be in over two hundred countries. We are not an empire. I would withdraw troops from hot spots like the Middle East and demand that the rich nations over there that we sell billions in weapons to take care of ISIS.

I would continue to work with our close allies to keep China, Russia, Iran and North Korean contained. I would ensure that freedom of movement over the high seas is maintained worldwide. 

I'd also cut down on the number of generals and admirals. There are too many and we need to go back to a better balance of senior officers vs. rank and file troops. 

Immigration - It's unrealistic to think we can deport 20M people. I would allow them to stay (unless they were violent criminals) but they must pay a fine, pay taxes, and are not eligible for so-called federal entitlements of any kind for five years from the time they come out into the light. They must all submit to a health inspection to ensure they don't have diseases we once thought eradicated in America. If found to be infected, they can either leave the country or be treated.

They must also be encouraged to learn English and integrate themselves into our society.  By Executive Order, I would make all road signs, etc. mandated to be in English only. It is the language of success and we will not get immigrants to integrate if they don't learn it.

I would also deploy the military to the southern border to protect it from further illegal incursions. That is their primary job to defend our borders. Time to put them to the use they were intended for.

Guns - I would push for all existing laws to be enforced before we come up with new laws. I would also order that mental hospitals be reopened and violent and dangerous individuals be committed, much as we did for decades.

If there are so-called loopholes, then they will be closed. 

Drugs - Marijuana would be legalized, controlled and taxed. I did a paper a few years ago for my Masters Degree and found we spend about $8 Billion a year on enforcement. It's also estimated that the federal government can reap an additional $8 Billion a year in taxes from marijuana.That's a delta of $16B in our federal coffers.

Other drugs that are highly addictive would remain illegal.

Abortion- No change to existing laws. Roe vs. Wade would remain in effect at the federal level.

No federal funding would ever be used for an abortion except in the case of rape or incest. 

Gay Rights - all Americans have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Bible, the Koran, etc. are not the rule of law in this country and shall not impede the rights our Constitution has provided. Marriage, etc. would all be legalized at the federal level.

Prisons - I would release all non-violent drug offenders who were caught up in federal mandatory minimums; meaning that if you're in prison for selling small amounts of MJ, but were in a school zone, I'm letting you out. You can apply for a pardon based on the severity of the crime. Each case will be reviewed and a pardon recommended to me on a case by case basis.

We cannot continue to incarcerate the high percentage of Americans that we do. For many non-violent criminals, there are other ways to punish including community service and fines.

Healthcare - I would attack the causes of the high cost of healthcare. There would be tort reform limiting damages against doctors, which should in turn lower the cost of malpractice insurance. 

I would make big pharma explain why drugs cost so much in America and if they refuse to lower the cost to the rate they sell them overseas for, enact laws to tax to ensure it's better for them to lower the prices than pay high export fees. 

The Environment - I know many will skewer me over this, but I am not convinced that climate change is due to man. The evidence on both sides has been so politicized, it's hard for me to believe where we stand. I do however think the climate is changing, as it has many times long before man ever stood erect. I also believe we need to move away from fossil fuels in a smart way so I would kick start an effort to build more solar plants, use more water and wind power, etc. We have to take care of our air, earth and water and polluters would be punished. 

Sure, some of this is fairly simplistic, and the details would have to be worked out as I moved forward but it's certainly better in my mind that the two individuals being pushed by the major parties.

Did I mentioned I'm voting for Gary Johnson?

 

 

Life Isn't Always Fair...Just Ask Tom Brady

This past week, we found out that New England Patriots' QB Tom Brady's four game suspension for Deflategate was upheld by the superior court in NYC. 

It's become apparent that the whole Deflategate investigation and "scandal" was a league manufactured scam to go after the all too successful Patriots at the behest of other NFL owners and league officials with an ax to grind. It doesn't matter that the evidence was highly questionable or that they the league ignored science; it looks like Brady will still have to serve the ridiculous suspension...unless of course he can get the court to rehear his arguments. 

The point of this post however isn't to discuss Deflategate. Instead, I'm using that situation to point out a very important point in life...it's not always fair. 

There are many examples from my own personal life where life wasn't fair, but I'll tell you about one in particular that forced me to change the path I was on.

The Contemporary Resort at WDW

I once worked at Walt Disney World managing multi-million dollar resort renovation projects. I loved working there and had long-term career aspirations. I was told I was doing a fantastic job by my immediate bosses and was bringing in all my projects on-time and often under budget. I even worked many weekends inside one of the theme parks at an attraction so I could learn the operational side of the business; all in an attempt to be more well rounded and meet my career objectives.

Then one day, I got called in by human resources. I thought I was getting my annual appraisal, but instead was told I was being laid off. I was utterly shocked. How could this happen? Neither of my immediate bosses knew it was coming and we later learned because I had applied for another position in the company that would have been a promotion (which I was selected for and turned down because I realized that I really liked where I worked), that I was perceived as "disloyal" by the department's director. 

Yes, I know that makes no sense, but because of that perceived transgression I was laid off with about a dozen others. This particular director was well known for screwing people for all manners of things that he thought were disrespectful, including one co-worker who was distracted and didn't reply to a "good morning."

My bosses did their best to argue against the action, but there was no changing the director's mind. People had to be laid off and despite my performance (and I was running circles around most of my peers), I was on his list. Thankfully, I got hired by another company we were doing business with, but my career aspirations with Disney were dashed. 

(Ironically a few years later, one of the new directors told me only days before I left Florida that I never should heave been laid off and he wanted to bring me back. By that point, it was way too late...though I greatly appreciated it.)

In the end it all turned out well, but I learned a valuable lesson that day. LIFE IS NOT ALWAYS FAIR. Tom Brady is learning that now as well.

Did my dreams of a career with Disney being smashed deter me from moving forward in my life? No, it was simply a setback and I came back stronger from it. Tom Brady will I assume do the same. 

For some however, there's no coming back from loss. They whine and complain that it wasn't fair and let their lives crumble around them. It's more of the blame game I discussed in an earlier post. I see it a lot in our society today, especially amongst Millennials. They weren't brought up to accept failure and when they have to deal with it, they shut down, blame others, etc. 

I was told a long time ago by a mentor that how we deal with failure and roadblocks, defines our character. I truly believe that. 

Learning that life isn't fair is an important step in realizing your full potential. You may not have the career you want, but when it comes to your character, you can be anything you choose to be.

A Part of My Youth Has Died - Prince Rogers Nelson (1958-2016)

I was at my grandparents' house just outside Dallas watching an old Abbott and Costello movie when the news cut in that the king of rock n' roll has passed. At the time, I had no idea of the impact Elvis had on American culture and didn't really understand the sense of loss many felt. My father once told me that Elvis dying felt like a part of his youth had died.

This week, a part of my own youth died as Prince Rogers Nelson left his Earthly bonds at the age of 57. I was sitting at my desk at work when the news popped up on my phone and I felt shock. I didn't want to believe he was gone. There will always only be one Elvis, but for my generation Prince was pretty damn close.

I first heard his music in high school and remember seeing the cover of "Dirty Mind" and cringing. "Who is this weirdo in the Speedo?" I thought. Then I heard the music and it changed my entire opinion of him. I became a fan. He wasn't a big star yet though. That happened once MTV hit and his videos for "1999" and "Little Red Corvette" went into a regular rotation.

His music brings back so many memories for me.

Walking through the carnival grounds on Pawtucket Boulevard in Lowell, MA with a girlfriend and hearing "Little Red Corvette" blaring from one of the rides (and only learning what the song was really about years later).  

Partying to the "Purple Rain" soundtrack turned up to ten and playing air guitar with dozens of other people to "Let's Go Crazy."

Seeing that film at a midnight show with two hundred other college age drunks and a couple of guys exposing themselves to the entire crowd as the film started (...and no I wasn't one of them) and watching the cops chase them through the auditorium.

Alone with a girlfriend parked at the top of Fort Hill listening to "Sign O' The Times." The song "Adore" was particularly romantic.

DJing on a Thursday night and playing "Erotic City" and a woman telling me I was disgusting. My response? "You're uptight."

So many more...

An amazing musician with few peers, Prince's songs transcended race, creed or color. He wasn't a "black" artist that only appealed to one race. His fans were black, white, Asian, Hispanic and he brought us all together in his music. That party where we cranked "Lets Go Crazy," and played air guitar, there were both black and white students sharing a moment of electricity and togetherness that kids today could learn something from. It's something a lot of today's "artists" could also learn from instead of the racial divisiveness many peddle.

My twenty-three year old son sent me a text and asked if I'd heard the news of Prince's passing. He recognized there will never be another artist like Prince and even went so far as to say the musicians of his generation were not even close to being as good.  Bruno Mars is a talented kid, but in all reality, he's a pale comparison to Prince. I can't even think of another mainstream act that even approaches his talent.

I only got to see him once on tour. I tried hard to get tickets for the "Purple Rain" tour, but they were probably the hardest ticket to get in 1984 and I was shut out. Luckily for me, I was able to see his next big tour when he came through. It was an amazing show and something I wish I could experience again. The energy and the music just made you feel alive. Watch at his amazing Super Bowl performance, arguably one of the top three of all time, and you'll get an idea of what he put into his shows. 

He apparently paid the price for it too as his body was wracked with pain, especially his hips and ankles from the high heels he wore on stage (he was only 5' 2"). 

Beyond the music, he was apparently a great humanitarian. I read today about all the great charity work he did that was never revealed to the public. His friend said because of his religion, he was not allowed to speak about the works he did and forbid his friends from doing so. The report was that he never refused to help someone and provided funds to inner city kids all over America and the world. What a contrast to jerks like Kanye West who can't get enough of themselves and contributes nothing substantial to society.

We've lost a lot of musical greats this year, but none so young and vibrant as his Royal Purpleness. I'm sure at the age of 57 he still had a lot of great music in him. It's sad to think we'll never get to hear what he had planned for the future but I'm thankful for the rich legacy he left behind.

Now if only we can get the current generation of "stars" to follow his positive example!

Sex is Dirty...or Why Lloyd Had No Game (Pt V - Bound for Glory(hole)?)

Well, this is it; the final chapter of this series of blog posts. I hope you found it amusing, heartfelt and perhaps even reflective of some of your own experiences growing up. 

How will I follow this up? I'm not sure but if you have any suggestions, feel free to chime in. 

Part V

So where would a young lad go to learn the actual mechanics of sex? How would I ever demystify the act? Was it as scary as I thought? I certainly felt that way in the confusion of teen hormones and social pressure.

When I turned eighteen senior year of high school, I decided it time to do some serious research. In a few short months, I was about to become a college boy and girls would surely expect more than what I’d been able to provide to date.

 In nearby Lowell there was an infamous adult bookstore called Tower News. It sat on the outskirts of the downtown and ironically was nearly right across the street from the comic book store where I shopped (and dared never speak of at school). I’d heard the stories about the rows and rows of porn mags and the infamous backroom, but I was a little afraid to go in there. I was of legal age to view porn, but my Catholic guilt, the fear of someone I knew seeing me go in there and the fact that even though I was eighteen, I looked fifteen, all led to my fears.

After weeks of planning, I finally got up the nerve, parked at the Zayre’s department store a good distance from the store and made my way to the infamous news stand. I walked in and a disinterested long haired greasy clerk at the counter barely paid me any attention. There were racks and racks of magazines, both porn and mainstream stuff like Sports Illustrated and harder to find magazines like World War II History Monthly. I think there were even some comic books. Not so bad, I thought.  I was also thankful that there wasn’t anyone else in the store.

I walked to the back of the store, waiting for someone to ask what I was doing or for identification, but it never happened. In the backroom, I found a collection of booths made from plywood spray painted black with doors for privacy. I’m guessing if you’d have put a black light on the inside of the booth, it’d have fluoresced like the Disney Electric Light Parade. Thankfully it wasn’t sticky because I may have had to burn my clothes after the experience.

I put a few dollars into a change machine, got eight quarters back, and found an empty booth. Inside was a video screen with a slot to put in a quarter to start the film. My hand trembled a bit as I slipped a quarter into the slot and a projector sprang to life. Suddenly the screen lit up with a grainy film featuring an attractive nude blonde women with big breasts and a hairy seventies era bush getting busy with a guy who I don’t think most women would have found attractive. Hmmm, I thought, so that’s how it’s done correctly. 

I think it took about four minutes before the video stopped and I had to put in another quarter. I dropped another quarter in the slot and continued to watch, when suddenly I heard a male voice whispering to me from the other side of the wall.

“Hey, hey,” the voice said. “Put your dick in the hole and I’ll suck it.”

Fear coursed through my body and to my complete horror, I looked to my right and there was a finger coming through a hole in the plywood.

“Come on, you know you want your dick sucked,” the voice whispered.

I may have, but not like this! I jumped up out of the booth, walked quickly through the shop and exited the store, my head down for fear of making eye contact. I sat in my car for a good twenty minutes, part confused and part disgusted. Was someone playing a trick on me? I was completely baffled. My biggest irrational fear was that my parents would find out that I had been in Tower News and propositioned by a homosexual. I’d have been on lock down until I was thirty!

It was only years later during my time in law enforcement that I learned what a glory hole was. Personally I don’t see the glory in sticking your junk in a hole and having some random person fellate you, but hey, maybe that’s just me. At least I’d had some of my sexual mechanics questions answered, even though let’s face it, porn sets some extremely unrealistic expectations.

Despite getting those pesky sexual mechanics issues answered, as I entered college later that year, I still had no game, but had finally started to gain some measure of confidence. I began to physically mature and the opposite sex definitely noticed. Talking to girls never got easy for me, but I think I figured it out. Don’t get me wrong, you’d have never found me in a bar using cheesy pickup lines, but by sophomore year of college, I was regularly dating. There were a lot of missed opportunities with some quality women that may have prevented a lot of future misery, but I’ve learned that’s not something to dwell on.

Sometime in that second year of college, I ended up in a relationship with my first love, a girl who was going to the same school. After graduation, we got engaged as was routinely expected in those days, but marriage scared the crap out of me. I was still fairly emotionally immature at twenty-two years old and marriage at that point would have been a recipe for failure. Just before I went in the Air Force, we first delayed the wedding and later broke it off and went our separate ways.

I entered active duty as a single officer, which the military at that time didn’t much care for. Even though I had to girlfriend, I felt pressured to be married by my commander and so after about a year and half, I said I do to someone I shouldn’t have.

That may be fodder for future blogs, but the marriage endured over twenty-two years of misery before we finally called it quits (I’m pretty stubborn…it’ll get better tomorrow…it’ll get better tomorrow…it’ll get better tomorrow…).

I suddenly found myself back out in the world single again. I was confident in who I was this time around, but guess what…I still had no game. Thankfully, technology was made for guys like me with dating sites where you can communicate over email, text, etc. before meeting in person. After many first dates, a few second and even third dates, I met a wonderful woman (who ironically I’d gone to high school with!) and we fell in love; real adult mature love…something I’d never experienced before  After nearly three and half years together, we bought a house together and got married.

So yes, this sad little story has a happy ending...and not the kind you get at an Asian massage parlor. 

I still have no game…but I don’t need to anymore. Oh yeah…I also learned along the way that sex is far from dirty. Of course it can be, but those type of puritan attitudes seem to be slowly dying out in America.

Meanwhile, I have a twenty-three year old son who I perceive as having no game…so the legend continues. He definitely seems much smarter than I was about marriage and maybe that’s his generation or the example I set for him.