September 2021
27 articles published this month.
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Worth Watching
Clickbait
Clickbait (2021) Available on Netflix Created by Tony Ayres & Christian WhiteStarring Zoe Kazan, Betty Gabriel, and Adrian Grenier There are so many good things – even great things – to watch on screen these…
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Worth Reading
Blood Meridian – or The Evening Redness in the West
Blood Meridian – or The Evening Redness in the West By Cormac McCarthy 337 pages Published in April 1985 by Random House I’m writing this review two hours before we meet to discuss the book. At this point…
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Postscript
Viral Video Showcases Stunning Choreography And Effects
Here’s an interesting video by a group I’ve never heard of. The music is amazing; the dancing is good; the special effects are excellent…
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Postscript
Kool And The Gang Gets A Modern Remix
Here’s what can happen when a 70s/80s hit song by Kool and the Gang meets up with a 21st century brother (Callmechocko)…
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Worth Watching
1960s Movies Redux: 14 Reportedly Great Ones I Missed
Last Year at Marienbad (1961) Directed by Alain Resnais Starring Delphine Seyrig, Giorgio Albertazzi, Sacha Pitoëff Plot: In this mindbender of a romantic French drama, set in a picturesque château, a man, “X”…
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Postscript
Inside Paradise Palms Botanical And Sculpture Gardens — September 25, 2021
A peek inside Paradise Palms, my botanical and sculpture gardens in Delray Beach… Pinnate leaves of a betel nut palm (Areca catechu), Also known as areca palm, Indian nut, Pinang palm, and catechu,this species…
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Notes From My Journal
Bits and Pieces — September 23, 2021
BAD: Crazy Court Decision in Australia A lot of weird stuff goes on in the land down under. Last week, I read that Australia’s highest court ruled that newspapers and television stations that post articles on…
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Postscript
Test Yourself — September 23, 2021
How much do you know about the history of fast food? Click here to take this 10-question quiz. (I got 7 out of 10.)
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Notes From My Journal
Fathers and Sons
I looked through the little box next to my bed this morning, the one that contains the letter my mother sent to me before she died, advising me to work less and live more. The letter I’ve only been able to…
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Postscript
Expert Witness Clarifies COVID Vaccine Transmission Effectiveness
How effective are the COVID vaccines at preventing transmission of the disease? Getting a straight answer to this question is particularly important now that we know that even vaccinated people are contracting…
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Notes From My Journal
Bits and Pieces
GOOD: After 30 years in a Georgia prison for a crime he did not commit, Ron Jacobsen is exonerated. From the Innocence Project… Even though Ron Jacobsen’s conviction was overturned in 2019 after DNA evidence…
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Postscript
Test Yourself
How much do you know about famous museums? Click here to take this 10-question quiz. (I got 8 out of 10.)
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Worth Reading
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry By Neil deGrasse Tyson 244 pages Published in 2017 by W.W. Norton & Co. “I’m in a hurry,” I thought. “Astrophysics? I’ve been trying to teach myself physics – Newtonian…
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Worth Watching
Respect
Respect Released August 13, 2021 Available in theaters and on multiple streaming services Directed by Liesl Tommy Starring Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, and Marlon Wayans K decided we would eat at home…
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Postscript
Small Check, Big Faith In Filmmakers
A short film I exec-produced has been accepted by the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival and the Lake County Festival in Michigan. An executive producer does nothing but sign a check. I signed this one because it…
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Notes From My Journal
That's Not Funny! Why Humor Matters
Humor is one of the wonders of the Homo sapiens world. It has the potential to bridge social gaps, heal personal wounds, expand rigid minds, and open shut hearts by showing us what is essential in life – in…
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Worth Considering
Libel Versus Slander: Understanding Defamation's Two Forms
Defamation, as mentioned above, comes in two flavors: libel and slander. Many people have a hard time remembering the difference. It’s actually very easy: Libel is written defamation. Slander is oral…
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Postscript
The Only Acceptable Context For That Word
Speaking of the way we use words as weapons… I cannot imagine a situation in which I, as a White person, would feel justified in using the N-Word. It is, as some point out, used commonly by Black people. But…
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Arts & Letters
Widow's Letter To Port Authority Officer Lost On 9/11
It’s been 20 years since the September 11 attacks. This was taken from the book Letters of Note: New York… Uhuru Houston was born in Brooklyn in 1969. He joined the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey…
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Are You Ready to Make Your Big Career Move?
He had just graduated from college with a Liberal Arts degree and a few journalism courses under his belt. Having decided in his senior year that he wanted to be a writer, he reached out to me on social media…
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Postscript
Business Professor on a Decade of Change
A fascinating review of how business has changed in the past 10 or 11 years by a business professor:
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Notes From My Journal
The Good, the Bad, the Uncertain — September 7, 2021
Making Sense of Recent News Stories. Big and Small GOOD: Good for China One of the advantages of having unchallenged central authority is that you can make big decisions quickly. And as I’ve mentioned in…
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Postscript
Arnold Schwarzenegger Survives Fan's Drop-Kick Attempt
Check out what happens when a nut job tries to drop-kick Arnold Schwarzenegger in South Africa. He’s still the man!
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Notes From My Journal
Values and Aspirations
SS, a very successful investment analyst, once told me that certain things we cherish in our adolescence become valuable collectible assets when we hit our peak earning years. For my generation, this was true…
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Worth Watching
Best Films of the 1960s
In no particular order… The Graduate (1967) Directed by Mike Nichols Starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross Plot: Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), a recent college graduate with no plans for…
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Notes From My Journal
More About the F-Word…
Responding to the issue in which I agreed with a reader that the F-Word doesn’t suit us as we get older, AS wrote: I don’t disagree that people our age shouldn’t use the word fuck, even though I do. I don’t…
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Worth Considering
Word of the Day: F-u-c
F-U-C-K! Since AS got me started on all this with his email, I shared the above with him to get his input before posting it here. “That was great,” AS wrote back, “and quite extensive. I believe the origin of…
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