Articles from 2021
442 articles · browse by month or scroll through the year.
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Worth Reading
Howl and Other Poems
Howl and Other Poems By Allen Ginsberg 57 pages Originally published by Lawrence Ferlinghetti (City Lights Books) in 1956 After church service, but before we were allowed to go out on Sundays, my mother…
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Worth Watching
Bright Star
Bright Star Initially released in 2009 Now available on various streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Directed by Jane Campion Starring Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider, and Kerry…
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Postscript
British Colleague References Paul The Octopus
A British colleague, commenting on surprisingly good marketing results last quarter, said, “Who needs Paul the Octopus (RIP).” I had no idea what that meant. So I looked it up. Pretty interesting! Click here.
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Bits and Pieces — November 11, 2021
The Orient Express: Then and Now Several summers ago, K and I took a train ride from Paris to Vienna. The goal was not to get to Vienna, but rather to experience the train ride itself. We were travelling, you…
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Postscript
Test Your Knowledge Of Fictional Dogs
How much do you know about fictional dogs? Click here to take this little self-test from the Quiz Daily website. (I got all but one correct. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.)
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
You Say You’re Proud to Be a Liberal, but You Don’t Act Like It!
You believe in equality. You believe in helping those that can’t help themselves. You believe in universal health coverage, free university education, a $20 minimum wage, and mandatory employee benefits like…
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Postscript
Why Fast Food Chains Pick Their Neighborhoods
“How Popeye’s and Church’s Choose Restaurant Locations” I’ve been following this guy on YouTube. He’s crazy and bravely funny.
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Notes From My Journal
Bits and Pieces — November 6, 2021
Get Ready for – and Profit from – Higher Fuel Prices When it comes to large-scale and long-term investment trends, I pay attention to three colleagues I’ve been following for three decades: Bill Bonner, Tom…
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Postscript
The Only Way To Eat A Mango
The only way to eat a mango…
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Why Do We Have 9 Supreme Court Judges?
You probably know that the current US Supreme Court has a conservative bias. Thanks to RBG’S death and Trump’s appointments, 6 of the 9 justices are considered conservative. This, the Democrats don’t like…
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Notes From My Journal
Is Nike Tapping Into Our Hopes… or Our Fears?
Take a look at this Nike commercial: A colleague sent it in, saying: The tone and content speaks directly to their key audience of children/ teens (and the parents of children and teens), but the message…
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Postscript
Do Animals Show Genuine Compassion Across Species?
This is remarkable… animals saving other animals… even outside their species. There is nothing in evolutionary theory that accounts for this, is there?
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Worth Reading
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World By Haruki Murakami 416 pages Paperback published in 1993 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group This was my book club’s book for October. I’d heard of the author…
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Worth Watching
Dream/Killer
Dream/Killer Initially released May 4, 2015 Now available on various streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Directed by Andrew Jenks Starring Bill Ferguson, Leslie Ferguson, Ryan Ferguson…
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Postscript
Exploring Paradise Palms Conservatory's Broom Palm
A peek inside Paradise Palms Conservatory and Gardens… Broom Palm (Coccothrinax argentea) Also known as Hispaniola Silver Thatch or Cana Palm, this palm is endemic to Hispaniola. It is a fan palm with…
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Notes From My Journal
Bits and Pieces — October 29, 2021
Everything You Need to Know About Impressionism in 5 Minutes Most people that like modern art like Impressionist paintings. I wish that weren’t true. But it is. Impressionism was an artistic movement that…
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Postscript
Simple Desk Stretches For Chronic Laptop Workers
If you spend, as I do, 8 to 10 hours a day seated, hunched forward, and working on a laptop, you’re going to have all sorts of physical problems. Here is a very simple way of dealing with that.
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
COVID Lockdown Update: America’s Restaurants Are Being Decimated
DS, a friend, is the CEO of a substantial restaurant chain. We’ve been talking about the extreme challenges that her industry has been facing since the COVID lockdown began. Between the near-hysterical fear…
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Postscript
Hidden Talent Waiting In Plain Sight
There are so many talented people out there in the crowd…click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Bits and Pieces — October 22, 2021
Diversity Quotas – Do Advocates Really Believe in Them? Wokeness: the pathology of believing one can be virtuous by advocating ideas one hasn’t thought about. Example… Diversity quotas: the policy of…
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Postscript
How Much Do You Know About Civil War Battles?
Click here to take this little self-test from the Quiz Daily website. (I got 11 out of 12 right.)
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Notes From My Journal
How to Find Years of Enjoyment in a Moldy, 50-Cent, Garage-Sale Book
I have this beautiful old book. It is hardbound, 500 pages thick, and has the potential to provide me with hundreds or even thousands of hours of learning and pleasure. Titled Spanish – A Basic Course, and…
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Postscript
Our book, Central American Modernism, continues to get critical acclaim from influential people in the art world…
The digital magazine Carátula recently published 2 enthusiastic articles about the book that Suzanne and I worked so hard to put together and publish. The articles appeared in a special issue commemorating the…
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Finally… Everything You’ll Ever Need to Know About
Roman Architecture, Pt. 1: Ancient vs. Classical Rome is my favorite city to indulge my curiosity. During a 15-minute stroll, you can pass the foundation of a temple built prior to the birth of Christ, a…
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Postscript
Jennifer Holliday's Powerhouse Performance In Dreamgirls
JM sent me this after reading what I said about Jennifer Hudson’s amazing singing in my review of the movie Respect. This is another amazing performance by another Jennifer – Jennifer Holliday – singing “And I…
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Worth Reading
The Art of Playing Defense: How to Get Ahead by Not Falling Behind
The Art of Playing Defense: How to Get Ahead by Not Falling Behind 236 pages Published May 18, 2021 by Lioncrest Publishing In The Art of Playing Defense, Whitney Tilson talks about what it takes to have a…
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Worth Watching
Erin Brockovich
Erin Brockovich Released March 17, 2000 Available on Amazon Prime and other streaming services Directed by Steven Soderbergh Starring Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart It had been 20 years since I…
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Postscript
Beatbox and Dance Collide at Guggenheim
Fusing beatbox with street dance, “The Missing Element” was commissioned for the Guggenheim’s Works & Process project to marry the cypher, widely found in rap, beatbox, and breakdancing, with the circular…
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Notes From My Journal
Bits and Pieces — October 15, 2021
GOOD: Recommended by Tim Ferriss – an essay in three parts by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian author whose books include We Should All Be Feminists. Ferriss says: “Everyone should read this essay. It’s a…
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Notes From My Journal
Old Men Golfing
I’m in Myrtle Beach this week, golfing with some old friends. We were old friends – in the sense of having known one another for many years – when we began this yearly reunion in the 1990s. Now, in our…
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Worth Considering
Old Man Humor
Another indignity of old age is the disintegration of critical skills, particularly when it comes to humor. In between our yearly get togethers, the 12 of us stay in touch by email, exchanging what is commonly…
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Postscript
Robin Williams On Golf's Absurd Origins
Speaking of golf, here’s a brilliant bit by Robin Williams on “the invention of golf”.
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Worth Reading
My Car in Managua
My Car in Managua By Forrest D. Colburn 135 pages Published in 1991 by University of Texas Press My Car in Nicaragua was recommended by a friend and board member of FunLimon, our community development center…
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Worth Watching
Kill The Messenger
Kill The Messenger Released October 9, 2014 Available on multiple streaming services Directed by Michael Cuesta Starring Jeremy Renner, Robert Patrick, Jena Sims A gripping political/crime drama based on the…
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Worth Considering
A Brief History of Nicaragua
Nicaragua has always been an agricultural economy. Before the 1979 revolution, most of the productive farmland was owned by a handful of very wealthy landholders. That said, Nicaragua’s GDP (gross domestic…
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Postscript
Inside Paradise Palms: A Delray Beach Garden Tour
A peek inside Paradise Palms, my botanical and sculpture gardens in Delray Beach… Fruit of a Blue Latan Palm (Latania loddigesii) Native to Mauritius, these palms grow up to 30 ft tall and 15 ft wide, with…
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Notes From My Journal
Bits and Pieces — October 7, 2021
Can You Beat the Market? The last 20 years have been good for investors in REITs (10%), decent for anyone that invested in index funds (7.5%), and satisfactory for risk-averse investors that put their savings…
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Postscript
Stop the Nov. 18 Execution of Julius Jones, an Innocent Man on Oklahoma’s Death Row!
From the Innocence Project… Stop the Nov. 18 Execution of Julius Jones, an Innocent Man on Oklahoma’s Death Row! Julius Jones has spent half his life in prison for a crime he’s always said he didn’t commit…
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Notes From My Journal
Murals & Marbles From Suzanne in Honduras
Enjoy the photos that Suzanne included in her email. And check out the link to Byron Mejia. (If you’re interested in hearing more about Suzanne’s adventures in Central America, send her your email address – to…
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Postscript
Ford Fine Art Unveils New Collection Across Two Galleries
The catalog for Ford Fine Art’s latest collection is out – including pieces available at our Florida gallery, as well as at Galería Rancho Santana in Nicaragua. Click here to take a look.
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Worth Watching
Clickbait
Clickbait (2021) Available on Netflix Created by Tony Ayres & Christian WhiteStarring Zoe Kazan, Betty Gabriel, and Adrian Grenier There are so many good things – even great things – to watch on screen these…
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Worth Reading
Blood Meridian – or The Evening Redness in the West
Blood Meridian – or The Evening Redness in the West By Cormac McCarthy 337 pages Published in April 1985 by Random House I’m writing this review two hours before we meet to discuss the book. At this point…
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Postscript
Viral Video Showcases Stunning Choreography And Effects
Here’s an interesting video by a group I’ve never heard of. The music is amazing; the dancing is good; the special effects are excellent…
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Postscript
Kool And The Gang Gets A Modern Remix
Here’s what can happen when a 70s/80s hit song by Kool and the Gang meets up with a 21st century brother (Callmechocko)…
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Worth Watching
1960s Movies Redux: 14 Reportedly Great Ones I Missed
Last Year at Marienbad (1961) Directed by Alain Resnais Starring Delphine Seyrig, Giorgio Albertazzi, Sacha Pitoëff Plot: In this mindbender of a romantic French drama, set in a picturesque château, a man, “X”…
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Postscript
Inside Paradise Palms Botanical And Sculpture Gardens — September 25, 2021
A peek inside Paradise Palms, my botanical and sculpture gardens in Delray Beach… Pinnate leaves of a betel nut palm (Areca catechu), Also known as areca palm, Indian nut, Pinang palm, and catechu,this species…
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Notes From My Journal
Bits and Pieces — September 23, 2021
BAD: Crazy Court Decision in Australia A lot of weird stuff goes on in the land down under. Last week, I read that Australia’s highest court ruled that newspapers and television stations that post articles on…
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Postscript
Test Yourself — September 23, 2021
How much do you know about the history of fast food? Click here to take this 10-question quiz. (I got 7 out of 10.)
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Notes From My Journal
Fathers and Sons
I looked through the little box next to my bed this morning, the one that contains the letter my mother sent to me before she died, advising me to work less and live more. The letter I’ve only been able to…
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Postscript
Expert Witness Clarifies COVID Vaccine Transmission Effectiveness
How effective are the COVID vaccines at preventing transmission of the disease? Getting a straight answer to this question is particularly important now that we know that even vaccinated people are contracting…
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