Articles from 2023
694 articles · browse by month or scroll through the year.
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Fun and/or Interesting
The crazy and growing cost of Hollywood’s strikes
Quick Bites: The Cost of the Hollywood Walkouts, Remote Work Trends, Short Stories, a Crazy Stat, and a Quiz About Orchestras The crazy and growing cost of Hollywood’s strikes. Analysts say the writers’ and…
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Readers Write
From JM re Good Deal or Dangerous Political Gambit in the Sept. 22 issue
“The General has three stars. He should understand the programs his service promotes. “We not only look weak we are weak. “Did you ever read about in the beginning of WWII the turnover rate of Generals. Many…
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Postscript
Amazing dancers!
This may not be the most beautiful style of dancing, but it’s got to be the most fun. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Good Deal or Dangerous Political Gambit?
The US and Iran executed a deal on Monday – the return of five incarcerated Americans in return for the release of five Iranians. That sounds fair. But the Biden administration threw in some glicken by…
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The Economy & Investing
Is Florida Real Estate – Any Real Estate – a Buy?
Real estate has always been my favorite investment category. That’s primarily because the long-term trend has always been up. But it’s also because, at base, real estate is not complicated. And if you do the…
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News & Views
$267 Million vs. $31 Million? Will Newsom’s Crime Reduction Plan Work?
Governor Newsom is allocating $267 million to a new grant program he’s touting to combat the pandemic of department store thefts in the state’s larger cities. “Enough with these brazen smash-and-grabs,” Newsom…
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Worth Considering
The COVID Response: What We Got Wrong — September 22, 2023
The Government Censored Them and They Fought Back Dr. Jay Bhattacharya The Biden administration (along with the Justice Department, the FDA, and the FBI) has waged an all-out war against anyone – especially…
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Worth Reading
No, Freddie. This Is One Problem We Don’t Need to Worry About
In this piece, Freddie deBoer joins a conversation about whether America’s elite college students may be hurting themselves by being too competitive. So… this is a problem? Something that needs to be fixed? No…
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Worth Listening
Matt Gaetz Grills Air Force Superintendent Over Gender Diversity Scholarship
This has all the markings of Russian anti-US propaganda. But it turns out to be true. Do you think the Russian military – or the North Korean military, for that matter – have programs like this? Click here.
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Worth Watching
Another Parent Thrown Out of a School Board Meeting in Florida
You may have seen something like this before. It’s happening in primary schools across the country. A parent comes to the podium at a PTA meeting and proceeds to read from a book that has been ordered for the…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Look at them freakin’ teeth!
Quick Bites: Teeth!, Spanked by a Drag Queen, Retirement on the Cheap, Going Full Woke, Poor Joe “Look at them freakin’ teeth!” Pensacola beachgoers rescue a shark that washed ashore. Click here. Okay, you are…
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Postscript
Wow!
Click here to enjoy a Māori rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody.
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Notes From My Journal
Doubling Down on My Predictions for 2024
The 70 million to 80 million voting age people in America that hate Trump – whether they be journalists, lobbyists, pundits, or voters – have always found it difficult to believe that Orange Top would ever get…
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Worth Reading
Myth and BS: Tales of Monetary Manipulation from Pharaohs to Fed Heads
If you think America’s $34 trillion debt can be managed by smart people, read this essay by Bill Bonner.
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Worth Watching
How Reese Witherspoon Became a Billionaire
A fascinating explanation of how Reese Witherspoon made gazillions of dollars. Not from acting, although she’s done well with that, but from her book club. The woman doing the explaining sounds like a true…
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Health & Wellness
New Pfizer-funded Study: The Three-Shot COVID Vaccine Regimen Is Useless (and Dangerous?) in Children Under Five
There has been an argument for vaccinating older and “immunocompromised” people against COVID. At least there was when a handful of early studies concluded that it prevented infection and spreading. But there…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Five Unexpected Takes On Politics, Culture, And Currency
Quick Bites: Life Under Utopia?, Diversity Training, Economics Lesson, Woman Power, and a Quiz About World Currencies Ben Kawaller Ben Kawaller of The Free Press meets the Democratic Socialists of America…
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Readers Write
From BD after a recent trip to Rancho Santana
The gift shop at Rancho Santana “Just spent five days in Rancho Santana and I must say the best gift shop I have ever seen in all my travels, and I have stayed in the best hotels around the world. I love all…
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Postscript
Age 14 and hearing for the first time…
I may have posted one of these before. They always give me goosebumps. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Here I Am in London Again…
With Secrets of Direct Marketing and More Generalizations I flew here from Poland on Monday to meet with some former business partners and colleagues and give the keynote presentation at Fix Fest, a seminar on…
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The Economy & Investing
Billionaires: The More the Merrier!
The number of billionaires in the world is shrinking. Not a good thing. Globally, billionaire wealth last year dropped by $500 billion. But in the US, the outlook is better. In 2022, the US added 55 new…
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Worth Reading
Dating Dynamics Today and Why It Matters
I’ve been looking at YouTube discussions lately on the subject of how relationships between the sexes are changing. It’s unsettling. Even disturbing. There is, for example, a surprising percentage of young…
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Worth Watching
Despite What You Think You Know
The Facts About the Transgender Therapy Suicide Argument One of the common arguments made on behalf of those that support gender transition “therapy” for young people is that, unless you give them the hormones…
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Worth Listening
Jimmy Buffett’s Final Album
Jimmy Buffett’s posthumous album will be released November 3. Click here to listen to three of the new songs on it.
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Fun and/or Interesting
Were prehistoric mass extinctions caused by climate change or human activity?
Quick Bites: Extinction Debate, COVID Vaccine Caveats, Language-Based Racism, Another Karen Meltdown, and Irresistible Live Camera Feeds Were prehistoric mass extinctions caused by climate change or human…
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Readers Write
From KM re my trip to Poland
“I just read your blog about your most recent trip. My mother’s family was from Poland. That’s where my grandmother’s family immigrated from. My grandfather’s family was exterminated during the Holocaust. I…
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Postscript
This is why I like Russell Brand
Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Pleasure Before Business, Part 2
Ms K has been treating me like an idiot on this trip. I resented it at first, but it’s working out quite nicely. Yesterday, for example, we traveled from Krakow to Zurich, where I was to hop on a flight to…
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News & Views
The Roof of the World
An excerpt from an interesting essay by Garrett Baldwin, a colleague of mine, on the next arena of the Cold War as competition between the US and Russia heats up among the ice floes: “Russia is working…
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Health & Wellness
Another Reason to Check Your Vitamin D Levels
Vitamin D, long recognized as the vitamin one took to strengthen and maintain strong bones, has, in the past several decades, been shown to be important in strengthening the body’s immune system against a host…
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Arts & Letters
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns From LC: In this article from The Art Newsletter, Martin Bailey suggests that the nuclear test explosion at the heart of the film Oppenheimer seems prefigured by Van Gogh’s…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Images from an annual gathering of redheads
Quick Bites: Redheads, Top Soundtracks, Homemade Rocket Festival, Ancient Wonders, and an 8th Grade History Quiz Images from an annual gathering of redheads. Click here. Boogie Nights. American Graffiti. Dirty…
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Readers Write
From longtime reader RF
“Your wisdom was crucial in catapulting my business into the top three fastest growing in the UK. Building a team of 70 people from a standing start in three years. Thank you!”
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Postscript
Irish Busker Allie Sherlock's Surprising Duet Partner Revealed
Longtime readers know I’m a huge fan of Allie Sherlock, a busker I “discovered” about five years ago, when she was only 13 years old and busking on the streets of Dublin. What I suppose all of her fans (except…
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Notes From My Journal
Pleasure Before Business
Chopin monument in Warsaw’s Lazienki Park Poland wasn’t on my bucket list. Apparently, it was on Ms K’s. Next week, I’m in London for business. I get crushed by jet lag to Europe, so Ms K agreed to spend the…
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Worth Reading
Paris Was Yesterday” by Taki in Taki’s Magazine
The opening paragraph: “A reader’s inquiry as to why I think Paris was yesterday has me remembering times past. When did the party end? According to the point of view of many night owls, the party ended when…
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Worth Listening
Douglas Murray on Tennyson’s “Ulysses
Alfred, Lord Tennyson “Lord Tennyson’s poem lauds the strength of human will ‘to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield,” says Murray. Click here to listen to him talk about its importance… and then read…
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News & Views
A Wild Ride with Jimmy Buffett
A Wild Ride with Jimmy Buffett Jimmy Buffett died last week at the age of 76. He was one of the great songwriters, singers, and storytellers of my generation. There have been lots of articles, obituaries, and…
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Worth Quoting
Jimmy Buffett On Life As A Scavenger Hunt
“Searching is half the fun: Life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.” – Jimmy Buffett
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites — September 9, 2023
Quick Bites: Hidden Messages, Cool Words, Surprising Source of Healthcare in Africa, the World’s Most Beautiful Museums, and a Photo Trip Back in Time Hidden messages.Did you ever notice that there is a 31…
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Postscript
I’m a fan of Sir Anthony Hopkins. (Who isn’t?)
This short clip of him, at 85, playing a beautiful little piano composition, his own, made me think, “What a well-lived life!” Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
How to Write a Book About Your Family History
For the past few years, my friend (and coeval) HB has been thinking about writing down his family’s story. His parents and many of his uncles and aunts were holocaust survivors. He began collecting information…
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Worth Watching
Patrice O’Neal: Elephant in the Room
Last week, on a walk to give my new fake knee a workout, he began quoting what seemed to be from a movie. He had me laughing. “What movie is that from?” I asked. “It’s from Elephant in the Room,” he said. “And…
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Worth Reading
Freddie deBoer’s Latest Book
Freddie DeBoer The Washington Post does not pretend to be impartial – neither in its reportage, its editorial, or even its book reviews. So you’d you think it would write a nice, left-leaning piece on Freddie…
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News & Views
Subway Surfing
Click here to read a well-written piece by an evidently smart young writer (published by The Free Press). It describes a new sort of urban “tribe” of even younger men that surf on the top of city trains and…
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Arts & Letters
Feb. 24, 2015 Letter From James “Whitey” Bulgar to 17-Year-Old Brittany Tainsh
The notorious Boston gangster who eluded capture for nearly two decades before being captured in 2011 “My life was wasted and spent foolishly, brought shame and suffering on my parents and siblings and will…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites — September 5, 2023
Click here. Watch a meteor light up the Colorado night sky. (It looks just like it does in the movies!) Click here. Zambia-Egypt plane seizure. The cash and fake gold that no one is claiming. Click here. The…
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Postscript
Two Great Voices on One Great Song
Two Great Voices on One Great Song KD Lang joins Roy Orbison in singing one of his best-loved songs: Crying. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
My Three Favorite Pleasures
There was a time, when I was young, that I thought the only sensible objective in life should be to get the best ratio possible between pleasure and pain. Put more simply: to avoid everything that was…
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News & Views
A Town That Decided to Pay Out Reparations
Louis Weathers, 88, at the home he’s owned for more than 60 years in Evanston, IL There are so many flaws in the argument in favor of federal and state governments giving “reparations” to African Americans. I…
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