August 6th, 2024 Mark O'Brien
Utopians and their schemes always put me in mind of the comment the late Peter Drucker once made about business schools: “In business school classrooms they construct beautiful models of a non-world.” I completely understand idealism. But idealism separated from reality and human psychology, like Utopia, will never come to fruition because of … well […]
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July 29th, 2024 Mark O'Brien
Author’s Note: I had intended to write a long disclaimer for this post. I was going to write something along these lines: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination, are used in a fictitious manner, or came to the author in […]
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July 22nd, 2024 Mark O'Brien
I’ve filed suit against Chatham Village for theft of my fictional identity. Here’s why: The other day, Anne came home from the grocery store with a bag of croutons from Chatham Village. The name on the bag was Garden Herb. Garden Herb is the nom de scène I adopted for my stage act, in which […]
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July 15th, 2024 Mark O'Brien
On May 8th, Jewish Journal ran an article — ‘Killing America’ and The Evolution of Hate” — that says this, in part: Filmmaker Eli Steele set out to explore why antisemitism exploded in Bay Area schools, and subsequently why it is prevalent on many campuses across the state. The result is “Killing America,” a captivating […]
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May 9th, 2024 Mark O'Brien
Among the many magazines that come to our home for Anne, because she’s a designer and decorator, is one called, Architectural Products. A recent edition ran an article called, “The Smartest Building in Austin” (starting at page 28 in the print edition, page 30 in the digital edition). I don’t remember if Big Brother was […]
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May 6th, 2024 Mark O'Brien
Author’s Note: May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I offer this post as a means of sharing my experience, even as I grant I’m more fortunate than many. If you or a loved one struggle with mental health, call the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text “HelpLine” to 62640, or email helpline@nami.org. If you or […]
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May 1st, 2024 Mark O'Brien
When I was growing up, our next-door neighbors had some … uh … peculiar notions about housecleaning. As sons of a Marine, my younger brother, Keith, and I would walk into their living room and be astounded at the volume of clutter, the nature of the clutter, and the general lack of order or cleanliness. […]
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April 29th, 2024 Mark O'Brien
If you’re anything like me, you don’t believe in indecision. In an earlier post, I wrote about self-faith and our inner genius. Consistent with what I wrote, I typically assess the situation requiring a decision, trust my senses, apply my intelligence (such as it is), and decide. If my decision turns out to have been […]
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April 22nd, 2024 Mark O'Brien
Author’s Note: This post isn’t intended to be how-to. Rather, it’s intended to be a why-not. The stunts we can pull — and the trouble we can get into — are limited only by our imaginations. And if you’d known Grandpa O’Brien, none of what you’re about to read would surprise you. To the south […]
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April 15th, 2024 Mark O'Brien
Author’s Note: I was once asked by a devotee of Simon Sinek if could state my why in five words. Because I’m a writer, I cheated; that is, I hyphenated. My response was, “I write to restore self-faith.” When I said that, I didn’t mean my self-faith. I meant I write to restore the self-faith […]
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