Articles from 2019
882 articles · browse by month or scroll through the year.
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Worth Watching
What I’m Watching
What I’m Watching: Dan Gilbert on the surprising science of happiness.
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Fun and/or Interesting
The Art Of Graceful Piano Playing
A graceful way to play the piano...
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Would You Like to Start a Serious Art Collection?
“What do you think of this painting?” he asked me. “They want $250,000 for it.” SP is a former protégé and current partner. He’s had a very successful career. He’s got a beautiful house and lots of expensive…
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A Word to the Wise
Aspersion (noun)
Aspersion (noun) – An aspersion (uh-SPUR-zhun) is a damaging or derogatory remark. As used by George Santayana: “The philosophy of the common man is an old wife that gives him no pleasure, yet he cannot live…
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Fun and/or Interesting
The Godfather's Hidden Death Symbol: Oranges
In all three Godfather movies, when you see oranges a death is imminent.
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Worth Quoting
Charles Dickens On Humanity's Hunting Instinct
“There is a passion for hunting something deeply implanted in the human breast.” – Charles Dickens
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Worth Watching
Jonathan Haidt on the moral psychology of Capitalism and business
Jonathan Haidt on the moral psychology of Capitalism and business.- My longtime friend Joe M sent me this video. Joe assumed that I knew who Jonathan Haidt was. I did not. But I’m grateful for the introduction…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Shin Lim's Card Magic Stuns Melissa Fumero
Shin Lim amazes actress Melissa Fumero...
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Lessons From What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars — March 13, 2019
Part 2: Misunderstanding “Investing” As a student of literature in college, I came into my adulthood knowing little to nothing about investing. That did not deter me from making money, but it did diminish my…
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A Word to the Wise
Nebulous (adjective)
Nebulous (adjective) – Nebulous (NEB-yuh-lus) can mean hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused. As I used it in today’s essay: “When you think of investing as something as nebulous as putting money into stocks…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Brazil's Massive Continental Footprint
Brazil is huge. It covers 50% of the South American continent.
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Worth Quoting
George Bernard Shaw On Gambling's Inevitable Losers
“In gambling, the many must lose in order that the few may win.” – George Bernard Shaw
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Worth Reading
Bill Bonner on “How the Feds Socialized American Capitalism
Bill Bonner on “How the Feds Socialized American Capitalism”
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Fun and/or Interesting
North Carolina's Secret Underground Bunker House
In Raleigh, N.C., there's a house... or what looks like a house. What's hidden inside is more important than most people realize. <span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px…
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Lessons From What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars
Part 1: The One Secret That All Successful Money Makers Know and Use It was the only one left in my audiobook library. I didn’t remember buying it. I’d never heard of it or its authors (Jim Paul and Brendan…
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A Word to the Wise
Scry (verb)
Scry (verb) – To scry (SKRAYE) is to divine the future or discover secrets, primarily with a crystal ball. As used by Andrew Lang in Cock Lane and Common-Sense: “The antiquity and world-wide diffusion of…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Why Romans Called Muscles Little Mice
The word muscle comes from the Latin for “little mouse,” which is what biceps looked like to the early Romans.
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Worth Watching
Abducted in Plain Sight” (Netflix)
“Abducted in Plain Sight” (Netflix).- A documentary series about a child abduction and rape (in 1970s Idaho) that has layers of disturbing elements: Before abducting and seducing/tricking/raping the child, the…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Living In A Lighthouse During A Storm
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a lighthouse? In a storm?
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Ego Is Reptilian
The young woman sitting next to you on the plane is on the phone. She is not whispering. She doesn’t care if you hear her. She says, “Sure, I can go to the gym and work out like crazy and become a ripped bitch…
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A Word to the Wise
Temerity (noun)
Temerity (noun) – Temerity (tuh-MARE-ih-tee) is rashness, recklessness, boldness. As used by Emile Zola in Therese Raquin: “There was a sort of brutal temerity in his prudence, the temerity of a man with big…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Eleanor Roosevelt's Secret Weapon
Eleanor Roosevelt carried a loaded revolver.
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Worth Quoting
Friedrich Nietzsche on Ego and Ambition
“Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called ‘Ego’.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
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Worth Watching
What Makes a Good Life?
What Makes a Good Life? James Altucher is a smart guy who has spent many years trying to figure out how to live a richer life. Recently, he published this little group of equations that are – in my experience…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Tiny Sumo Wrestler Defeats Much Larger Opponents
I don’t know who this small guy is. He looks like he might be American. But he’s had an amazingly successful career a Sumo wrestler against opponents more than twice his size.
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Breaking Up With William: A Misunderstanding of the Very Important Matter of Economic Fairness
I knew that William was a potential superstar the moment we started talking. He was smart and funny and confident – real confidence, not bluster. He wasted no time establishing himself as a valuable employee…
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A Word to the Wise
Feint (noun)
Feint (noun) – A feint (FEYNT) is a deceptive move. As used by Dani Shapiro: “Our minds have a tendency to wander. To duck and feint and keep us at a slight remove from the moment at hand.”
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Fun and/or Interesting
Rejected Thirty Times Before Becoming A Global Bestseller
Before The Peter Principle (by Laurence J. Peter) was published in 1969, it was rejected by 30 publishers. It eventually sold 10 million copies in 40 languages.
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Worth Quoting
Napoleon Hill On Doing Small Things Greatly
“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” – Napoleon Hill
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Worth Reading
Reefer Madness” Is Back
“Reefer Madness” Is Back.- You’ve been hearing and reading so much about CBD and THC medicinals – products from hemp and marijuana plants that have been recently legalized and supposedly provide all sorts of…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Who You Want To Become In Two Decades
This is who I want to be in 22 years...
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Notes From My Journal
Why I Can’t Read The New York Times Anymore
First I read The New York Times because I believed it was the best newspaper in the world. Then, after my view of economics shifted, I read it for its cultural and literary articles. Now I can’t stand to read…
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A Word to the Wise
Balladmonger (noun)
Balladmonger (noun) – A balladmonger (BAL-uhd-mong-er) is an inferior poet. Shakespeare, the first known author to use the word, did it like this in King Henry IV, Part 1: “I had rather be a kitten, and cry…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Why Donkeys Never Lose Sight Of Their Feet
The eyes of a donkey are positioned so that it can see all four of its feet at all times.
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Worth Quoting
Mark Ford On Forgiveness Versus Excuse-Making
“Forgiving someone for his failures is an act of generosity. Excusing him from his responsibility for them is a malicious deceit.” – Mark Ford
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Worth Reading
The latest issue of The Barefoot Writer
Including: * The “Golden Goose” of Writing* The Secret to My Lucky Life as a Freelance Copywriter * 3 Penny-Pinching Marketing Tips to Attract Your Dream Clients
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Fun and/or Interesting
An Awesome Experience Worth Talking About
Talk about an awesome experience!
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
What You Should Ask Your Money Manager… Right Now
Money managers – just like your broker, banker, and insurance agent – make their money by selling you a service. If you don’t know what exactly they’re doing for you or how much they’re charging you, you’re…
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A Word to the Wise
Velitation (noun)
Velitation (noun) –A velitation (vel-ih-TAY-shun) is a minor dispute or contest. As used by Sir Walter Scott inSt. Ronan’s Well: “While the ladies in the tea-room of the Fox Hotel were engaged in the light…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Aunt Katherine's Lucky Day: The Empire State Building Bomber
A B-52 bomber crashed into the Empire State Building in 1945. (And it crashed into the office that my Aunt Katherine normally sat in. Luckily, she was home sick that day.)
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Worth Quoting
Michel de Montaigne on Personal Governance
“Not being able to govern events, I govern myself.” – Michel de Montaigne
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Worth Watching
British Comedy Flowers Embraces Beautiful Dysfunction
“Flowers” is a British comedy series that premiered in the UK in 2016. I’m loving it – in part because the humor is so utterly odd. The Flowers family is functional but also possibly mentally ill. Maurice, the…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Why The Oxford Comma Deserves A Second Look
For most of my career as a writer, I have followed the NYT stylebook with regard to the comma. in particular, I have eschewed the Oxford comma — which insists on adding a comma at the end of a series. For…
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Notes From My Journal
A Dinner With the Japanese -What We Don’t Know About Culture Matters
I’d wanted to have a publishing partner in Japan since we went global 20 years ago. I’d gotten close once, with the country’s largest health publisher. But after several meetings and a trip there to meet the…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Tipping Etiquette You Should Know About Iceland
It’s considered rude to tip in Iceland.
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Worth Quoting
Warren Buffett On Knowing Your Limits
“Everybody’s got a different circle of competence. The important thing is not how big the circle is. The important thing is staying inside the circle.” – Warren Buffett
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Worth Reading
The Culture Map; Breaking Through the Invisible Barriers of Global Business
There is something that feels contrived about this book. These broad generalizations are fun to talk about, but the reader wonders if they are actually true. Is it really true that Americans prefer candor and…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Willard Wigan's Impossibly Tiny Sculptures
Willard Wigan is an amazingly accomplished craftsman
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
A Great Myth of Direct Marketing Why You Should Not “Go Easy” on Your Customers
One of the most commonly debated topics in direct marketing is how much and how often one should market to a customer or potential customer. The most common answer is: Enough to make sales but not so much as…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Ancient Mayans Chewed Sapodilla Tree Sap
Chewing gum was “invented” by the Mayans over 300 years ago. They boiled the sap of the Sapodilla tree and chewed it.
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