May 2023
64 articles published this month.
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Notes From My Journal
The Political Force of Pronouns
I was going to write an essay today about identity politics and gender ideology. It’s a big, interesting subject, with plenty to argue about. But one aspect of it has become a wedge issue politically. I’m…
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Arts & Letters
The Contemporary Art Market Is Still Strong
The high end of the art market has been doing very well for a surprisingly long time. In recent months, however, there’s been some softening. That’s not surprising. In fact, it’s overdue. What I’m comforted to…
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Worth Reading
The Trial — May 30, 2023
By Franz Kafka Written in 1914 and published posthumously in 1925 176 pages May’s book selection for The Mules was The Trial by Franz Kafka. We don’t often read classics, but I’m always happy when we do. In…
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Worth Watching
The Trial
Directed by Orson Welles Screenplay by Orson Welles, based on The Trial by Franz Kafka Starring Anthony Perkins, Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider, Akim Tamiroff, and Elsa Martinelli Original release…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Dalí Forgeries Exposed In Revealing Video Documentary
Remember the Salvador Dalí forgeries that I wrote about on May 23. Click here to watch a good little video about them.
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Readers Write
From AS, re my comments about the rear-naked choke hold in the May 26 issue
“In all the media reports about the subway debacle I saw, there was no physical contact, that is until the ex-marine used the choke hold. “They taught that choke hold to us in the Army. There was no…
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Postscript
The Surprising Artistry Of Building Card Towers
I was familiar with the phrase “house of cards” – usually used to describe a situation or plan that is in imminent danger of collapse. But I didn’t realize that stacking playing cards into impossibly…
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Notes From My Journal
The Rear-Naked Choke: How Lethal Is It?
I’ve been thinking about the Jordan Neely/NYC subway situation a bit. Not so much because it resulted in political outrage with Black/White overtones, but because of the comments made about the choke hold that…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Look Who’s Competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
When Rorion Gracie brought his family’s style of Jiu Jitsu to America in 1978, no one had ever heard of it. But when Rorion’s younger brother Royce entered the Ultimate Fighting Contest in 1993, the first…
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Worth Considering
Word of the Day: Self — May 26, 2023
“Self-defense is not just a set of techniques; it’s a state of mind, and it begins with the belief that you are worth defending.” – Rorion Gracie
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Arts & Letters
Einstein's Unexpected Career Advice Sparks Plumber's Reply
I’d Rather Be a Plumber… In October 1954, Albert Einstein was asked by the editor of The Reporter to comment on the hostile treatment many American scientists and intellectuals received during the McCarthy era…
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Inside Paradise Palms Botanical & Sculpture Gardens
Painting in Paradise
Paradise Palms has become a favorite venue for the Plein Air Painters, a group of local artists that carry on the Impressionist tradition of painting outdoor scenes outdoors. With 25 acres of variegated vistas…
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Postscript
Freestyle Battle
This kid goes by the name of Laurent. That’s all I know about him. But he’s pretty good. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Why Salvador Dalí Is the Most Counterfeited Artist in the World
In the early 1980s, soon after my first retirement, I got into the art business, buying a half-interest in an art gallery in Boca Raton. I met lots of interesting characters through this relationship – none…
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News & Views
The Digital Dollar Is Getting Nearer
The federal government’s plans to replace the paper dollar with a digital one continues apace. Recently, Biden and his appointees have been talking up the CBDC (central bank digital currency). As I predicted…
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Business & Marketing
Making America Great, the Peter Thiel Way
I knew very little about Peter Thiel. I knew he was one of the founders of PayPal. I knew he took some of that money and invested it in a new startup called Facebook, among others (LinkedIn, SpaceX, etc.). I…
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Worth Listening
Pop-Up Classical Music Performances
DF, my elder sister, sent an issue of The Marginalia, where Maria Popova included this link to a pop-up performance of Beethoven’s final symphony. Click here. I’ve covered a few of these before. I especially…
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Readers Write
From JC, re self-defense for daughters (and sisters and mothers)
“I know you have a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I also know that you had your boys learn it when they were young. I have a nine-year-old daughter. If you had a daughter, what martial art or self-defense…
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Postscript
Amazing Way to Finish!
You don’t have to be a fan of bowling, or even a weekend bowler, to appreciate this amazing finish. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Florida Will Soon Be a “Constitutional-Carry” State
Should I and My Fellow Floridians Be Worried? Last month, Florida passed House Bill 543, which eliminated the requirement for Floridians to have a permit to carry a concealed weapon. RF, my brother-in-law, who…
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Worth Watching
American Graffiti
American Graffiti Directed by George Lucas Produced by Francis Ford Coppola Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, Cindy Williams, Wolfman…
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Worth Considering
The COVID Response: What We Got Wrong — May 19, 2023
The Impact of Vaccines on Mortality A large meta study of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) reported by vaccine manufacturers found that the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines did not impact overall…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Ten Phrases from the Middle Ages
We were talking about the origins of odd and interesting English language maxims and phrases at the cigar club a year ago. Today, I received this from BW.
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Postscript
This dancing duo is all over social media…
And for good reason. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
So, What’s the Answer? What Should I Do?
I was doing some research yesterday about the changing history of expert medical opinion on canola oil and omega-6 fatty acids (of all things). Over the past several decades, it has fluctuated from positive to…
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News & Views
When I think about racism in the US…
I don’t think about incarceration data, SAT results, or other “systemic” issues… I think about this. And this. A Modern-Day Witch Trial There are many good people working in and around the challenge of autism…
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Worth Quoting
Another Big Retail Store Bites the Dust!
From Nellie Bowles (The Free Press) on crime in Portland: “REI, the do-good outdoor recreation chain, the store where I buy most of my clothes (whoever says they don’t carry black tie clothes isn’t trying hard…
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Arts & Letters
Good News, Bad News — May 17, 2023
France’s Pompidou Center will close in 2025 for five years, while it spends $300 million fixing itself up. The bad news is that it will still be open till then. Its architecture, inside and out, has always…
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Health & Wellness
Second Sleep? What’s That?
I was surprised to learn this: For most of man’s time on earth, sleep happened in two shifts. The current “normal” of one seven- or eight-hour sleep was something that developed during the Industrial…
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Introducing...
Gloria Alvarez
A well-known political intellectual in Guatemala, Gloria Alvarez has been speaking out against the growth of socialism in Latin America for years. She’s now running for president of her country – and she’s…
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Worth Reading
The 10 Greatest Final Frames in Cinema History
I enjoyed reading this short essay by Calum Russell in Far Out Magazine, in which he lists, “The 10 Greatest Final Frames in Cinema History.” I was surprised at how many I remembered. All but one. That was the…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Speaking of Films… a Moment in Time
Twenty years ago, this was how movie makers filled the cinematic holes. Today, with digital technology, the work can be done at a fraction of the cost by a college intern. Click here.
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Readers Write
From SC, re “Chat-GPT as Mark Ford” in the May 12 issue
“I loved it. But to me, the only thing that I might call ‘disturbing’ was the hint of cynicism I’m seeing in some of your writing the last year or so. “Yes, those ‘keys to living’ are clichés and not terribly…
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Postscript
Talk about heroics… This is amazing!
Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Exciting… and Disturbing
A subscriber sent in this “clipping” under the headline: “Chat-GPT as Mark Ford telling you how to live your BEST life!” I wasn’t sure what to make of it because I don’t know how Chat-GPT works. I know that…
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News & Views
Why You Can’t Trust Science Anymore
If you know how to search Google reasonably well, you can find studies to support just about any idea you favor. And some of those studies will be convincing. The problem is: Convincing does not = valid or…
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Worth Watching
Chimp Empire
Chimp Empire A 4-part Netflix series Season 1 released April 19, 2023 Directed by James Reed Narrated by Mahershala Ali It’s not for everyone. Some may find it a bit slow going. But Chimp Empire is a very good…
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Worth Considering
The COVID Response: What We Got Wrong — May 12, 2023
Another Validated Side Effect of the Vaccines JM, one of my trainers and physical therapists, sent me the link below on a study about the relationship between COVID vaccines and the incidence of retinal…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Test Yourself: How Much Money Does the Federal Government Waste Each Year?
I’m talking about overspending, duplicate spending, and improper spending. So, what do you think? A hundred million? Five hundred million? A billion? Here’s a partial answer straight from the Government…
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Readers Write
From JJ, re “China Is Winning This Battle Too!” in the May 9 issue
“Here in Ecuador (and likely other countries), China lends hundreds of millions of dollars for infrastructure projects, to be paid back in oil. “Ecuador is entirely self-sufficient in electricity thanks to the…
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Postscript
Derivatives Market Basics in 60 Seconds
The Derivatives Market Explained in Less Than One Minute… Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
I Was Profiting from a Bordello!
I like to think of myself as a good and responsible landlord. I keep the properties in good shape, keep the rent increases affordable, and give the tenants the privacy they deserve. But when Julio took over…
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News & Views
China Is Winning This Battle, Too!
As you might remember, I lived for two years in Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer. My assignment was teaching literature at the University of Chad. As a college teacher in the capital city, I had many…
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Worth Quoting
Bill Bonner On America's Declining Global Standing
“America is a victim of its own flim-flam. The peak of it… probably came when Madeleine Albright, the US Secretary of State, announced that the US was ‘indispensable’… and that ‘we stand taller… and ‘see…
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Health & Wellness
Coffee? Tea? Why Not?
A friend of mine told me that he was eliminating coffee from his diet for “health reasons.” I told him that the coffee=bad myth was debunked decades ago. In fact, a 2017 umbrella review of 201 meta-analyses by…
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Worth Watching
Jordan Peterson Interviews Camille Paglia: Fantastic!
I’ve known her name for years as a public intellectual. I thought she did movie reviews. Had the impression that she was a leftist. That’s all I knew. JM sent me this video of an interview Jordan Peterson did…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Ten Useful Learning Strategies with ChatGPT
Recently, Scott H Young asked his readers to write to him and explain how they’re using large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. He then reported on their responses. I was impressed by what people are…
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Readers Write
From CM re my May 5 piece about charitable giving
“I really enjoy your e-letters. They are both informative and entertaining. Your article on charity was outstanding, and so were the links! Since you quoted the Torah, a subject I’m familiar with, I hope it’s…
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Postscript
Two Things You Need to Build a Following on Social Media
This guy has found his niche on social media. He has a big following. Not just because his schtick is clever, but because he’s very good at what he does. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Anonymous Giving
The Torah says that the highest form of charity is when the giving is done anonymously. One gives for the opportunity to help someone else, without any expectation of social recompence. When we donate to…
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