When the invitation arrived, we were intrigued by one of its particulars. The hosts, our dear old friends the Smythmires (names have been changed to guard privacy and amuse the author) would be offering roast pig as the culinary centerpiece of their yard party. “Whoa,” I thought. The pig roast as ritual feast is popular […]
I used to call myself a sort of minor-league celebrity. Different people, I have found, have different standards for what they consider fame or notoriety. To some, in the old days of print media, it was a matter of how widely you or your photographed image appeared – nationally or internationally – in newspapers, magazines, […]
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Many years ago, in a land far, far away (New Hampshire), one of my neighbors told me that the reason his yard was so healthy was that he talked to his plants every day. I laughed. “Do they talk back?” I asked. “Ayup,” he said. I went home, locked the front door, and said to […]
Who do you think of when you hear the word “elites”? The term has come to mean “educated.” But 100 years ago, it was about economic power. And most people understood which party stood for the economic elites. Franklin Roosevelt made this point very clearly in his 1936 acceptance speech for the Democratic Party nomination: […]
The only reason I studied Latin more intensively than most of my English schoolfellows was that, in those days, (thankfully no longer) one of the requirements for a student wishing to be admitted to either of the two prestigious British Universities – Oxford or Cambridge – was an ability to pass an examination in Latin. […]
No doubt you’ve heard the proverb, “It’s the early bird that catches the worm.” Those words of wisdom would have a different meaning to you, depending on whether you were a bird or a worm. Not being either, I can nevertheless vouch for the fact that it’s not always easy to get up early, especially […]
Judging by the unsolicited emails I receive, there seems to be quite an industry based on putting people in contact with others they knew years ago but have completely lost touch with – particularly people they may have known at school. The sentimental interest in one’s own irrecoverable past has a very pretty name: NOSTALGIA. […]
Many friends have asked me why Trump does such hateful and hurtful things. This is the wrong question. Many mental health experts have diagnosed Trump with several serious mental illnesses. But hundreds of thousands of Americans with these mental illnesses cause few problems. The correct question? Why do tens of millions of Americans blindly follow […]
Many Americans feel that the country is headed in the wrong direction. They feel they spend more and get less. Many factors feed this sense but here I want to focus on a nearly 60-year-old idea from late economist William Baumol called “Cost Disease.” There was rage in this recent election about inflation. But inflation […]
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If you’ve ever played Monopoly – you know there is something almost addictive about it. As is the case with life itself, it combines a certain amount of skill with a great deal of chance. The skill derives from decisions you make about the acquisition and development of real estate and utilities. The luck depends […]
Before Trump, many thought that Nixon was our worst president. Nixon lied strategically about starting a war that destroyed the idyllic country of Cambodia. He sabotaged the peace deal to end the U.S. war in Vietnam when Johnson was president. He used the IRS, FBI and CIA against people he didn’t like. He lied to […]
I attended Radius Commercial Real Estate’s 15th excellent annual forecast at the Hilton. One of the presenters was economist Christopher Thornberg who gave an optimistic view of the economy, much of which I agreed with. Regarding the world since Trump took office Dr. Thornberg’s rosiness hit a wall. The current state of things? “Chaos,” he […]
In the time between the invention of printing and the advent of the Internet, many types of periodicals have come and gone. In our own era, we have seen the birth and demise of magazines of news, humor, commentary, housekeeping, and many other more specialized subjects. A key element in the survival or failure of […]
I decided to buy the latest iPhone. Mine was so old that Siri could no longer remember stuff. “Siri, where’s a good place to get a burger and fries.” “Hi Eddie. I’d suggest Howard Johnson’s.” “I think they went out of business.” “Whoa! Don’t tell President Nixon. He loves their sarsaparilla.” So, off I went […]
