May 2024
59 articles published this month.
-
SPECIAL ISSUE
Why The Stock Market Keeps Defying Expectations
When the stock market hit an all-time high on May 16 – despite the instability in the financial markets and all the obvious problems with inflation – I wondered if that might be a signal that it may be in for…
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
Where Am I?
Where Am I? Once every eight weeks, if not more often, K and I travel to LA to visit Number One and Number Two Sons and their families. Together, they have bestowed upon us four grandchildren: Francis, the…
Read full post -
Worth Considering
Learning How to Forgive Yourself
I recently delivered a video presentation to senior executives in a Japanese publishing company I write for titled “The Zen Secret for Never Regretting Your Business and Financial Decisions.” In that…
Read full post -
News & Views
If Necessary, Use Deadly Force?
If Necessary, Use Deadly Force? When JM, my ex-Navy Seal trainer told me about it, I thought it couldn’t possibly be true. Trying to defeat your political opponent through “lawfare” is tacky enough for a…
Read full post -
The Economy & Investing
Why Is the Market Going Up?
Why Is the Market Going Up? This week, for a change, I am not commenting on a chart that Sean sent us to illustrate some points about the stock market and investing. Instead, I’ve asked him to explain why…
Read full post -
Worth Reading
In What World Is Gender-Transition Surgery Gender-Affirming Care?
A study from the University of Texas Medical Branch found that the risk of suicide increased 12 times following gender-transition surgery compared to those who did not undergo the procedure. Click here.
Read full post -
Worth Watching
The Best Latin Hip-Hop of the Last Decade
I spend a fair amount of time in Latin America. So when a friend suggested that he’d never leave the US because he’s addicted to hip-hop, I pointed out that some of the best of it is being produced by Latin…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Five Quick Bites — May 28, 2024
Five Quick Bites * Interesting. Peter Diamandis reports: “WTF Just Happened in AI?” Click here. * Interesting. Fact and fiction, right and wrong – Hannah Arendt on Totalitarianism. Click here. * Fun. Edgar…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
From AS: “Some fodder for your war on liberals
AS is an old friend, independent thinker, and liberal-to-moderate on most issues, which makes these quips doubly appreciated. I thought it was particularly interesting that the great comedic philosophers Lenny…
Read full post -
Quiz of the Week
AP US History
18 out of 20 for me on this one.
Read full post -
Photo of the Week
Simple Pleasures
Walking the dog on the beach.
Read full post -
Readers Write
On COVID Lies and Failures
GM sent in an essay by Alex Berenson titled “Team Apocalypse will not quit.” It starts like this: “The fact that public health bureaucrats and their pet science reporters are still lying about their COVID…
Read full post -
Postscript
From Far Out Magazine: 10 Movies too controversial for cinema
I was intrigued enough to read the listicle and even watch the trailers. I suppose I was hoping for a smorgasbord of outlandish fare. A few were bizarre, including two I’d already seen decades years ago. Among…
Read full post -
Just One Thing
Tired of the Relentless Struggle to Stay Lean?
Thinking (Like Me) About Oprah and Ozempic? Oprah’s many struggles with her weight appear to be over. Thanks to her recent highly publicized success with weight-loss drugs, their use has surged in popularity…
Read full post -
Just One Thing
Most Americans Don’t Know These Basic Facts About Our Population
An interesting poll from YouGov provides an idea of how out of touch Americans are with reality. Question: What percentage of the American population is Black? * What the Average American Thinks: 41% * The…
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
Funny… You Should Ask
I gave up on Saturday Night Live after the original cast (including Dan Ackroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, and Gilda Radnor) and the original writers were replaced by less talented performers and…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
Peter Ustinov On Comedy's Serious Purpose
“Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.” – Peter Ustinov
Read full post -
News & Views
The New Angst Over Grade Inflation
The New Angst Over Grade Inflation There are a few rules of life that anyone over 30 understands from experience. Among them is that making challenges easier for your children, your mentees, your employees…
Read full post -
The Economy & Investing
Once Again, the Idea of a Wealth Tax Surfaces
Once Again, the Idea of a Wealth Tax Surfaces In the new global/socialist age, the desire to tax and redistribute income and wealth is greater than ever. And the good people of the UN and G-20 are doing…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Five Quick Bites — May 20, 2024
Five Quick Bites * Interesting. Makes your head explode! How much did we spend on illegal immigrants in 2023? How about homeless veterans? Click here. * Fun. Shark Tank’s best pitch ever. Click here. *…
Read full post -
Quiz of the Week
The History of Grocery Stores
At 50%, this was the weakest performance for me on any of these quizzes. And of the eight I got right, I guessed at seven of them! Click here.
Read full post -
Photo of the Week
Portrait of Huli Tribesmen
This was the “Readers Choice” winner in Smithsonian Magazine’s 2023 Photo Contest. The Huli is an indigenous Melanesian tribe in the Hela Province of Papua New Guinea. There are more than 250,000 Huli, making…
Read full post -
Readers Write
Re my May 9 Special Issue on “Antisemitism vs. Free Speech and Peaceful Assembly
“Everything you said is right. Students and professors and non-students should not be able to shut down a public university by threats and intimidation. How do we protect the rights of the non-protestors? And…
Read full post -
Postscript
After 40 Years in the Making, Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis Makes Its Debut
Coppola began working on this project in the ‘80s, and it was finally released this year at the Cannes Film Festival. You can watch the trailer here.
Read full post -
Just One Thing
If the Biden Management Team Had Only Listened to Me!
As even the Trump-hating New York Times admitted earlier this week, Donald Trump is leading in five of the “crucial battleground” states, according to a new poll conducted by the NYT, Siena College, and The…
Read full post -
Just One Thing
Aphorisms
I was having lunch with BW, a longtime friend and fellow wanderer through new adventures. He said he liked the quotations I included in the May 1 issue, especially the one from Van Gogh: “I would rather fail…
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
The Retirement Question
The Retirement Question “How did you know it was time to retire?” I was asked that question twice last week… once by a reader (IK) and once by the CEO of a Japanese publishing company that is doing some kind…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
James Clear on Finding Happiness
“You will never find one answer to what makes you happy. There are many answers, and they change based on your current state. People need to relax, but if all you do is sit on the beach, it gets old. People…
Read full post -
The Economy & Investing
Chart of the Week: When to Buy Stocks
Chart of the Week: When to Buy Stocks One thing any experienced salesperson knows is that, despite what we like to think, people make the decision to buy things based on their emotions rather than their reason…
Read full post -
Worth Considering
The Decline of the Convertible
The Decline of the Convertible Something is going on in America that is not especially newsworthy, but it is intriguing. Because it must reflect some sort of larger social or economic change that perhaps is…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Five Quick Bites — May 13, 2024
Five Quick Bites * Interesting. Get ready for hybrid thinking. Click here. * Interesting. Days passing too quickly? Here’s how to slow down time… maybe. * Fun and Interesting. German trains will soon feature…
Read full post -
Worth Reading
The Hemingway Stories
A new collection selected and introduced by Tobias Wolff Published March 2, 2021 320 pages There’s a reason why so many writers of Hemingway’s generation are no longer read much, but he still is. One of my…
Read full post -
Worth Watching
1964: The Beatles Playing Live in Washington, DC
It was Feb. 11, 1964. At the height of Beatlemania, the Fab Four played live. They are playing with nothing but microphones and speakers – with none of the sophisticated computerized equipment that bands have…
Read full post -
Quiz of the Week
How Many Legal Terms Do You Know?
This one was just too easy. And yet, I got one wrong.
Read full post -
Photo of the Week
Moon Shadow
Researchers on board the International Space Station captured this view of the moon’s shadow over parts of North America during the solar eclipse on April 8.
Read full post -
Postscript
If you had a billion dollars, which house would you live in?
Choose one. And tell me why. This one? This one? Or this one?
Read full post -
Just One Thing
If I Were President, I Would Not Sign This Treaty
I’m Hoping Biden Won’t Either WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland I haven’t commented on this story, although I’ve been following it for more than a year. The proposition seemed so outlandish, I couldn’t…
Read full post -
SPECIAL ISSUE
Antisemitism vs. Free Speech and Peaceful Assembly
How US Universities Mishandled the Recent “Occupations” Columbia University students participating in an ongoing pro-Palestinian encampment on their campus, April 25, 2024 Although the worst of it is at least…
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
Things I’ve Been Thinking About Lately — May 6, 2024
Speechwriting (with a Little Help from My Friends) I’m a little nervous. I can’t deny it. In July, I’m going to be in Tokyo for two days, lecturing to 2,000+ Japanese investors and businesspeople that, I’ve…
Read full post -
News & Views
Brilliant. Scary. Crazy
Brilliant. Scary. Crazy. Meet Victoria Shi She is a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But she’s not real. She’s AI-generated. In this clip, she introduces herself and explains how she was…
Read full post -
The Economy & Investing
The Supply Crunch in Luxury Homes
The Supply Crunch in Luxury Homes The difference between a mortgage rate of 3%, where rates were four years ago, and 5.5%, where they are today, can make a significant difference in the monthly mortgage…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
Warren Buffett On Making Wrong Decisions Work
“Wrong decisions are part of life. Being able to make them work anyway is one of the abilities of those who are successful.” – Warren Buffett
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Five Quick Bites — May 6, 2024
Five Quick Bites * Interesting. How Ronald Reagan reacted to “mostly peaceful” student protests. Click here. * Fun. The Hobbit read in what is apparently the style of a BBC Radio 4 Shipping Forecast. Click…
Read full post -
Quiz of the Week
How Much Do You Remember About Nursery Rhymes?
I aced this one. (Is it the easiest quiz we’ve ever encountered?)
Read full post -
Photo of the Week
Argentine Zoo Struggles To Survive Pandemic's Economic Toll
A lion at Luján Zoo in Buenos Aires, Argentina The zoo provides a home for animals rescued from circuses, animal trafficking, and private collections. Losing its main source of money due to the effects of the…
Read full post -
Readers Write
From Steve Leveen, following the publication of my piece on bilingual children in the May 1 issue
“Thanks for this story. I’m delighted that Nazario has his family here, as I thought they were still back in his country. “You express an oft-told story of precocious children impressing adults with their…
Read full post -
Postscript
Being Liberal Isn’t Fun
I’ve said before that the best humor is that which unites, not divides. In the past several years, many of America’s best-known comedians have ceased performing at college campuses for fear of telling a…
Read full post -
SPECIAL ISSUE
Taylor Swift: What’s the Big Deal?
I’ve been trying to understand the Taylor Swift phenomenon – how she became perhaps the most successful pop star of all time. Here are some of the facts: * She is the “most-streamed artist of all time” on…
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
Learning About Languages
Learning About Languages Steve Leveen, founder of the America the Bilingual Project and author of America’s Bilingual Century, an excellent book, is a friend of mine. He recently copied me on an essay he…
Read full post -
Worth Considering
Hate Speech? Or Legitimate Call for Resistance?
SH sent me this article from The New York Times about Khymani James, a student at Columbia who was barred from the school’s campus after comments he made on social media went viral. SH included this video of…
Read full post