Articles from 2022
900 articles · browse by month or scroll through the year.
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Notes From My Journal
The Complex Problem of Gun-Related Violence
The bipartisan bill currently in the Senate is a breakthrough in gun control legislation. It has several gun safety measures, including “red flag” laws and enhanced background checks. But although any…
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Business & Marketing
The Rise of Tequila and Mezcal
The Rise of Tequila and Mezcal My first experience with tequila, about 50 years ago, left me prostrate at the door I couldn’t quite open where I spent the rest of the night. Thirty years later, I tried it…
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Arts & Letters
More on the Conceptual Art Scam
On May 16, I wrote about a discussion I’ve been having with my partners in producing my next book on Central American art. The issue at hand is conceptual art and why I think so much of it is BS. Click here to…
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Fun and/or Interesting
COVID and “Chemosensory Disruption”: Answers Begin to Emerge
As I mentioned on June 3, if I ever suffered any loss of smell from my bout with COVID, it was minor. My sense of smell was never great to begin with. Loss of smell was a very common symptom back then, when…
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Recommended Places
The Cyclades Islands
As I said at the beginning of this issue, we’ve been enjoying a trip through this group of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea for the past week. And there’s so much about them that’s spectacular. Unlike anything…
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Worth Quoting
Paul Theroux On The Human Impulse To Travel
“The wish to travel seems to me characteristically human: the desire to move, to satisfy your curiosity or ease your fears, to change the circumstances of your life, to be a stranger, to make a friend, to…
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A Word to the Wise
prostrate
To be prostrate is to be lying face down on the ground. As I used it today: “My first experience with tequila, about 50 years ago, left me prostrate at the door I couldn’t quite open where I spent the rest of…
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Readers Write
Why I keep doing what I do
“Mark Morgan Ford, thank you for being such an inspiration to the world of words and to us!” – MR “Thank you! You are my biggest inspiration when it comes to direct marketing. I study your Ready, Fire, Aim and…
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Postscript
Viral Talent Show Moment Hits Unexpectedly Hard
I’d like to believe that my social media use would be such that I would not have been fed this clip from “America’s Got Talent.” But I was. And although I suspect it was entirely planned to feel fortuitous, it…
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Building Wealth
A Change of Plans
A Change of Plans Two years ago, I got clearance from my town to tear down my current office space in Delray Beach, an 11,000-square-foot storage building, and replace it with a 40,000-square-foot Class-A…
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News & Views
US Housing Market Surges To Record Growth Levels
The rise in local rental prices (see above) reflects a larger trend: two years of growth in the US housing market. That includes house prices, rental prices, remodeling expenditures, brokerage fees, etc. From…
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Arts & Letters
Empty Frames
Another great essay by the great Theodore Dalrymple in Taki’s Magazine, this one on junk art. Here’s an excerpt: “Empty Frames” “Only a couple of weeks after the draping of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, a…
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Worth Quoting
Michelangelo On The Danger Of Low Ambitions
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.” – Michelangelo
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A Word to the Wise
Fatuity
is another way of saying stupidity or foolishness. As used by Theodore Dalrymple in “Empty Frames,” above: “Mr. Haaning, wittingly or unwittingly (I suspect the former), performed a useful social service by…
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Postscript
The Perfect Guitar Solo Moment
An amazing guitar solo…
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Worth Watching
Christine
Christine World premiere Jan. 23, 2016, Sundance Film Festival Written by Craig Shilowich Directed by Antonio Campos Starring Rebecca Hall, Tracy Letts, and Michael C. Hall Available on various streaming…
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Worth Watching
An “enraged letter” from Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul to his editor at Knopf, Sonny Mehta
Copy editors are an essential cog in the wheel of publishing. Despite this, their relationship with the author can sometimes be a strained one. Case in point, this angry letter from Nobel Prize-winning author…
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Worth Quoting
James Russell Lowell On Creativity And Making
“Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found.” – James Russell Lowell
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A Word to the Wise
Assiduous
means working diligently at a task, showing great care and perseverance. As used by V.S. Naipaul in the above letter to his editor: “Every writer has his own voice…. An assiduous copy-editor can undo this very…
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Postscript
Small Acts Of Kindness Brighten Our Days
Aw, shucks! Sometimes you need to see a little act of kindness to lighten up your day…
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
The Digital Dollar Approaches
As I predicted in past issues, the US government is moving forward with its intention to put an end to cryptocurrencies and replace them with a digital dollar. And as noted on Feb. 3, it’s been happening a lot…
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News & Views
Is a Crypto Winter Coming?
Is a Crypto Winter Coming? In his recent quarterly earnings call, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said, “Ironically… I’ve never been more bullish on where we are as a company.” He said that in the midst of a…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Five Amusing Things Worth Your Time
Maybe “good to know” is taking it too far. Here are five things I was amused by recently. * Johns Hopkins students design edible tape to keep your burrito wrapped. Click here. * US weddings are at their lowest…
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Recommended Places
Oaxaca, Mexico
I can’t believe it’s been more than 20 years since I was in Oaxaca (wa-HAH-ka) and I’ve never been back. I was so enchanted by it that I nearly bought a small house in the center of the city to use as a…
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Arts & Letters
M.C. Escher Is Now a Movie
I became a fan of M.C. Escher, the Dutch artist, the moment I saw this print. His pictures seemed designed to draw me in and hold me in a way that was enticing but also disturbing. They are like some of Dali’s…
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Worth Quoting
M.C. Escher on Wonder and Discovery
“He who wonders discovers that this in itself is wonderful.” – M.C. Escher
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A Word to the Wise
pied-à-terre
A pied-à-terre (pee-YAY-duh-tair) – French for “foot on the ground” – is a small apartment or house kept for occasional use. As I used it in today’s travel brief: “I was so enchanted by [Oaxaca] that I nearly…
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Readers Write
Re the P.S. in the June 1 issue about Bob Dylan
“After reading so many insightful comments from you about art over the years, I’m surprised that your column linked to this… column about Bob Dylan being the greatest artist of all time. “I’m a huge fan of…
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Postscript
New (to me, at least) comedian: Andrew Schulz
He’s funny. He has a unique style. And he seems to be particularly good when he’s adlibbing with the audience. Here he is talking to a woman about animal rights… And here he is talking to an ex-con…
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
How Every Little Event in Your Life Is an Opportunity to Grow Rich
Here’s a thought: Every event in life, however small, is an opportunity to become richer. Richer in knowledge. Richer in trust. Richer in friendship. And, of course, richer in financial wealth. There are…
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Arts & Letters
How to Apologize for Being Drunk
Getting drunk, behaving badly, and then apologizing for it is as old as civilization. In Dunhuang, China, a thousand years ago, it was so common that the municipality’s Bureau of Etiquette came up with an…
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Worth Quoting
Ayn Rand On Seizing Opportunities For Success
“The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity.” – Ayn Rand
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A Word to the Wise
Equanimity
is mental calmness and composure, especially in a difficult situation. As I used it in today’s essay: “I was – and am – as blind as the next person to seeing and seizing these small moments. I’ve been…
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Readers Write
Why I do what I do — June 6, 2022
“Just wanted to thank you for taking the time to answer some questions I had from Ready, Fire, Aim. It’s much appreciated, and I’ve been putting your advice to use.” – EG “It’s a beautiful morning… thank you…
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Postscript
Home Free's Bluegrass Take On Constant Sorrow
“Man of Constant Sorrow” by Home Free…here.
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Worth Watching
Uncle Frank
Uncle Frank World premiere Jan. 25, 2020 at the Sundance Film Festival Written and directed by Alan Ball Starring Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillis Available on Amazon Prime Part coming-of-age story, part…
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Worth Considering
When Does Post-COVID Fatigue Become Long-Term COVID
I’m hearing a lot about Long-Term COVID these days. LP lost his sense of smell for nearly a year. JP has been getting headaches. JM is fatigued and sleeping more than ever. The CDC website lists it as a…
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Worth Reading
Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar
Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar By Simon Sebag Montefiore 848 pages Paperback published Sept. 13, 2005 by Vintage I’m just getting into this book, but I can feel that it is going to somehow change my life…
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Worth Quoting
Stalin On The Danger Of Ideological Freedom
“Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?” – Joseph Stalin
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A Word to the Wise
Understanding The Role Of Political Ideologues
An ideolog (AYE-dee-uh-log) is a person who promotes a particular ideology, especially as an official or the most eminent advocate. As I used it in today’s book review: “Dozens of books have been written about…
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Readers Write
Re my May 30 essay on accepting responsibility for your own life
“Your sentiments should be etched in stone.” – JM “Loved the statement you wrote [about what to think when feeling victimized]. I’ve cut it out and taped it up on my son’s bathroom mirror!” – LD
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Postscript
Ten Feel-Good Films Worth Rewatching Today
From Far Out Magazine: “10 incredible films to put a smile on your face.” A few of them are already on my list, but I’m adding many of those I have seen, because I forgot how good they were. Click here.
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
When You Can’t Just Believe Her
When You Can’t Just Believe Her It’s not been talked about much. And I don’t understand why. But among Amber Heard’s many accusations against Johnny Depp is “sexual abuse.” In Case You Were in Orbit: On Dec…
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Fun and/or Interesting
How common are false accusations of rape?
Although it’s impossible to know how many rape accusations are false, an oft-cited 2010 study put the frequency at between 2% and 10%, with an average of about 6%. An FBI study put the frequency at 8%…
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Worth Quoting
Word of the Day: Left
“Left-wing zealots have often been prepared to ride roughshod over due process and basic considerations of fairness when they think they can get away with it. For them the ends always seems to justify the…
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A Word to the Wise
Manifold
means diverse, numerous in kind or variety. As I used it in today’s essay: “Although proving rape against an intimate partner has become more difficult, the damage caused by these accusations can be huge – and…
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Postscript
Bob Dylan's Eighty-One Claims To Artistic Greatness
To read “81 reasons why Bob Dylan is the greatest artist in human history,” click here.
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From My Work-in-Progress Basket
Poor You… You Were Dealt a Bad Hand — May 30, 2022
Poor You… You Were Dealt a Bad Hand Part II: The Reality of Playing the Victim Why do so many smart, educated people buy into the ideology of identity theory, a clearly illogical and demonstrably destructive…
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News & Views
A Growing Health Concern
Nearly 30% of adolescents in the US have prediabetes. Click here. Clinton DNC Scandal Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC agreed to pay a combined $113,000 to the FEC, according to documents made public on…
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Fun and/or Interesting
The latest review of Rancho Santana…
Click here to read about Amanda Blakely’s “Five Fun-filled Beach Days in Nicaragua.”
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