August 2022
79 articles published this month.
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News & Views
California to Become America’s First “Trans Refuge State”?
California Senate Bill 107 passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Aug. 3 with an 11 to 4 vote along party lines. It’s objective: to “make California a ‘sanctuary state’ for children seeking…
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Worth Considering
A Brief History of US / China Relations
Biden’s recent statement (following Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan last week) that the US would defend Taiwan against hostility by mainland China indisputably increased tensions between the world’s two largest…
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Arts & Letters
Kids Write the Darnedest Things
From 11-year-old Emily Dickinson A letter to her brother, April 18, 1842 “[T]he chickens grow very fast I am afraid they will be so large that you cannot perceive them with the naked Eye when you get home the…
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Worth Quoting
Passion Alone Won't Eliminate Work's Inevitable Suffering
“It’s become a Hallmark sentiment that if you find a career that you care for passionately, everything that is disagreeable about work – the drudgery, the disappointment, and the pain – will disappear and be…
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A Word to the Wise
behemoth
A behemoth (buh-HEE-moth) – from the Hebrew for “beast” – is something that is enormous, especially a big and powerful organization. In the Old Testament, the behemoth was a beast from the Book of Job – a…
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Readers Write
Re “A Short History of the Devolution of Air Travel” in the Aug. 2 issue
“This gave me a good laugh! As my wife and I prepare to take our first international flight since 2019, my feeling of trepidation has gone from a 4 out of 10 to a 9 or 10.” – ND Re the Aug. 2 P.S. about Fred…
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Postscript
Jordan Peterson On Why Thinking Matters Now
A fascinating short lecture by Jordan Peterson on the evolutionary importance of thinking – actual thinking – and why it’s now more important than ever. Watch it here.
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Notes From My Journal
It’s Beautiful. But Is It Safe?
I’m spending the week in Baltimore, where my primary client is headquartered. I’m here for meetings about the receding economy, the effect it’s had on our industry, and the challenges it poses to our business…
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The Economy & Investing
The Latest Example of What We Can Look Forward To
Robinhood, the stock trading app that was so hot a year ago, announced that it is laying off around 23% of its workforce. This is its second significant layoff. The first was 9%. The layoffs will be primarily…
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Business & Marketing
Here Today; Gone Tomorrow
A Lesson From the Demise of Juul When you are part of a fast-growing business in a fast-growing industry, it’s easy to imagine that growth is normal and that the good things that come from growth are going to…
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Fun and/or Interesting
If Gender Is Not in Our Private Parts, Is It in Our Brains?
Here’s a TED Talk about transgenderism that is worth a look. It’s given by a transgender woman who is also a neurobiologist with very impressive credentials. In her presentation, which she is obviously…
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Worth Watching
Directed by Bruno Dumont
France Directed by Bruno Dumont Starring Léa Seydoux, Blanche Gardin, and Benjamin Biolay Released in theaters Dec. 10, 2021 Available to rent or buy on various streaming services, including Amazon Prime K and…
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Arts & Letters
Congratulations to the Lionesses, England’s women’s soccer team, for making history Monday night!
Their win over Germany in the European Championship final – after a 56-year title drought for the UK – would have amazed the man who wrote this letter to the editor of the Pall Mall Gazette in 1895: “[A woman]…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Do I Really Have to Sell My Florida Beach House?
We’ve all been told that global warming will raise ocean water levels dramatically along coastal areas everywhere because of the melting of the polar ice caps. Right? That’s what I was told, and for many…
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Worth Quoting
Fran Lebowitz on Reading Before Thinking
“Think before you speak. Read before you think.” – Fran Lebowitz
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A Word to the Wise
auteur
An auteur (oh-TUR) – French for “originator” – is a filmmaker whose personal influence and artistic control are so great that he/she is regarded as the movie’s author. As I used it in my review of France…
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Readers Write
Re “Understanding Gravity in Five Lessons” in the July 22 issue
“I love your research. The YouTube on Gravity was fascinating. Something I have been interested in for 50 years.” – MF Another testimonial for our book, Central American Modernism: “It's great to get an…
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Postscript
Technique Trumps Raw Strength In Bull Riding
In business and Jiu Jitsu, strength helps, but without technique it is often a net negative. Apparently, the same is true for bull riding.
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The Economy & Investing
The Recession of 2022: How Bad and Long Will It Get
It’s official. The US is in a recession. According to a report issued last week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the real GDP (gross domestic product) decreased in the second quarter of the year by 0.9%. It…
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Notes From My Journal
A Short History of the Devolution of Air Travel
Air travel today is considerably worse than it was before the pandemic, when I was on a plane at least once every six weeks. I did that for 30 years. And a third of it was international travel – i.e., flights…
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Worth Considering
Debunking the Myth of the Lost Cause: a Lie Embedded in American History
Debunking the Myth of the Lost Cause: a Lie Embedded in American History I first read about the “lost cause” theory of the Civil War many years ago. Maybe 20. It’s the argument that the war was not about…
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Notes From My Journal
What I Believe: About What Matters Most to the Human Animal
If you want to know the truth about government and big company activities, instead of believing what you read in the government- and big company-influenced press, you must “follow the money.” That’s what they…
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Fun and/or Interesting
California Wines Explained For The Amateur Drinker
I’ve told you about these videos from “The Wine Explorers Letter.” (Disclosure: I have a small interest in the company that publishes it: the Bonner Private Wine Partnership.) I enjoy them immensely. They are…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Leonard Bernstein Weighs In On The Beatles
Leonard Bernstein was, without a doubt, the most famous American conductor in the second half of the 20th century. In addition to conducting the New York Philharmonic, he was a composer, a pianist, a Harvard…
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Arts & Letters
Vermeer's Mastery of Light and Domestic Intimacy
Long before Girl With a Pearl Earring, I was a huge fan of Johannes Vermeer. Here is a short lesson about him from an art historian, with a few comments about why his art was so great. Click here.
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Worth Quoting
Jack Welch On Confronting Present Reality
“Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.” – Jack Welch
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A Word to the Wise
Fricative
– from the Latin for “to rub” – refers to a hissing or buzzing sound produced by forcing air through a narrow space. In phonetics, a fricative is a consonant sound made by directing a stream of air with the…
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Readers Write
Reader Shares Moving Video From Past Conversation
“One hour speaking to you is worth a year of reading books!” – TD RS sent me this little video. It’s a touching story, if I do say so myself. He said, “Not sure if you remember this.” (I didn’t. But it I’m not…
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Postscript
Golden Age Hollywood's Greatest Dancers Ranked
Baryshnikov was right. Fred Astaire may have been the best dancer who ever lived. And Rita Hayworth wasn’t bad either! Watch it here.
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