Just like our story, the original Christmas tales were stories of searching, not so much for the lost, as for the familiar. Mary and Joseph sought in Bethlehem — the home of their familial ancestry — a place to start their own family; the three kings from the East journeyed beneath the sentinel star to […]
First, I would straighten out the language. (Confucius, asked how he’d restore order to the world) I’ve recently come to two equally important conclusions: I need to relax more. If I were a director of a TV show, I’d carry a red card in my pocket like a soccer referee. Here’s why: Exhibit A Anne […]
Recently, my friend and fellow BizCatalyst 360˚ columnist, John Dunia, wrote a post called, “FREEDUMB”, in which he pondered the definition of freedom and its various interpretations and applications in the United States. John and I know we stand on different sides of the political aisle. We also know we respect and care for each […]
If you’re anything like me, you have days in which, on things you’ve seen a million times, you suddenly notice something you’ve never noticed before. So it was that Saturday morning, I reached for the box of Melitta Coffee filters for which I reach every day, more than once on most days. The word, German, […]
Because I’m something of a newshound, I came across a press release on the Reuters site the other day, the headline of which was this: “Campbell Soup dropping ‘soup’ in name to become ‘The Campbell’s Company‘”. The drift of the release was this: Campbell Soup is dropping “soup” from its name to become “The Campbell’s […]
On September 19th, I led a conversation on the Friendship Bench about humor. Among other things, we discovered humor — particularly joke-telling, the nature of the jokes being told, and the people to whom they’re told — should be a matter of respect. (Thank you, Phil Williams.) Yet I remain curious: How far should respect […]
It was 1975. I was 21 years old. It was time to buy my first serious stereo system because if it was 1975 and you were 21 years old, that’s what you were supposed to do. I enlisted by buddy, George, to aid me in purchasing the requisite components — a stereo receiver, a turntable, […]
My cohorts and I recently engaged in a conversation about humor on the Friendship Bench. As we considered what makes things funny — why some people find things funny and others don’t, why some people can tell jokes to some people and not to others — my friend, Phil Williams, said in his inimitable fashion […]
I don’t why. But I love to watch Beat Bobby Flay on the Food Channel. Maybe it’s that Bobby Flay is such an accomplished chef and restauranteur. Or maybe it’s just that he’s such a charming gentleman and all around good guy. But that doesn’t really matter. In any case, the format of the show […]
As a result of watching our local meteorologists forecast the weather, I have an idea that will simplify the way those meteorologists present the forecasts. That idea will also help their viewers understand their forecasts and be able to explain them to family, friends, and other loved ones who might not have TVs or might […]