Articles from 2022
900 articles · browse by month or scroll through the year.
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Inside Paradise Palms Botanical & Sculpture Gardens
Bird Of Paradise Flower Thrives In South Florida
The conservancy that I’m developing in West Delray Beach, FL, is destined to be (if I have anything to say about it) one of the largest and best-curated palm tree collections in the world. It also features a…
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Readers Write
Why I keep doing what I do…
“You gave me advice when I was 19 back in 2005 in ETR that changed my life forever. While I was slow and stupid with the implementation, I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. Thank you!” – JH
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A Word to the Wise
harrow
A harrow is an agricultural implement – a heavy wooden rake that is dragged over plowed land to break up and smooth the surface. In a figurative sense, we use harrowing to describe something that ravages…
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Postscript
Funniest Pet Photos of the Year
In times like these, we need something, anything, to pick up our spirits. So, for your uplifting pleasure, I present Gizmodo’s finalists from this year’s Comedy Pet Photograph awards. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
I’m Bigger. Much Bigger. But He’s Much Better… in More Ways Than One!
I want to introduce you to someone special. He’s someone I love and admire. But first, let’s talk about moi – i.e., my physical fitness routine. I train for fitness twice a week. I do two hours with a trainer…
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News & Views
More Crime Ridden Than the US? You Wouldn’t Guess!
I’ve done a lot of writing about the surge of violent crime in the US in recent years. It’s bad. But there is a country in Europe where things are actually worse. Before I saw the report that TS sent me, I…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Why Forgetting Your Keys Isn't Dementia
Like many septuagenarians, I sometimes worry that I’m sliding into dementia because my memory seems to be getting worse. I’m forgetting names, where I put my keys, and the titles of movies. Not to worry, says…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Unexpected Wildlife Encounters In Rancho Santana
We are in Rancho Santana this week. K takes me on a walk along the beach or through the woods each day. There are creatures here that you don’t encounter in South Florida. Like this tarantula.
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Worth Quoting
Spiro Agnew On Media's Appetite For Conflict
“Bad news drives out good news. The irrational is more controversial than the rational. Concurrence can no longer compete with dissent…. The labor crisis settled at the negotiating table is nothing compared to…
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A Word to the Wise
Anosognosia
– a Greek word that roughly translates to “without knowledge of disease” – is a condition that affects how people view themselves and impairs their awareness of their health symptoms. (See “Interesting…” above…
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Readers Write
About my books
“I’m reading your book The Reluctant Entrepreneur. And just read your book Ready, Fire, Aim. Very inspirational reads. Thank you.” – DV From Bob Bly re the “Ketchup” brief in the Sept. 2 blog: “I met and…
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Postscript
Two Copywriting Experts Debate Direct Marketing's Future
An interesting conversation about copywriting and the direct marketing biz (the industry I work in) by two smart Englishmen. (Pay special attention to the question they try to answer at 16:20!)
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Notes From My Journal
Doing Our “Fair Share” for All Those Illegal Immigrants
You’ve heard about the governors of Arizona and Texas bussing illegal immigrants to New York City and Washington, DC. According to Politico, they’ve sent 4,000 of them to the Big Apple since May. As the mayor…
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Worth Considering
How to Change Minds
The general opinion of left-leaning Americans about the Israeli/Palestine conflict has been pro-Palestine for the last 10 years. Palestinians living in Israel are seen as second-class citizens. And those…
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Worth Reading
So Good They Can’t Ignore You
So Good They Can’t Ignore You By Cal Newport 288 pages Published Sept. 18, 2012 by Business Plus I came across this book while reading a young blog writer that a friend recommended. In talking about something…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Ketchup With Your History
* Ketchup With Your History – How every ketchup but one became extinct. Read about it here. * Hope for Curing Opioid Addiction – Early trials of a new procedure (the insertion of two electrodes into the brain)…
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Worth Quoting
Leonard Cohen On The Hard Work Behind Inspiration
Doing anything worth doing is almost always going to be more difficult than you think it will be at the onset. But as Leonard Cohen said, “Why shouldn't my work be hard? Almost everybody's work is hard. One is…
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A Word to the Wise
denizen — September 2, 2022
A denizen – from the Latin for “from within” – is an inhabitant or occupant of a particular place. As I used it today: “At a total of 4,000 new denizens, New York City is not even close to giving sanctuary to…
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Inside Paradise Palms Botanical & Sculpture Gardens
Building A World-Class Palm Tree Collection
The conservancy that I’m developing in West Delray Beach, FL, is destined to be (if I have anything to say about it) one of the largest and best-curated palm tree collections in the world. It also features a…
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Postscript
Why Distance Makes Us Confident About Others' Choices
It’s easy to have a political, social, or business opinion about something when you don’t have any skin in the game. This TED Talk is about an experiment that demonstrates why that’s true…
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The Economy & Investing
Why We Need a Recession
Inflation is up. Not just a little. A lot. And according to the standard definition, the US is in a recession. Working- and middle-class Americans have noticed. Everything from milk to toilet paper to…
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News & Views
Hybrid, Not Remote, Working Is the Future
In the executive boardrooms of the companies I work with, the debate about remote vs. in-office working rages on. Well, rages is not fair. It continues, but with less vehemence and certainty, as employees and…
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Worth Considering
How safe are your kids and grandkids?
It’s not common, but there are predators out there kidnapping children. According to a study I recently read, they don’t do it by swooping in and scooping them up. They do it by beguiling them and luring them…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Do wine aerators really work?
In this video from the Bonner Private Wine Partnership, Julien Miguel puts them to the test.
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Worth Quoting
Michael Masterson On Profit And Social Consciousness
“There is only one way to determine if a company is socially conscious: Is it profitable?” – Michael Masterson
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A Word to the Wise
Au fond
(oh FAWN) – a French term – literally means “at the bottom.” It’s used as a highfalutin synonym for “fundamentally,” “essentially,” or “in reality.” As used by Margaret Atwood in The Testaments: “Some days I…
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Postscript
Omeleto's Latest Short Film Gem
Another short, little gem from Omeleto…
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Notes From My Journal
How to Write a Best-Selling Novel
As someone who’s made a fair part of my living writing, I gobble up advice from successful writers whenever I can find them. I consume advice about writing fiction and nonfiction, poetry and drama, essays, and…
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Worth Reading
Hombre
Hombre By Elmore Leonard 201 pages Published Jan. 1, 1961 by Ballantyne Books This is one of two books by Elmore Leonard that The Mules are reading this month. Hombre is genre fiction. It’s a Western, the…
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Arts & Letters
Forgery: Modern Art’s Biggest Problem
Stephanie Clegg, an art collector, paid Sotheby’s $90,000 for a Marc Chagall watercolor about 10 years ago. Recently, she sent it to an authentication panel in France that declared it a fake. When Clegg…
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News & Views
Was This Excessive Force? You Decide
There’s no question in my mind: Body cameras on law enforcement officers are a good thing. As are smartphones used by citizens documenting police/people interactions. The body cam video clip below was released…
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Fun and/or Interesting
The 10 Best US Airlines
From The Points Guy website… “There are a lot of ways to measure an airline’s success. [These include] on-time performance, reliable scheduling, the affordability of airfares, excellent elite perks, and the…
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The Economy & Investing
Tipping Is Going Up: What Gives?
This chart was derived from a study by Toast, a point-of-sale (POS) platform that restaurants and other retail food services use to cash out customers. The study found that… * The average tip in full-service…
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Inside Paradise Palms Botanical & Sculpture Gardens
World-Class Palm Collection Takes Root In Delray Beach
The conservancy that I’m developing in West Delray Beach, FL, is destined to be (if I have anything to say about it) one of the largest and best-curated palm tree collections in the world. It also features a…
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A Word to the Wise
a word to the wise — August 26, 2022
Scintillating – from the Latin scintilla, meaning “spark” – is another way to say glittering; brilliantly and excitingly clever or skillful. (See today’s P.S., below.)
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Postscript
Eva Noblezada's Stunning Take Me To Church Performance
Check out the beautiful Eva Noblezada’s scintillating performance of “Take Me to Church”…
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Arts & Letters
How A Thousand Daily Calories Changed My Writing
I rarely get drunk anymore. I can’t remember the last time I did. Still, I like to drink. A cocktail at 5:30. Two glasses of wine at dinner. And a Cognac with my cigar afterwards. But, in an effort to lose 25+…
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Business & Marketing
Starbucks? WeWork? Here’s a Better Idea
Remote workers and one-person business owners in LA have a new, much more enticing choice of workspace with the opening of Heimat, a luxury club owned by the Berlin-based RSG Group. For $350 a month, members…
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News & Views
Regal Cinemas Eyes Bankruptcy
On June 29, 2021, after the COVID shutdown began, I posted an essay on how various businesses would be affected by it. One of the major casualties, I said, would be the movie theater industry. Young people…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Speaking of economics…
JS sent in two fun rap battles on two great debates. * To watch “Top Down or Bottom Up Economics” (Keynes vs. Hayek), click here. * To watch “March of History” (Marx vs. Mises), click here. And for a slightly…
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Worth Quoting
Robert Anton Wilson On Love And Annoyance
"You are precisely as big as what you love and precisely as small as what you allow to annoy you.” – Robert Anton Wilson
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A Word to the Wise
Slumgullion
– believed to be derived from “slum” (an old word for “slime”) and “gullion” (“mud” or “cesspool”) – was used by miners during the California gold rush to describe the muddy slurry left behind after washing…
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Postscript
Al Ruddy On Making The Godfather
On May 27, I mentioned how much I enjoyed The Offer, the docudrama about the making of The Godfather. Here’s an interesting discussion with the producer, Al Ruddy, that fills in some of the details from his…
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News & Views
Back to the Future With COVID
The CDC released new guidelines for COVID-19 on Aug. 11. And although we heard virtually nothing about it from the Biden administration or the mainstream press, what it did was astounding. After two years of…
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Business & Marketing
The Personalities You Need to Grow Your Business
Some years ago, in an attempt to figure out how to deal with the challenges being faced by our fast-growing company, I developed a theory that has been helpful to me ever since. The theory: Two types of…
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The Economy & Investing
Decoding America's Confusing Unemployment Statistics
A New Take on “Who’s on First?” COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America. ABBOTT: Good subject. It’s 3.6%. COSTELLO: That many people are out of work? ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%. COSTELLO…
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Arts & Letters
Art Is About Beauty – Sometimes in More Ways Than One
When I first read that Anna Weyant, a 27-year-old artist represented by the influential Gagosian Gallery, had sold a painting for $1.6 million, I was eager to know more about her. I first looked at her work…
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Worth Quoting
Oscar Wilde On Sex And Power
“Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.” – Oscar Wilde
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Postscript
Mystery Celebrity Look-Alike From Three Decades Ago
This little clip sent in by JS – made nearly 30 years ago – reminds me of someone. But I can’t figure out who…
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News & Views
China Lockdown: A Conspiracy Theory?
China has ordered an indefinite lockdown of the city of Yiwu, the world’s largest wholesale shipping hub. The reason: an “outbreak” of COVID-19. Between Aug. 2 and 9, 135 cases were reported. The government…
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