Bingo is generally considered a social activity engaged in by ladies at church and grandmothers; and the bingo hall a place where friends meet and enjoy an exciting but safe evening that includes the possibility of winning some cash.

Bingo is technically gambling, but it’s considered “soft” gambling and people play bingo for the social aspect as much as the game itself. But with Bingo, like other social and gambling activities, going online and interactive, the possibility of problematic bingo addiction becomes more likely.

Jane Skavinsky says “I lived and breathed bingo”. She was convicted of embezzling from her employer to finance her $500 a night Bingo addiction. And a bingo-playing grandma, 61, was just convicted of running drugs to make money to cover her bingo addiction. Police found 10 bundles of marijuana in her trunk.

When does gambling become an addiction? Gamblers Anonymous has prepared a list of twenty questions to help people determine if they are gambling for fun or from an addiction.

Twenty Questions

1.Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?
2.Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
3.Did gambling affect your reputation?
4.Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
5.Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
6.Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
7.After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?
8.After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?
9.Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?
10.Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
11.Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
12.Were you reluctant to use “gambling money” for normal expenditures?
13.Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?
14.Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?
15.Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?
16.Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?
17.Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
18.Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?
19.Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?
20.Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?

Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.

So far in this series on free computer games available on the internet, we have looked at crossword puzzles, mazes, chess and checkers. All of these have been completely free, with the unlikely exception of checkers, but, if you are prepared to pay a few dollars, the horizon broadens to take in all sorts of very enjoyable games.

My own favorites are strategy games, games that put you under no time pressure but rather require a certain amount of thought to solve. And of the ones that I have tried, the best by a long way is a little game called Slay. It is a very simple, easy-to-learn, conquest game but it requires considerable thought to keep winning on the higher difficulty levels. The basic game includes hundreds of scenarios (essentially different islands that you have to conquer) but the addition of a map editor means that you can design your own scenarios too, thereby extending the life of the game indefinitely.

There is a free demonstration game that can be downloaded so that you can see whether you like the game or not. Price for the full game is $30.00 but, for only ten dollars more, the programmer, Sean O’Connor will give you all nine of his Windows games, some of which are great fun. His game, Conquest, is one of these and is very similar to the boardgame, Risk; if you have played that game, you will know immediately how to play Sean’s version. Most of the others are strategy games of varying difficulties and complexities, with the single exception of Football-o-Saurus which, as the name suggests, is a game of football played by dinosaurs. It sounds silly but is surprisingly enjoyable.

So, for a mere $40.00, you can have hours and days of fun with these games. I thoroughly recommend them. To download demonstration versions or buy the full games, go to Sean O’Connor’s site.

Antonio Benedetto is a true American legend both as a singer and as an example of the American Dream. The son of a grocer and a seamstress who grew up in Astoria, Queens, he first started singing in the Army military band under the name Joe Bari. After his army stint he continued honing his vocal style even while waiting tables. Pearl Bailey spotted him and asked him to open for her. It was at this show that Bob Hope first heard Joe Bari and advised him to use a simplified version of his real name. It was 1949 and Antonio Benedetto became Tony Bennett.

Tony’s style and phrasing resembled musicians more than other vocalists, he sang as if his voice were an insrument he was playing.

Tony had a string of successes in the 50s and even early 60s but when rock arrived with the British Invasion, Tony found young people didn’t want to listen to his kind of music.

In the 80s it was Tony’s son who resurrected his career and Tony reached a new audience and generation. He didn’t compromise on the style or the music, yet his popularity soared amongst young listeners. He’s been going strong ever since.

Although he left art school as a teen to help support his family, Tony never lost his love of art. Today his paintings hang in such prestigious places as the Butler Institute of American Art and The National Arts Club.

Now in his 80th year, Tony Bennett is embarking on a 20 city tour to promote his new album Duets: An American Classic. Tony is teaming up with AARP on this road show and details on cities and dates can be found at their site as well as some interviews with guest stars who appear on the album with Tony.

Also at the AARP site is a gallery of paintings by Tony Bennett, which he signs with his real name “Benedetto”. Included is an amazing and warmly personal portrait of bandleader Duke Ellington.

The tour will include cities from Boston to San Francisco and 18 spots in between. Check out dates and times for a city near you.

AARP presents Tony Bennett and The Best is Yet to Come Tour

This year is the 80th year of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Originally started by Macy’s largely immigrant employees in 1924, the parade has become an American tradition. The parade has gone on every year except during the early 40s as the nation conserved rations and dealt with the seriousness of WWII. Macy’s donated the balloons to the war effort as the rubber was a much-needed resource. The parade resumed in 1945.

The 1947 film, Miracle on 34th Street brought the parade to the attention of the public outside of New York City and with the advent of televised parades in the 50s, the entire country was able to watch and enjoy the spectacle. Over the years more balloons and musical acts were added, the collaboration with Walt Disney leading to the addition of many character balloons.

The parade always goes on, rain or shine and always features great music, marching bands, stars of Broadway and television and of course, Santa Claus.

For information on this year’s parade route and entertainment, check out the official Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade website.