July 2021
30 articles published this month.
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Worth Reading
The Bomber Mafia
The Bomber Mafia By Malcolm Gladwell Published in 2021 by Allen Lane This was The Mules’ book selection for July. Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite non-fiction authors. His books are about ideas…
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Worth Watching
The Best of Enemies
The Best of Enemies (2019) Available on Amazon Prime and Netflix Written and directed by Robin Bissell Starring Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell In the last few years, Hollywood has been frantically putting…
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Notes From My Journal
Wanting Came First; Gratitude Much Later
I don’t remember being grateful very often when I was young. I remember wanting things – lots of things – all the time. As a child, I wanted toy trucks and cap guns and Lionel trains and baseball mitts. I…
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Postscript
The Ship of Theseus Problem Explained
Here’s a video clip on an old thought experiment on what makes us… us:
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Notes From My Journal
Back Home in Florida After a Week in Paris
It’s good to be home. Back, after an impromptu week in Paris, to our family home in Delray Beach. Paris is as unlike Delray Beach as a dinner of steak au poivre and haricot verts is to a drive-thru, McDonald’s…
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Worth Watching
Collective (2020)
Collective (2020) Available on Netflix and Prime Video Directed, written, and produced by Alexander Nanau Starring Catalin Tolontan, Camelia Roiu, and Tedy Ursuleanu Collective is a documentary about corporate…
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Worth Reading
Virginia Woolf: Her Last Letter
When people say that suicide is a selfish act, I think, “No, thinking that suicide is a selfish act is what is selfish.” There is only one reason that people kill themselves: The pain of living has become…
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Postscript
When Police Can't Respond, Citizens Step In
Sometimes… when the police are too busy doing other things... you have to take the law into your own hands.
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Notes From My Journal
Looking Out the Window
I sit in my writing studio, which has a view to Vista del Mar, which means “View of the Sea.” And indeed, I have a view of the sea and of this road that leads to and from it. Every so often, I lift my head…
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Notes From My Journal
How The Bikini Got Its Explosive Name
The Secret History of the Bikini According to one of the history blogs I subscribe to, the bikini was introduced on July 5, 1946, at a swimming pool in Paris, France: Created by French designer Louis Réard…
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Worth Watching
What It’s Like to Be a Transgender Dad
Here’s a TED Talk about the difficulties of being a transgender dad. It’s given by a very likable person with a problem that can’t be solved. He wants the world to accept his “authentic self” – as a…
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Notes From My Journal
Please… Tell Us How Evil We Are!
The Biden/Harris administration is inviting the United Nations to come to the US and study our culture to let us know just how racist we are. Apparently, they are not happy with the fact that most Americans –…
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Worth Reading
The Beginning of the Best Thing That Ever Happened
By Alexander Green Journalists labor around the clock to deliver a distorted picture of the United States. Their relentless drumbeat of negativity has convinced millions that we are a shameful and fatally…
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Postscript
La Guardia Cross Quizzes His Daughters On Mom Knowledge
La Guardia Cross has developed a large YouTube following. Views of his show, New Father Chronicles, range from 100,000 to over a million. That’s not surprising when you see his videos. He’s got two young…
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Notes From My Journal
She’s Living My Dream… Damn It!
It was my second effort at retirement. Or was it the third? No, the second. I was going to spend my retirement as an art dealer and collector, traveling around the world and having a wonderful life. And I…
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Postscript
Staying Updated With Suzanne Ford's Art
Interested in what Suzanne is doing? Send her your email address – to suzanne@fordfineart.com – and she will put you on her mailing list.
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Notes From My Journal
The Good, the Bad, the Whatever
GOOD: Arizona’s Ballot-Harvesting Ban Is Ruled Non-Discriminatory and Legal Arizona’s ban on out-of-district voting and ballot-harvesting doesn’t violate the federal Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court ruled…
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Postscript
Southwest Airlines Accused Of Racial Bias In Boarding Dispute
Is this guy being kicked off the plane because the Southwest ground operators are racist? Southwest Airlines has a history of treating its passengers like suspects. In this latest example, a Black man is…
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
The Ragged, Ratty, 25-Year-Old Carry-on Bag and the Human ATM
The Ragged, Ratty, 25-Year-Old Carry-on Bag and the Human ATM Bill has a billion-dollar information publishing business. His responsibilities require him to travel all over the world. For the past 25 years…
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Postscript
The Dilution Effect: Why More Choices Confuse Consumers
I love TED Talks like this. Here’s an academician explaining a cognitive bias that is very basic knowledge for any good marketer as if it’s an amazing psychological revelation. I’m curious… Is this “dilution…
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Notes From My Journal
Steinbeck's Novel Illuminates Shakespeare's Troubled Duke
John Steinbeck’s The Winter of Our Discontent was June’s selection for The Mules, my all-male book club. I’ve always had the impression that Steinbeck is solidly ensconced in the pantheon of American novelists…
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Worth Reading
The Winter of Our Discontent
The Winter of Our Discontent By John Steinbeck 292 pages Published in 1961 by The Viking Press Reissued in 2008 by Penguin Classics The Plot: Ethan Allen Hawley, a former member of Long Island’s Great Gatsby…
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Postscript
Richard III
ACT I SCENE I. London. A street. Enter GLOUCESTER, solus GLOUCESTER Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York; And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house In the deep bosom…
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Notes From My Journal
Reconnecting With Old Friends After Retirement
Business, Sports… and Defending the Apostrophe I ask GP what he’s been doing since he retired late last year. “Living the dream,” he tells me. “I walk along the beach almost every morning. Once or twice a week…
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Postscript
Google's AI Dubbing Technology Threatens Voice Acting Jobs
This is pretty cool: Google recently announced AI-based technology that will replace the dubbing of movies into foreign languages. I don’t know how many people make a living dubbing, but I do know that many…
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Notes From My Journal
Walking With Steve
Once a week, Steve Leveen, a friend and neighbor, and I would take an early morning walk. He’s a better walker than I am. And his dog is a better walker than Steve is. So, the pace we kept was halfway between…
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Notes From My Journal
Steve's Journey From Zero To Fluent French Speaker
Walking and Talking and Speaking French After retiring from his role as co-founder (with his wife Lori) and CEO of Levenger, a company that sells wonderful products to readers, Steve got interested in learning…
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Postscript
Jack Black's Surprisingly Practical Spanish Learning Tips
In this video, Jack Black gives you a few useful tips on learning Spanish…
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Stablecoins: The Latest Buzzword in the Crypto World
Stablecoins are currencies that, like Bitcoin, exist on the blockchain and offer some of the advantages that the blockchain provides. But unlike Bitcoins, they are not issued in limited amounts. Here's how…
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Notes From My Journal
Andy Warhol's Impersonator And Performance Art Legacy
Sad and Happy Fake News in the Real Art World Allen Midgette, the man pictured below, died on June 16 at his home in Woodstock, NY. Yes, he looks a lot like Andy Warhol, who died in 1987, 34 years ago. That’s…
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