Articles from 2022
900 articles · browse by month or scroll through the year.
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Worth Watching
From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love Directed by Terence Young Starring Sean Connery Premiered in London Oct. 10, 1963 Released in US theaters May 27, 1964 Currently available on many streaming services The Mules opted to…
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Worth Reading
Kurt Vonnegut's Letter From A Prisoner Of War
Until I came across this in Letters of Note, I had no idea that Kurt Vonnegut was a prisoner of war. This letter to his family explains a lot about his view of war and the world, as expressed in his novels. To…
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Readers Write
Young Entrepreneur Seeks Mentorship, Gets Mastermind Advice
“I hope you get great satisfaction in knowing that your book [Ready, Fire, Aim] continues to guide the way and help thousands of people like me every year!” – RC “I am reaching out to ask if there is any way…
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Postscript
Canadian Comedian Julie Nolke's SNL Audition Tape
Julie Nolke is a Canadian comedian, actress, writer, and YouTuber. I discovered her online while searching for comic relief during the COVID lockdown She is very talented, as you can see from this clip of her…
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Notes From My Journal
After the Storm
Late Wednesday afternoon, one of the Mules asked me if we were still planning to have our book club meeting at the cigar club, as planned. I replied, “Why wouldn’t we?” He said, “Because of the storm.” I said…
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Notes From My Journal
What Are My Thoughts?
JS, my editor, thought I should write something about the election results. So, I’ve been thinking about what I think and, so far, I don’t have any thoughts worth writing about. But I do have a feeling about…
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Conspiracy Theory of the Week
Is Google Influencing Elections?
Speaking of elections, I ran across this earlier this week: the assertion that Google has been using its algorithms to influence elections. It seems like a “conspiracy theory,” but the source checks out. And I…
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The Economy & Investing
Would You Ask This Question? If Asked, Could You Answer It?
If I were in charge, nobody would be allowed to become an employee until he/she had spent some time running a business. And nobody would be allowed to run a business until he/she had spent some time as an…
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Notes From My Journal
What I Believe: About Gun Control
I think everyone should have the right to own a gun. Or guns. But I also believe in gun control. I can’t, for the life of me, understand the arguments against, at the very least, banning assault weapons. The…
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Worth Quoting
Anna Quindlen On Metal Detectors And Gun Control
“There is a lot of talk now about metal detectors and gun control. Both are good things. But they are no more a solution than forks and spoons are a solution to world hunger.” – Anna Quindlen
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Arts & Letters
Is This a Party You’d Want to Go To?
Click here for a first-person account of the recent LACMA fundraiser, which raised $5 million. It will tell you everything that is wrong about the art market today.
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Fun and/or Interesting
A Clock That Tells Time Through Literary Quotes
Warning: This is very nerdy. Literary nerdy. It’s called the Literature Clock, and it works like this. Rather than glancing at your watch or phone, go to this website – https://literature-clock.jenevoldsen.com…
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Readers Write
Re what I’ve been saying about violence in big cities – the NYC subways, in particular
“Your Nov. 4 issue[LINK] about passion, weddings, and kale was a pleasant read until the negative New York trope. I realize that fear, real or imagined, cannot be changed by a few words. But I feel compelled…
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Postscript
Test Your Knowledge Of America's First Ladies
I did poorly on this history test about America’s First Ladies (16 out of 25). But the facts were fascinating. Give it a try.
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The Economy & Investing
Job Growth in October Was Stronger Than Expected
Does That Mean the Economy Is Stronger Than I’ve Been Saying? The Biden administration is telling us that the US is not in a recession. In fact, they say, the economy is “very healthy.” Those are the very…
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A Word to the Wise
tribulation
A tribulation – from the Latin tribulum (literally, a thing with teeth that tears) – is another way of saying adversity – i.e., a trying period or event. As I used it in the essay above: “I’ve been saying that…
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Worth Considering
About Capital Punishment…
I’ve always been opposed to capital punishment. My logic was simple. If I believed murder was evil, how could I justify punishing murderers by murdering them? Also, there was the question of wrongful…
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Worth Reading
It’s Your Ship
It’s Your Ship By D. Michael Abrashoff Originally published May 22, 2002 240 pages This book was published 20 years ago. I happened upon it in a used bookstore last week. It’s a quick read because Michael…
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Arts & Letters
What Should We Say About Alex Katz?
The Guggenheim is putting on a major retrospective of Alex Katz’s paintings. I came across a review of it by Alex Greenberger in Art News that was very negative. He calls the work “vapid.” (You can read the…
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Worth Quoting
Robert Frost On Poetry And Public Recognition
“I don’t care what people think of my poetry so long as they award it prizes.” – Robert Frost
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Fun and/or Interesting
Wildlife Photo of the Year
Karine Aigner won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for this photo of a buzzing ball of cactus bees spinning over the hot sand in Texas. According to the awards committee, this “beautifully composed…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Have you heard about the million-dollar public toilet?
Last month, San Francisco unveiled plans to build a 150-square-foot public toilet for $1.7m! Here’s a breakdown of the cost: * Base construction contract: $750k * Planning and design: $450k * Architecture and…
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Postscript
Super Volcanoes?!
Apparently, they exist. Or existed at one time. They rarely erupt. Only once in 100 years, they say. But when they erupt, they change everything. Check it out:
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Notes From My Journal
It’s Not a Passion, but It’s Close
I’m in Costa Rica for a few days, working on one of what I call my “legacy” projects – non-profit entities that will continue to exist long after I’m gone. In this case, it’s a foundation that aims to raise…
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Notes From My Journal
My Favorite Weddings
Getting married is a seriously happy and happily serious social ritual. The serious stuff is expressed in the observations and advice of the officiant, as well as the promises made by the bride and groom. The…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Contemporary African Weddings Blend Tradition With Modern Celebration
Here are a few examples of contemporary African weddings that include traditional African music and dancing: And here is a clip of traditional African weddings:
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A Word to the Wise
Languid
– borrowed from the French languide (“fatigued, weak, indifferent”) – describes something that is heavy and slow, lacking in energy or strength. It can have a sensual/sexual connotation. As I used it today…
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Worth Quoting
Franz Schubert On Finding Your Best Friend In Marriage
“Happy is the man who finds a true friend, and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife.” – Franz Schubert
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News & Views
The Truth About Kale
For the first 60 years of my life, I knew nothing about kale. I had never even encountered the word. Then… there it was. On every restaurant menu and on every foodie’s lips. Not only were all my posh friends…
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Arts & Letters
Big Artwork, Bigger ROI!
The last time it was sold at auction, in 1987, it sold for $660,000. Andy Warhol’s 1963 White Disaster (White Car Crash 19 Times), from his “Death and Disasters” series, will be auctioned at Sotheby’s on Nov…
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Recommended Places
From the Fifty Grande website: “The Most Iconic Hotels in Every US State
Click here for the entire list, along with a little blurb about each one.
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Readers Write
Readers Share How Your Advice Changed Their Habits
“Thank you! Inspired by [your ideas about time management and productivity], I created a daily task list template that I’ve been using…. It keeps me on track (something I have challenges with) while focusing…
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Postscript
A Short Story To Brighten Your Day
Click here for a short story to brighten your day.
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Notes From My Journal
Three Social-Justice Trends Boosting Crime in Major Cities
In big cities across the USA, crime is soaring. Robberies are up. Assaults are up. Carjackings are up. And murders are up. There are, no doubt, several reasons for this. Here are three: * Cashless Bail: A…
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The Economy & Investing
Speaking of Major Cities… Can You Afford to Live in One?
K and I are in LA this week, visiting four of our five grandkids. LA is a sprawling collection of little cities and towns, some of which are very nice, and most of which are ordinary and even depressing. But…
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Worth Considering
Groucho Marx On Money And Personal Unhappiness
“While money can’t buy happiness, it certainly lets you buy your own form of misery.” – Groucho Marx
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Worth Watching
The Shadow of Violence
The Shadow of Violence Released Jul. 31, 2020 Available on various streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime I found this one by flicking. I must have been in a dark mood, for it was the title…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Philadelphia Sports Success And Economic Collapse
From BJ: “I have appreciated your incisive analysis of our current economic situation. I wanted to add a timely tidbit of historical fact: Over the past 100 years, the surest sign of an oncoming financial…
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Fun and/or Interesting
The Costs of the COVID Shutdowns Are Coming In
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the COVID shutdowns were a bad idea. They did not curb the spread of the virus. If anything, they accelerated it. And there were negative consequences. Substantial ones…
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Worth Considering
Why This Young Black Woman Stopped Hating the Police
After the Freddie Gray killing in 2015, there was a great deal of anti-police sentiment in communities all over America. One of the accusations heard repeatedly was that the police were “systemically racist.”…
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Readers Write
Re what I said in the Oct. 18 issue about the friends/relatives of writers
“I wonder if Shakespeare’s friends had comments like: This part about ‘Be not afraid of greatness.’ It’s too grandiose. Don’t flatter yourself.” – MS
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Postscript
Even if You Hate Fossil Fuels, This Will Make You Smile
From Bonner Private Research: A hilarious account of how climate change protesters in Germany forgot what happens when the lights go out. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Five Reasons Old People (and Everyone Else) Should Work Out Harder
My surgeon gave me the go-ahead on Tuesday to resume full-fledged exercising. That means lifting heavy, hard sprinting, and submission wrestling. I’m eager to get back into it. And for good reasons. Most…
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News & Views
Trump Is Still Head of the Republican Party
A new poll shows that 47% of likely GOP voters would vote Trump if the election were held today. Only 28% would vote DeSantis. Nellie Bowles, writing in Common Sense, had this to say about it: “For anyone…
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Worth Reading
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End By Atul Gawande 282 pages First published Oct. 7, 2014 Someone must have recommended it. And I must have asked Gio to order it for me. It appeared on my desk…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Just in Time for Halloween: “The 50 Scariest Books of All Time
I saw the headline on the Book Riot website, and wondered if The Haunting of Hill House – which I reviewed last week – was included. It was. Fifth on the list. The list also included a sprinkling of the usual…
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Arts & Letters
Katharina Cibulka's Feminist Construction Site Text Installation
Here’s another example of why visual artists should not be allowed to use words. This is an installation on the façade of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. It is by someone named…
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Worth Quoting
College Debate And The Coddling Crisis
From CA: “The video you posted in your Oct. 21 blog showing attempts to engage college students in meaningful debate was a perfect example of the subject of the book The Coddling of the American Mind. And…
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Inside Paradise Palms Botanical & Sculpture Gardens
Inside Paradise Palms' Rare Ivory Crownshaft Palm
The conservancy that I’m developing in West Delray Beach, FL, has one of the largest and best-curated palm tree collections in the world, as well as a growing collection of outdoor sculptures, a traditionally…
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Readers Write
Reader Thanks Liberal Arts Education Validation
“Thanks for validating my beliefs of the liberal arts education system [in the Oct. 21 issue]! But the purpose of my message is to say I was expecting a definition of ‘autodidact’ and not the lowly ‘feisty.’…
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