Articles from 2019

Mahatma Gandhi On Living With Urgency And Learning Forever

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if youwill live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi

An email from MF

I'm still ecstatic over your talk and the fact that you came up for the seminar. Many people said your talk was worth the entire price of the event. Wanted you to know that…. I want you to know you touched a…

Rancho Santana Ranks Third In Central America Resorts

Once again, Rancho Santana, our resort in Nicaragua, was voted one of the 10 best in Central America. In fact, with over 600,000 votes received, Conde Nast Traveler rated it #3. LINK

Reparations Debate: One Perspective Worth Considering

"Why I Don't Want and Don't Deserve Reparations" I had missed feelings watching this. Mostly, I felt like saying, "Amen!" But some of it I found to be specious. If it were an agree/disagree vote, I'd vote…

Why Modern Abstract Art Prices Have Gone Insane

“Art = technical competence times emotional honesty squared.” – Michael Masterson I’ve been looking seriously at art for nearly 60 years, collecting it for about 40 years, and selling it for about 30 years…

pocketecture (noun)

I just invented a word I’d like to get people using… It’s “pocketecture,” and it refers to the design of pockets in any kind of bag. For people that love bags (as I do), pocketecture is very important. K…

French Court Rules Sex Death Counts As Work Accident

A court in France has ruled that a man who died from a heart attack after having sex during a business trip had suffered a work-related accident and that his employer was liable. That sounds like a joke, right…

The latest issue of AWAI’s Barefoot Writer — October 11, 2019

In this issue: * “Tranf0rm Your Writing Dream into a Custom-Fit, Joy-Provoking, Money-Generating Reality in 9 Simple Steps” * “Where Limitations, Hurdles, and a Lack of Clients Doesn’t Matter” * “On Dying…

Building An Underground House With Pool

This is amazing!...building underground house with underground pool!

Principles of Wealth #31

There are several assets that have a higher historical ROI than stocks. By adding one or two of them to your portfolio, you can reduce your exposure to stock market risk while boosting your overall results…

Chuck Yeager On Concentrating On Results

“You don’t concentrate on risks. You concentrate on results.” – Chuck Yeager

Founding Fathers Protected Whistleblowers Two Centuries Early

In an article posted on History.com, Christopher Klein points out that the Founding Fathers passed the country’s first whistleblower protection law just seven months after signing the Declaration of…

ben trovato (adjective)

Ben trovato (ben-truh-VAH-toh), an Italian phrase, comes from a saying that was common in Italy in the 16thcentury: Se non è vero, è molto ben trovato. It means “Even if it’s not true, it’s a happy invention…

The latest issue of Independent Healing: “Don’t Fall for the Great American Heart Hoax…

In the October issue, you’ll discover clear evidence that conventional medicine’s two main weapons against heart disease – stents and statins – don’t work. First, you’ll learn: * Why heart attack survival…

The Impossible Skill Of Bird In Cage Art

The Bird In A Cage Art -the skill level required to do this is beyond belief...

Learning Languages Through Quora's Imperfect Translations

“It is astonishing how much enjoyment one can get out of a language that one understands imperfectly.” – Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve Quora is a knowledge-sharing website where questions are asked and answered –…

ludicrous (adjective)

Something that’s ludicrous (LOO-dih-krus) is so absurd or silly it makes you laugh. As I used it today: “I like [Quora] because the questions are usually inane and the answers are ludicrous.”

Half The World's Languages Face Extinction Risk

There are currently 7,111 spoken languages in the world. About 40% of them are spoken by fewer than 1,000 people and are in danger of disappearing.

The White-Collar Job Apocalypse That Didn’t Happen” in The New York Times

The article refutes the claim that the USA was in a long-term trend of losing jobs to overseas operations. More than a million low-skilled jobs like data entry did move offshore over the past 10 years. But…

An email from AC

I will always be seeking to learn, improve, and grow. Words are supremely powerful things but still can't express what you've taught me through your writings and personal discussions. You are the gold standard…

The Unconventional Truth About Marriage And Love

"Love Language" video with this intro from Mark: A refreshingly un-PC view of marital relations...

Auto Debt, Student Debt, Federal Debt: What’s Not to Love?

“It takes as much imagination to create debt as to create income.” – Leonard Orr Auto Debt, Student Debt, Federal Debt: What’s Not to Love? Bill Bonner has been writing a series of interesting essays about…

bamboozle (noun)

To bamboozle (bam-BOO-zuhl) is to deceive by trickery, flattery, etc. As used by Bill Bonner, above: “The president and his advisors assure us that the Dow will hit 30,000. Warren, Sanders, et al. have their…

Women Inventors Behind Three Essential Technologies

Women invented the fire escape, the windshield wiper, and the laser printer.

Fight No More by Lydia Millet

This is a collection of interconnected short stories by a very good writer. The stories are told through the perspective of Nina, a high-end real estate broker. Each chapter is located in a different house and…

The Problem With Blaming Others For Your Problems

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The Guilt of the Almost-Rich Progressive

“It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocket-book often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt Inside the Mind of the Not-Quite-Rich Leftist I’ve never been inside his/her…

rapacious (adjective)

Rapacious (ruh-PAY-shus) means aggressively greedy. As I used it today: “We know what they are – rapacious, unscrupulous monsters that are getting rich off of the hard work of honest people like me.”

University Of Michigan's Diversity Provost Earns $400,000

The University of Michigan’s “Diversity Provost” makes $400,000 a year.

The Qualities of a Leader” in Taki’s Magazine

Theodore Dalrymple is the sort of writer that makes me wish I knew him.

White Liberals' Unspoken Attitudes Toward Black Voters

How white liberals really view black voters…

Uber's Promise Versus The Reality Of Ride-Sharing

“You ain’t got to wait on a cab no more; just call your Uber, and it pulls up.” – Trip Lee Uber: A Great Idea, a Bad Strategy, a Cheapskate Market For as long as I can remember, taxi service in the Big Apple…

Uber Drivers Earn Less Than Minimum Wage

How much do Uber drivers make? A report published by the Economic Policy Institute in 2018 found that it’s far less than you might think: an average of $9.21 an hour.

halcyon days (noun)

In Greek mythology, the halcyon (HAL-see-un) bird was said to calm the wind and the waves. The phrase “halcyon days” refers to a tranquil period of happiness, success, and prosperity, especially in the past…

All Is True” on Amazon Prime

An intriguingly imagined look at the final days of Shakespeare, directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also plays Shakespeare. With Judi Dench as his wife and Ian McKellen, who is superb as the Earl of Southampton…

An email from TP

“Changing the Channel” IS my Marketing Bible!!! This book has not only helped me excel in my career in marketing, but has also helped me with my personal business ventures. I have personally used many of the…

Gary Gulman's Surprisingly Charming Comedy Bit

I've never seen Gary Gulman. This bit is pretty cute...

Principles of Wealth #30

If you have realistic expectations, you can do very well with stocks. I’m what you might call a chicken-shit investor. But there have been a few times when I’ve taken a risk – invested good money in a…

magnanimity (noun)

Magnanimity (mag-nuh-NIM-ih-tee) is a display of generosity. As I used it today: “The idea [of investing in start-up businesses brought to me by friends] was to roll the dice out of magnanimity, but not to end…

Benjamin Franklin On The Cost Of Ignorance

“The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.” – Benjamin Franklin

Why Chewing Gum Is Dusted With Marble Powder

The powder on chewing gum is finely ground marble.

Who Cut the Balls Off San Francisco” in Taki's Magazine

Sports Promotion Reaches Peak Entertainment Value

A nicely edited review of an exciting sports promotion...

Why Listening to Sad Music Makes You Feel Better

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” -Bob Marley I like sad music. Sometimes I love it. Many of my favorite tunes are melancholy. I’m listening to one of those now: Bach’s Prelude…

tautology (noun)

Tautology (taw-TAH-luh-jee) is saying the same thing in different ways; the needless repetition of an idea. As I used it today: “I have no doubt that listening to sad music moves people in positive ways. But……

Meteorites Delivered Earth's Gold Billions Of Years Ago

Nearly all of the gold on earth came from meteorites that bombarded the planet more than 200 million years after it formed.

Writing as the Cat Purrs: Ten Tips” on BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog

Brevity publishes mostly banal stuff, but this essay is worth a read if writing is part of your game. Smart and funny.

A good one!

A good one!

Sad Stories in an Age of Pity Porn

“The only thing that’s the end of the world is the end of the world.” – Barack Obama An acquaintance of mine, a bright guy, has created a large Internet following by what I think of as failure porn – telling…

sagacity (noun)

Sagacity (suh-GAS-ih-tee) is the quality of being discerning, having the ability to make good judgments. As I used it today: “He’s a good writer. His stories are compelling. But I’ve always wondered if he…