Articles from 2019
882 articles · browse by month or scroll through the year.
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A Word to the Wise
galumph (verb)
To galumph (guh-LUMF) – may be a blend of “gallop” and “triumph” – is to prance about in a clumsy, self-satisfied manner. This is one of many words coined by Lewis Carroll in the nonsense poem “Jabberwocky.”…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Five Hundred Meteorites Strike Earth Annually
More than 500 meteorites hit the earth every year.
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Fun and/or Interesting
The Art Of Competitive Dog Grooming
Some good stuff here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN6kI78MaxQ&feature=youtu.be
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
How to Get Rich as an Employee
It’s too often said – and I’ve been guilty of contributing to this myth – that the only realistic way to become wealthy is to go into business for yourself. While it’s true that reaching billionaire status is…
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A Word to the Wise
feculent (adjective)
Something that’s feculent (FEK-yuh-lunt) is disgusting, full of fetid, rotting, or putrid matter. As used in The New York Times to describe the play Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus: “Taylor Mac’s filthy…
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Worth Quoting
Helen Gurley Brown On Ambition And Success
“You can have your titular recognition. I’ll take the money and power.” – Helen Gurley Brown
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Worth Watching
The Island Murder
The Island Murder (Netflix/American Experience) In 1931, Honolulu’s tropical tranquility is shattered when a young Navy wife makes an allegation of rape against five islanders. This sets in motion a series of…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Hawaii Joins The Union As Fiftieth State
Hawaii became a state on August 21, 1959 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting the US Protectorate (since 1894) into the union and ordered a new US flag with 50 stars in staggered…
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Readers Write
An email from SL
[At the age of 51] I decided to make a real change in my life by not having a TV or internet/computer. For once in my life I could stop being a news junkie and open up a book. I grabbed The Pledge and it fell…
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Fun and/or Interesting
The Universe's Surprising Intelligence Revealed
This is the sort of story that makes you believe there is a sort of intelligence in the universe.
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
A Good Example of Bad “Science
I recently read about a study, carried out by researchers at Yale and Oxford and published in The Lancet, that discovered that “exercise is more important to your mental health than economic status.” It took…
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Worth Quoting
Michael Masterson On Finding Happiness Through Giving
"Happiness is not a product of getting. It’s a byproduct of giving – giving your mind, your heart, and your sweat to something you value.” – Michael Masterson
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A Word to the Wise
wellspring (noun)
A wellspring (WEL-spring) is a source or supply of anything, especially when it is inexhaustible. As used by Nikos Kazantzakis: “My principal anguish, and the wellspring of all my joys and sorrows, has been…
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Fun and/or Interesting
How Medieval Cities Battled The Black Death
During the Black Death pandemic – which peaked in Europe from 1347 to 1351 – half of the 100,000 population of Florence died in a four-month period. In Milan, the news from Florence terrified the population so…
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Worth Reading
Million-Dollar Writing System Rewards Consistent Effort
The Latest Issue of AWAI’s Barefoot Writer Including: * The Million-Dollar Writing System that Awards Effort Above All Else * Why Most Copywriters Never Make Big Money * This Global Obsession Can Bring Writing…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Why Dumb Ideas Sometimes Win Out
One problem with dumb ideas...
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Notes From My Journal
I Finally Did it… I Picked Up the Phone!
I am phonophobic. No, that’s probably not right. I’m phone-o-phobic. Like many writers, I am scared shitless of speaking on the telephone. When email became ubiquitous 25 years ago, I felt like it had been…
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Worth Quoting
Paulo Coelho On Living With Anxiety
“Anxiety was born in the very same moment as mankind. And since we will never be able to master it, we will have to learn to live with it – just as we have learned to live with storms.” ― Paulo Coelho
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Worth Reading
You Can’t Buy a Starbucks franchise. Here’s Why and What You Can Do About It
“You Can’t Buy a Starbucks franchise. Here’s Why and What You Can Do About It” I’ve had some experience with franchising. Just enough to know that it’s an industry best approached if you have money to lose and…
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A Word to the Wise
decoct (verb)
To decoct (dih-KAHKT) is to extract the essence of something by boiling it down, concentrating it. As used by William F. Buckley, Jr.: “Norman Mailer decocts matters of the first philosophical magnitude from…
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Fun and/or Interesting
The Octothorpe: Eight-Pointed Symbol With Hidden History
The # sign – commonly known as the “pound sign” or the “number sign” – has a technical name: octothorpe. The “octo” part refers to the sign’s 8 points.
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Fun and/or Interesting
Why Los Angeles Covers Its Reservoir With Black Balls
I'd never heard of bromate. Nor shade balls. I didn't even know that the LA reservoir has millions of black shade balls floating on it. This video explains why.
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Principles of Wealth #28
Every asset class has its own inherent ROI (return on investment) range.History suggests, for example,that it is 8% to 10% for stocks, 5% to 7% for corporate bond, 3% to 4% for municipal bonds, and 5% to 8%…
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A Word to the Wise
10-bagger (noun)
A “10-bagger,” a term coined by Peter Lynch in his book One Up On Wall Street, is an investment that has the potential to return tenfold, if not more. As I used it today: “The coveted ‘10-bagger.’ What…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Nuclear Explosions Burn Hotter Than The Sun
The heat from a nuclear explosion is hotter than the surface of the sun.
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Worth Quoting
Charles Darwin on Ignorance and Confidence
“Ignorance more often begets confidence than knowledge does.” – Charles Darwin
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Worth Reading
The Rive
I’ve never read Heller before, although I read a New York Times book review of one of his previous bestselling novels: The Dog Stars. I remember thinking that the author had that Hemingway thing going on. It…
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Readers Write
An email from BWS
Mark Ford, I have always thought of you as a genius but I am now convinced. I will be sending copies of your book to those I know and respect in business…. The basic truisms included should be written on the…
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Fun and/or Interesting
How To Finally Read Infinite Jest
Ever wanted to read Infinite Jest? Here's how...
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Notes From My Journal
8 Other Things That Money Can’t Buy
”Money can’t buy happiness.” A cliché? Sure. But as is usually the case with clichés, it’s true. Problem is, because we hear them so often, the mind filters them out and we ignore them. This cliché, in…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Facts About D-Day
* D-Day commemorates the Battle of Normandy in WWII, which began on June 6, 1944 and resulted in the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. * It was the largest amphibious (land and water)…
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Worth Quoting
Michael Masterson On Finding Happiness In Small Blessings
“If you cannot be happy with the little blessings, you will never be happy with the big ones.” – Michael Masterson
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A Word to the Wise
gadabout (noun)
A gadabout (GAD-uh-bout) is a person who frequently travels from place to place, especially for pleasure. As used by Leopold Throckmorton: “Author: A common gadabout who freely wanders over the landscape with…
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Worth Reading
The latest issue of Independent Healing — June 7, 2019
The latest issue of Independent Healing “The Autoimmune Epidemic” Celiac and other autoimmune illnesses are now more prevalent than heart disease or cancer. Here’s why our bodies are attacking themselves and…
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Fun and/or Interesting
How Music Shapes Our Brains and Behavior
The Power of Music
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
The Retirement Trap!
I should have said something… He began, 25 years ago, as an accounting executive with a German partner of ours. Bright and ambitious, he rose quickly through the ranks to head of marketing, head of operations…
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Worth Watching
Kon-Tiki
I’d give Kon-Tiki a B for cinematic values and a B+ for historical interest. Seeing the movie made me want to read the book again and try to find the documentary made about the expedition that won the Academy…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Thor Heyerdahl and the Kon-Tiki Expedition
* Kon-Tiki is Thor Heyerdahl’s account of his 101-day, 4,300-mile journey (with five friends) across the Pacific on a balsawood raft in 1947. * The purpose of the voyage was to prove Heyerdahl’s theory that it…
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A Word to the Wise
rutilant (adjective)
Rutilant (ROOT-l-unt) means glowing or glittering with a reddish or golden light. As used by Ben Hecht in Fantazius Mallare: “Standing against the wall and blinking at the rutilant glare of the room, Goliath…
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Worth Quoting
Aristotle on Knowledge and Teaching
“Those who know do. Those who understand teach.” – Aristotle
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Fun and/or Interesting
Everything Is Horrible
“Everything Is Horrible” In this New Yorker article, River Clegg is poking fun at those that use the internet to avoid feeling depressed about global issues they have little control over. I am one of those…
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Notes From My Journal
The New York Times Takes on CBD
Nearly everyone I know is taking some form of CBD. Jiu Jitsu athletes are rubbing it on their muscles before training to reduce soreness and accelerate heating. Executives are eating it during the day to calm…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Facts About CBD
CBD stands for cannabidiol, a molecule derived from the cannabis plant. Unlike THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol), its better-known sibling, CBD won’t get you high. But it is – and this contradicts what you’ve…
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Worth Watching
Slaughterhouse Five
This month, Bob S challenged us with 2 books and a movie. The books were Slaughterhouse Five and Cat’s Cradle(both by Kurt Vonnegut). The movie was Slaughterhouse Five. I watched the movie last night. It is…
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A Word to the Wise
volition (noun)
Volition (voh-LIH-shun) is the act of making a conscious, deliberate decision regarding an action that you intend to take. As I used it in my mini-review of Slaughterhouse Five, above: “Ultimately, it’s an…
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Worth Quoting
Helen Keller On Overcoming Life's Suffering
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller
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Readers Write
An email from JB
Hi Mark, Just want to thank you again for your idea of a big all access pass type offer. We have just crossed over $1mil in sales from that idea…. We are now setting our sights on $10mil and I'm confident I…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Bill Bonner on “How America Goes Full-Venezuela
It doesn’t take a genius to understand that Venezuela’s economic policies had a lot to do with its current problems. But unless you dig into it, you may not realize how lethal Communism was. This very engaging…
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Advertising Advice: A 9-Step Process for Producing Irresistible Offers
A huge mistake many, if not most, direct response marketers make is to pay scant attention to the offer. Many years ago, a colleague of mine and I developed a protocol for reviewing and revising marketing copy…
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Worth Quoting
Michael Masterson On Building Sales Through Gentleness
“There are basically two kinds of salesmanship: gentle and rough. Both can be used to make a sale, but only gentle selling can lead to a long-term relationship.” – Michael Masterson
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