Articles from 2022
900 articles · browse by month or scroll through the year.
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Worth Quoting
worth quoting — May 16, 2022
“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” – Banksy
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Readers Write
Re my lists of “Actors That Make the Difference” in the May 9 issue
“I don't agree with all of [your] categorizations, but it’s the type of thing where everybody will have their own likes and dislikes.” – AS “I pretty much agree on your Actors list but… Jennifer Lawrence over…
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Postscript
Word of the Day: Fast
Fast-stepping in France…
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News & Views
US Economy by the Numbers
Some worrying numbers from Bill Bonner: * Disposable personal incomes are dropping – down 20% from March ’21 to March ’22. Most of that is due to the end of the COVID giveaways. But subtracting them, incomes…
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Worth Reading
Exhalation: Stories
Exhalation: Stories By Ted Chiang 368 pages Published May 7, 2019 by Alfred A. Knopf I’m halfway through the book, and I’m liking it. I’m impressed by it, yet I can’t say exactly why. Ted Chiang is a writer…
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Worth Watching
Pieces of Her
Pieces of Her First episode Mar. 4, 2022 Produced by Toni Collette Created by Charlotte Stoudt Based on the 2018 novel by Karin Slaughter Starring Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, and Omari Hardwick Available…
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Worth Quoting
Anaïs Nin on Perception and Self
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anaïs Nin
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A Word to the Wise
Dissilient
(dih-SIL-ee-unt) – a derivative of the Latin for “to leap, jump, spurt” – refers to something that is bursting apart or open. Primarily a botanical term, this is how Joan Houlihan used it in her poem “You…
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Readers Write
Re what I said about war in the May 9 issue
from JM, an old friend and Vietnam War veteran: “I believe everyone underestimates the common man. When I was 17, I believed exactly as [you] did. I thought that volunteering for medic school would allow me to…
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Postscript
Boomers Struggling With Technology
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Notes From My Journal
Back to Work
The borderline hysteria that the COVID pandemic provoked has finally exhausted itself. Americans – old and young, healthy or not, Trump lovers and Trump haters – have traded in their enervating views on the…
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News & Views
Is This Real?
JS sent this to me last week. It’s almost hard to believe. If it’s a hoax, it’s a funny one. But I think it’s real. Click here. Latest Count From the Southern Border The Department of Homeland Security…
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Building Wealth
What are stock splits? Why are they done?
What are stock splits? Why are they done? Last month, Shopify announced plans for a 10-for-1 stock split. This after many other recent stock splits among some of the largest tech companies, like Amazon…
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Fun and/or Interesting
The Dean’s Interest List at Harvard
Nearly half of white students admitted to Harvard between 2009 and 2014 were recruited athletes, legacy students, children of faculty and staff, or on the dean’s interest list (applicants whose parents or…
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Recommended Places
Seville, Spain
Flamenco! Bullfights! Gypsies! Seville, the capital and largest city of Andalusia, is rich in culture and history. It’s the setting for Bizet’s Carmen – and, though the story is fictional, there are references…
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Arts & Letters
How to Say Adieu: Richard Burton to Elizabeth Taylor, June 25, 1973
People used to be more civilized than they are now. At least the actors were. Here’s an example – a short, elegant farewell letter from Richard Burton to Elizabeth Taylor, written just after she told him she…
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Worth Quoting
Jean Kerr On Lawyers And Uncomfortable Truths
“A lawyer is never entirely comfortable with a friendly divorce, any more than a good mortician wants to finish his job and then have the patient sit up on the table.” – Jean Kerr
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A Word to the Wise
Enervate
sounds like it means something like “energize.” It’s actually the opposite. Derived from the Latin for “to weaken,” it means to debilitate; to deprive of strength or force. As I used it today: “Americans – old…
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Readers Write
Re what I said about honesty in the May 2 issue
“I wholly agree with your take on honesty. I thought you might like this zinger from William Inge: ‘Let none of us delude himself by supposing that honesty is always the best policy. It is not.’” – CR
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Postscript
One Singer Creates Spooky Harmony Monster Mash Cover
A fun cover of the 1962 hit “Monster Mash.” It took me a while to figure out that this quartet was one person with an amazing range.
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Notes From My Journal
Actors That Make the Difference
Actors That Make the Difference Gene Hackman and Al Pacino are great actors. Both have been amazingly good in so many roles over the years. But Hackman has something that Pacino doesn’t have. Some ability –…
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News & Views
Frank James: The Name You Have Already Forgotten
Who was Frank James? No, I don’t mean the confederate soldier. Or the brother of Jesse James. I’m talking about the NYC subway “spree shooter” that tried to kill a bunch of people a few weeks ago. Do you…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Five Fascinating Numbers From Around The World
Five numbers I came across recently that may interest you: * 9,827 – the number of cow-related items in a Minnesotan’s personal “Mooseum” * $17,000 – the cost of a first-class suite on Singapore Airlines * 85%…
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Notes From My Journal
What I Believe: About War (from Tolstoy, via Bill Bonner)
When I was 17, I registered as a conscientious objector. There were two options: (1) I won’t go under any circumstances, or (2) I’ll go, but I won’t carry a gun. I took the second option. I was drafted and had…
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Building Wealth
Have the FAANG Stocks Lost Their Bite?
FAANG used to be a convenient and memorable term to describe the biggest tech giants on Wall Street: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google. But Google has changed its name to Alphabet and Facebook to…
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Recommended Places
Burj Al Arab, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
I had a very nice dinner there, along with a group of colleagues, at a company get-together in Dubai in June 2019. The Burj Al Arab is a wonder of the modern world. Sitting atop a man-made island off the…
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Arts & Letters
Francisco Amighetti's Woodcuts Revolutionized Central American Art
Francisco Amighetti Title: “Mother and Child” Medium: Oil on Board Dimensions: 23" x 18" Francisco Amighetti is one of the six Costa Rican artists that Suzanne Snider and I included as a major modern master in…
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A Word to the Wise
Zoomorphic
(zoh-uh-MOR-fik) means “having the shape, form, or likeness of an animal.” Example from Canyons of the Colorado by J.W. Powell: “In the mind of the savage, the world is populated by a host of mythic beings…
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Worth Quoting
Leonardo Da Vinci on Simplicity and Sophistication
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo Da Vinci
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Postscript
How Much Do You Know About Hemingway?
I got a perfect score on this quiz from Quiz Daily. Of course, I’m a big Hemingway fan. And the questions were pretty obvious. How well will you do? Click here.
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Worth Watching
Sound of Metal
Sound of Metal Released in theaters Nov. 20, 2020 Directed by Marius Marder Starring Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke Available on Amazon Prime I came across this movie while surfing last week. I recognized the…
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Worth Reading
The Puzzler
The Puzzler By A.J. Jacobs 368 pages Published Apr. 26, 2022 by Crown Publishing Group If you like puzzles. Or English. Or humor. Or music. You may like this book. I liked it because it was chock full of…
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Worth Quoting
Nelson Mandela On The Power Of Native Language
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” – Nelson Mandela
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A Word to the Wise
Obsequious
means fawning, deferential – i.e., attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery. As quoted in my book review, above: “The Victorians also liked their obsequious anagrams. Lewis Carroll famously…
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Postscript
Sixty-Year-Old Breakdancer Redefines The Art Form
This 60-year-old takes breakdancing to a new level.
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Notes From My Journal
Holding Fast to the Stories We Want to Believe
I got into an interesting discussion about a comment I made in reviewing King Richard. I said: “Before I saw the film, all I knew of Richard Williams was the character the media portrayed him to be: fanatical…
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News & Views
Yikes: Inflation Hikes
* The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 8.5%, year over year. That’s the biggest inflation jump since December 1981. * Airfare is up 20% compared to pre-pandemic prices. * The…
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Fun and/or Interesting
The Two Effects of Inflationary Psychology
Inflationary psychology describes the behavior of consumers when they get accustomed to prices rising month after month. In such economic times, two subconscious behaviors become common. People buy more…
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Notes From My Journal
What I Believe: About Honesty and Dishonesty
I’ve done no research to back this up. But I’d bet that the tendency for humankind to lie developed on the same timeline as our ability to speak. An essential component of civility – if not civilization itself…
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Recommended Places
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice
K and I have spent several memorable afternoons in Venice at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Less well known than MOMA in New York, the Tate in London, and Centre Pompidou in Paris, it is arguably one of the…
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Arts & Letters
Right Now, at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
“Surrealism and Magic: Enchanted Modernity” Salvador Dali, “Uranium and Atomica Melancholica Idyll” (1945) I mentioned in a previous post that Surrealism is making a comeback. The current exhibition at the…
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A Word to the Wise
Understanding The Meaning Of Biennale
Biennale (bee-uh-NAA-lay) is Italian for “every other year.” The Venice Biennale, for example – the original on which other large-scale international contemporary art exhibitions have been modeled – is held…
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Worth Quoting
Harvey Mackay on Visibility Versus Credibility
“Don’t confuse visibility with credibility.” – Harvey Mackay
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Readers Write
Re my interest in visiting Cape May, NJ
“Hey, Mark, I can’t say I’ve spent much time in Cape May… but I can tell you that Cape May Brewing Co. makes some very good beers. Their Belgian Ale, Devil’s Reach, stands out. At 8.6% ABV, I’d say it…
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Postscript
Texas Execution Halted For Woman Convicted On Flawed Evidence
I’ve mentioned several times that I was supporting a stay of execution in Texas for Melissa Lucio, a woman who was scheduled to be executed on April 27. I’m happy to report that her stay was approved. “It…
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Worth Reading
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead By Olga Tokarczuk 318 pages Originally published Nov. 25, 2009 Published in English Sept. 12, 2018 This was April’s selection for The Mules, my men-only book club. I…
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Worth Watching
Drive My Car
Drive My Car Released Nov. 24, 2021 Co-written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi Primarily based on Haruki Murakami’s short story of the same name Starring Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, and Reika Kirishima…
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Worth Quoting
Paul Klee On Art's True Purpose
“Art does not reproduce what we see; rather, it makes us see.” – Paul Klee
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A Word to the Wise
paean
A paean (PEE-un) is a joyous song or hymn of praise, thanksgiving, or triumph. It originated in Ancient Greece as a tribute to Apollo in his guise as Paean, physician to the gods, for his help in healing…
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Readers Write
Re my books
“I’m listening to the Goals and Vision Mastery Course on audible. Was delighted to hear them introduce Michael Masterson and hear you talk about Seven Years to Seven Figures. That’s the second time you have…
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