November 2022
72 articles published this month.
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Notes From My Journal
We Were Not Just Wrong. We Were Hysterically Wrong
Part I: The Complaint Think back to the early months of 2020. Do you remember what was happening? Do you remember what we were thinking back then? Do you remember what we were doing? When I think about those…
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News & Views
A Conversation with Bill Bonner and Porter Stansberry
If you are in the mood to learn something about the state of the economy and why I believe a major recession is inevitable, listen to this conversation between two of my better-educated friends and colleagues…
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Arts & Letters
Stopping the “Stop Oil” Numbskulls
To publicize their idiotic cause of “no more oil production,” protestors have been targeting art treasures in museums in Europe almost non-stop since the beginning of this year. At the start, their strategy…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Anna Delvey Under House Arrest: “I’m Still Living Better Than All of You!
Did you see the Shonda Rhimes-produced Netflix series Becoming Anna? It tells the story of Anna Sorokin, a 31-year-old Russian woman going by the alias of Anna Delvey, who scammed her way through New York…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Kid Inventor's Airport Tech Raises Privacy Concerns
This video was sent to me by a high school friend… Under the link, he wrote: “Very cool! And the inventor is a kid.” It’s a new technology that will make finding your gate at the airport, and getting to it…
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Worth Reading
Are We Living in George Orwell’s Nightmare or Aldous Huxley’s?
How many times in recent years have you thought, “This is just like 1984.”? Or “This reminds me of Brave New World”? Click here to read a short, but insightful essay on that subject.
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Postscript
Canadian University Constructs Artificial River For Research
A Canadian university, to better study the dynamics of rivers, has built its own river…
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Notes From My Journal
Choosing Community Over Comfort In Nicaragua
I’ve been up to my neck in business issues. And yet, it’s Thanksgiving. Surrounded by family, I should be spending most of my time with them. J, my editor, who knew I was feeling the crunch, was kind enough to…
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Worth Quoting
Ancient Philosophers on Gratitude and Appreciation
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” – Voltaire…
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Postscript
The Best Thanksgiving Play Ever
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! And just for fun… The best Thanksgiving play ever.
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The Economy & Investing
More Layoffs: A Sign of… What?
As you know if you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, I’m pessimistic about the economy. American GDP is down. Inflation is up. And rising crime and taxes are driving big companies and wealthy…
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Worth Reading
Small Things Like These
Small Things Like These By Claire Keegan 128 pages Published Nov. 30, 2021 Every once in a while, I read a book that makes me want to read everything the author has written. That is how I feel after reading…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Something I’d Like to See – I Think!
I had no idea this was a thing. It happens every year in Chile. Millions and millions of red crabs leave their homes in the wild to march, en masse, to the sea. My neocortex would love to see this up close. My…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Who Was Nastassja Kinski?
Apropos of nothing, here’s a video tribute to one of the most beautiful faces in cinema history…
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Arts & Letters
From a letter Charles Bukowski, at age 64, sent to his publisher in 1971
“I now write from an old mind and an old body, long beyond the time when most men would ever think of continuing such a thing, but since I started so late I owe it to myself to continue, and when the words…
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Readers Write
Re Bill Bonner’s view of US politics in Friday’s issue
“Pleased to know that Bill Bonner and I concur: The bureaucratic class of both parties are having us on. We are being had.” – JM My Response: I agree with you and Bill re the balance of corruption in politics…
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Postscript
Is this even possible anymore?
Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Contest, providing leadership on getting along with people with whom you disagree…
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Business & Marketing
How Safe Is Your Business from Employees Like This?
I don’t know if this is real. This guy is so charismatic, I suspect he’s a professional actor. Take a look at this video: This may be a con, but this sort of thing does happen. In fact, when a business gets…
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News & Views
Lots Happening at Amazon…
* The week before last, Amazon set a mind-boggling record. It became the first public company ever to lose $1 trillion in valuation, dropping from almost $1.9 in July 2021 to $879 billion. (It’s back up to…
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The Economy & Investing
The $32 Billion Crypto Scammer
If you’ve heard about this crypto scammer but want to wait for Michael Lewis to finish his book or wait for the movie that will be made from it, here’s a good, short review of the story of Sam Bankman-Fried…
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Worth Considering
From Bill Bonner: Who’s More Anti-Democratic? The Red or the Blue?
Bill Bonner has an evenhanded view of US politics. As he explains in this essay, he believes both parties are equally culpable in running a rigged system that is steadily destroying the economy.
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Fun and/or Interesting
Pop Quiz: Which Country Is This?
Here’s something I got from Joel Bowman, writing for Bonner Private Research. It’s enlightening. Can you name this country? Its government runs a state-funded, universal healthcare system, which provides free…
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Worth Quoting
George Orwell On Socialism's Credibility Problem
“As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for socialism is its adherents.” – George Orwell
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Fun and/or Interesting
On Our Way to 10 Billion?
The world population hit the 8 billion mark this year. Some pundits are saying it will hit 10 billion by 2050. I wrote about how the current population trends are drastically changing the world’s ethnic and…
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Inside Paradise Palms Botanical & Sculpture Gardens
Exploring Paradise Palms' Exotic Lychee Tree Collection
The conservancy that I’m developing in West Delray Beach, FL, has one of the largest and best-curated palm tree collections in the world, as well as a growing collection of outdoor sculptures, a traditionally…
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Readers Write
Japanese POW Camps Worse Than German Ones
“The Kurt Vonnegut letter in Tuesday’s issue was horrifying and genuine. I had no idea, as I’m sure most did not…. By the way, the Japanese POW camps made the German ones look like a resort.” – AS
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Postscript
Amadeus' Most Unforgettable Moment
If I made a list of my 10 favorite movie scenes, this one from Amadeus would be among them…
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Notes From My Journal
A New Business Pops Up in Nicaragua
On the trip from the airport in Managua to our house at Rancho Santana, Nestor updated K and me on the local news. The election went off without a hitch, he told us, smiling. Government employees were told to…
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Notes From My Journal
An Introduction to “Realitivity
I’m working on an idea for a book that I will probably never finish. It will exist in the library of two dozen could-be bestsellers that I’ve been working on for years. Like the rest of them, I was excited…
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Worth Reading
From Russia with Love — November 15, 2022
From Russia with Love By Ian Fleming First edition April 8, 1957 253 pages And…
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Worth Watching
From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love Directed by Terence Young Starring Sean Connery Premiered in London Oct. 10, 1963 Released in US theaters May 27, 1964 Currently available on many streaming services The Mules opted to…
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Worth Reading
Kurt Vonnegut's Letter From A Prisoner Of War
Until I came across this in Letters of Note, I had no idea that Kurt Vonnegut was a prisoner of war. This letter to his family explains a lot about his view of war and the world, as expressed in his novels. To…
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Readers Write
Young Entrepreneur Seeks Mentorship, Gets Mastermind Advice
“I hope you get great satisfaction in knowing that your book [Ready, Fire, Aim] continues to guide the way and help thousands of people like me every year!” – RC “I am reaching out to ask if there is any way…
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Postscript
Canadian Comedian Julie Nolke's SNL Audition Tape
Julie Nolke is a Canadian comedian, actress, writer, and YouTuber. I discovered her online while searching for comic relief during the COVID lockdown She is very talented, as you can see from this clip of her…
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Notes From My Journal
After the Storm
Late Wednesday afternoon, one of the Mules asked me if we were still planning to have our book club meeting at the cigar club, as planned. I replied, “Why wouldn’t we?” He said, “Because of the storm.” I said…
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Notes From My Journal
What Are My Thoughts?
JS, my editor, thought I should write something about the election results. So, I’ve been thinking about what I think and, so far, I don’t have any thoughts worth writing about. But I do have a feeling about…
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Conspiracy Theory of the Week
Is Google Influencing Elections?
Speaking of elections, I ran across this earlier this week: the assertion that Google has been using its algorithms to influence elections. It seems like a “conspiracy theory,” but the source checks out. And I…
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The Economy & Investing
Would You Ask This Question? If Asked, Could You Answer It?
If I were in charge, nobody would be allowed to become an employee until he/she had spent some time running a business. And nobody would be allowed to run a business until he/she had spent some time as an…
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Notes From My Journal
What I Believe: About Gun Control
I think everyone should have the right to own a gun. Or guns. But I also believe in gun control. I can’t, for the life of me, understand the arguments against, at the very least, banning assault weapons. The…
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Worth Quoting
Anna Quindlen On Metal Detectors And Gun Control
“There is a lot of talk now about metal detectors and gun control. Both are good things. But they are no more a solution than forks and spoons are a solution to world hunger.” – Anna Quindlen
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Arts & Letters
Is This a Party You’d Want to Go To?
Click here for a first-person account of the recent LACMA fundraiser, which raised $5 million. It will tell you everything that is wrong about the art market today.
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Fun and/or Interesting
A Clock That Tells Time Through Literary Quotes
Warning: This is very nerdy. Literary nerdy. It’s called the Literature Clock, and it works like this. Rather than glancing at your watch or phone, go to this website – https://literature-clock.jenevoldsen.com…
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Readers Write
Re what I’ve been saying about violence in big cities – the NYC subways, in particular
“Your Nov. 4 issue[LINK] about passion, weddings, and kale was a pleasant read until the negative New York trope. I realize that fear, real or imagined, cannot be changed by a few words. But I feel compelled…
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Postscript
Test Your Knowledge Of America's First Ladies
I did poorly on this history test about America’s First Ladies (16 out of 25). But the facts were fascinating. Give it a try.
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The Economy & Investing
Job Growth in October Was Stronger Than Expected
Does That Mean the Economy Is Stronger Than I’ve Been Saying? The Biden administration is telling us that the US is not in a recession. In fact, they say, the economy is “very healthy.” Those are the very…
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A Word to the Wise
tribulation
A tribulation – from the Latin tribulum (literally, a thing with teeth that tears) – is another way of saying adversity – i.e., a trying period or event. As I used it in the essay above: “I’ve been saying that…
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Worth Considering
About Capital Punishment…
I’ve always been opposed to capital punishment. My logic was simple. If I believed murder was evil, how could I justify punishing murderers by murdering them? Also, there was the question of wrongful…
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Worth Reading
It’s Your Ship
It’s Your Ship By D. Michael Abrashoff Originally published May 22, 2002 240 pages This book was published 20 years ago. I happened upon it in a used bookstore last week. It’s a quick read because Michael…
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Arts & Letters
What Should We Say About Alex Katz?
The Guggenheim is putting on a major retrospective of Alex Katz’s paintings. I came across a review of it by Alex Greenberger in Art News that was very negative. He calls the work “vapid.” (You can read the…
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Worth Quoting
Robert Frost On Poetry And Public Recognition
“I don’t care what people think of my poetry so long as they award it prizes.” – Robert Frost
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