Articles from 2024
411 articles · browse by month or scroll through the year.
-
Just One Thing
Back in the Land of the Rising Sun
Day One in Tokyo Every time I visit Tokyo, I have the same thought: When it comes to luxuries and conveniences, the Japanese do everything we do, but better. And in many cases not just better, but much better…
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
Giving Speeches and Other Frightening Experiences
Giving Speeches and Other Frightening Experiences I’ve read that, next to dying, most people fear public speaking more than anything else. I get that. I know what it is like to stand in front of an audience of…
Read full post -
Worth Reading
By Percival Everett
By Percival Everett 320 pages Published March 19, 2024 James – a reimagining of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the runaway slave – was The Mules book selection for…
Read full post -
News & Views
It’s Not Us… It’s Russia!
It’s Not Us… It’s Russia! First, they sabotaged Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign… Then, after we threatened to do it, they sabotaged their primary source of revenue by blowing up the Nord Stream…
Read full post -
Worth Watching
Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War
A 9-part documentary series on Netflix 65 to 80 min. per episode Directed by Brian Knappenberger Released March 12, 2024 There is nothing remarkable about this series about – well, the title says it. It spans…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Five Quick Bites — June 25, 2024
Five Quick Bites * Fun and Interesting. The greatest prank in academic history. Click here. * Interesting. Rachel Maddow doesn’t understand the first thing about how our Constitution was formed. Click here. *…
Read full post -
Quiz of the Week
AP US History — June 25, 2024
An easy ace for me on this one.
Read full post -
Photo of the Week
Flamingone
The real photo of a real flamingo that won an AI photography competition. Read the story here.
Read full post -
Readers Write
From GB: “Thought you’d find this interesting
“Illustrated Hints for Health and Strength for Busy People – an old-time strongman’s 15-minute morning routine – published by the author in 1901. Check it out here.” My Response: Thanks, GB! I thought it was…
Read full post -
Postscript
Wow! — June 25, 2024
This gymnast (Katelyn Ohashi) is breaking records. Take a look here.
Read full post -
Just One Thing
What City Kids Learn on My Farm
When they became empty-nesters, Larissa Phillips and her husband decided to give urban children and their parents a chance to spend a week on their 15-acre “hobby” farm. The idea was to provide an opportunity…
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
It Feels Like the Garden of Eden
It Feels Like the Garden of Eden I’m neck deep into finishing three separate presentations I’ll be delivering in Tokyo next week. Two of them account for three hours of speaking to 2,000 paid attendees. The…
Read full post -
News & Views
Bad News: More Voting Fraud
Two political leaders in Connecticut were arrested and charged with election fraud last week. City Councilman Alfredo Castillo, Vice Chair of Bridgeport’s Democrat Party, and Wanda Geter-Pataky, head of the…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
Ruth Bader Ginsburg On Purposeful Advocacy
“Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Read full post -
The Economy & Investing
Americans Are Still Losing Money on Their Money
Americans Are Still Losing Money on Their Money As the Fed raised interest rates over the past two years, the returns on bonds and other debt instruments have increased substantially. While I’ve seen so many…
Read full post -
Worth Watching
Hit Man
Premiered at the Venice Film Festival Sept. 5, 2023 Released in select theaters in the US May 24, 2024 Streaming on Netflix as of June 7, 2024 Directed and co-written (with Glen Powell) by Richard Linklater…
Read full post -
Worth Reading
How Meta Studies Distort Medical Research Findings
What I learned about medical “meta studies” in this essay by Toby Rogers obliterated the naïve trust I’ve had in them. “All people of good faith should be troubled by the information I lay out below,” he…
Read full post -
Worth Listening
The Masked Musician
Is she amazing or what? Is all this music coming from just one instrument? Plus, she has beautiful eyes! Is the ever going to take off that mask? Marketing idea: Playing without the mask as a paid upgrade to…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Five Quick Bites — June 17, 2024
Five Quick Bites * Interesting. Scientists confirm that elephants have a very sophisticated language, which includes particular names for individual elephants. Click here. *Interesting. There are still plenty…
Read full post -
Quiz of the Week
How Much Do You Know About the Greek Gods?
I got 9 out of 10 on this one.
Read full post -
Photo of the Week
A Lenticular Cloud Over the Merapi Volcano in Java, Indonesia
A Lenticular Cloud Over the Merapi Volcano in Java, Indonesia Lenticular (stationary, lens-shaped) clouds often appear above mountains. Click here to watch how they’re formed.
Read full post -
Postscript
More About the Exhibition of My Art Collection at the Cornell Art Museum…
In last week’s Postscript, I mentioned that the Cornell Art Museum here in Delray Beach is exhibiting a large part of my collection of Central American modern art. Scheduled to close July 28, the exhibit has…
Read full post -
Just One Thing
Maybe the US Isn’t Rich After All
Most politicians and pundits claim that America is the richest country in the world. But Bill Bonner, writing in the June 10 edition of Bill Bonner’s Bonner Private Research, does a great job of exploding this…
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
How to Mentor a Super-Accomplished Genius
How to Mentor a Super-Accomplished Genius A friend writes to let me know that, as part of a post-graduate program he did at Harvard a few years ago, he’s been asked to mentor a young man that has not only…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
Calvin Coolidge On The Irreplaceable Power Of Persistence
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not…
Read full post -
News & Views
Question to My Boston-Based Readers
How Do You Feel About Your New Mayor? Boston’s 39-year-old Mayor, Michelle Wu, has stated publicly that one of her top priorities when she takes office is to make many crimes off-limits to prosecution. I doubt…
Read full post -
The Economy & Investing
A Good Time to Live in the South!
A Good Time to Live in the South! America's real GDP grew by 2.5 percent in 2023. That was a country-wide average. But, as you can see from this map, some areas of the country did considerably better than…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Five Quick Bites — June 10, 2024
Five Quick Bites * Interesting. In the new world of AI and brain implants, will this be how we learn to speak foreign languages? * Fun: When it comes to keeping on top of the latest trends in Woke culture, I…
Read full post -
Quiz of the Week
The Most-Visited Tourist Spots in the World
This one was pretty easy. I had to guess on three and got one of them right… so, 18 out of 20, or 90%.
Read full post -
Photo of the Week
A Secretary Bird Swallowing Its Prey
A Secretary Bird Swallowing Its Prey Here’s how the photographer, Dr. Johann J. Botha, describes what we’re seeing here: “The secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is an endangered species, but you do come…
Read full post -
Readers Write
From SL re the cover band for The Grateful Dead playing at Sphere in Las Vegas
“Tangential to today’s update,” SL wrote (referring to the music videos mentioned in the June 3 issue), “but thought you might like this piece from Bob Lefsetz.” It certainly was tangential. In fact, it had…
Read full post -
Postscript
After 30 Years, I Get to See My Art Collection… and It Looks Good!
The Cornell Art Museum in Delray Beach, FL, is exhibiting a good portion of the collection of Central American modern art that, with Suzanne Snyder, I’ve been assembling for nearly 30 years. Over that time…
Read full post -
Just One Thing
Voter Fraud and Election Interference
Does It Happen? If So, How Often? And Does It Matter? When Bush beat Gore in 2000 and the election was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court because of, among other things, the “hanging chads” issue in…
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
Convicted… of Course
Convicted… of Course I wasn’t surprised by the conviction of Trump. The cards were stacked before the trial began. A locus in NYC. A jury comprised entirely of people whose answers to the voir dire made it…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Mad Max and Meme Thinking (Especially Among the Educated)
Mad Max and Meme Thinking (Especially Among the Educated) This essay by one of our favorites essayists, Freddie deBoer, begins with an argument about Mad Max’s role in Fury Road and then slips into a…
Read full post -
Worth Listening
Hotel California” Played in the Distinctive Style of Stevie Ray Vaughan
This little video had a big effect on me. I’m not sure why it was this one, rather than a thousand similar videos out there in the Metaverse, but it got me contemplating what a microscopically small bubble of…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
If You Have So Many Disagreeable Ideas, Why Write About Them?
In response to either a personal email or something I wrote in this blog (as you know, I have no memory these days), AS sent me the following four quotes about writers and writing, saying “The one by Kingsley…
Read full post -
Quiz of the Week
How well do you know the ancient Greek philosophers?
I got 16 out of 20 on this one.
Read full post -
Photo of the Week
Camouflage
A blade of grass helps to camouflage a seahorse, keeping it safe from the many predators in the ocean.
Read full post -
Readers Write
From BO: “I Challenge You!
“Tying your column about people with habits who rarely change and your most recent regarding weight gain, might I suggest looking into keto/carnivore? It might be the change you need. On paper, it’s simple…
Read full post -
Postscript
Hot Off the Press: RS Soccer Team Makes It to the Premier League!
Rancho Santana’s men’s soccer team just became the first team in Rivas Country to make it to Nicaragua’s Premier League. This is a huge accomplishment, considering the high level of athleticism among the…
Read full post -
SPECIAL ISSUE
Why The Stock Market Keeps Defying Expectations
When the stock market hit an all-time high on May 16 – despite the instability in the financial markets and all the obvious problems with inflation – I wondered if that might be a signal that it may be in for…
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
Where Am I?
Where Am I? Once every eight weeks, if not more often, K and I travel to LA to visit Number One and Number Two Sons and their families. Together, they have bestowed upon us four grandchildren: Francis, the…
Read full post -
Worth Considering
Learning How to Forgive Yourself
I recently delivered a video presentation to senior executives in a Japanese publishing company I write for titled “The Zen Secret for Never Regretting Your Business and Financial Decisions.” In that…
Read full post -
News & Views
If Necessary, Use Deadly Force?
If Necessary, Use Deadly Force? When JM, my ex-Navy Seal trainer told me about it, I thought it couldn’t possibly be true. Trying to defeat your political opponent through “lawfare” is tacky enough for a…
Read full post -
The Economy & Investing
Why Is the Market Going Up?
Why Is the Market Going Up? This week, for a change, I am not commenting on a chart that Sean sent us to illustrate some points about the stock market and investing. Instead, I’ve asked him to explain why…
Read full post -
Worth Reading
In What World Is Gender-Transition Surgery Gender-Affirming Care?
A study from the University of Texas Medical Branch found that the risk of suicide increased 12 times following gender-transition surgery compared to those who did not undergo the procedure. Click here.
Read full post -
Worth Watching
The Best Latin Hip-Hop of the Last Decade
I spend a fair amount of time in Latin America. So when a friend suggested that he’d never leave the US because he’s addicted to hip-hop, I pointed out that some of the best of it is being produced by Latin…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Five Quick Bites — May 28, 2024
Five Quick Bites * Interesting. Peter Diamandis reports: “WTF Just Happened in AI?” Click here. * Interesting. Fact and fiction, right and wrong – Hannah Arendt on Totalitarianism. Click here. * Fun. Edgar…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
From AS: “Some fodder for your war on liberals
AS is an old friend, independent thinker, and liberal-to-moderate on most issues, which makes these quips doubly appreciated. I thought it was particularly interesting that the great comedic philosophers Lenny…
Read full post