All Entries in the "Personal notes" Category
On My Birthday, Some Observations
Maybe it was the fact that I had a birthday recently. I have been reflecting on a number of things about our curious American society … so, I’ve decided to write down some thoughts here … with a little inspiration from Dolly.
First Attempt to Dig Out of Snow Storm
My neighbor Drew was first out today with his trust snow blower, attempting to dig out of the massive amounts of snow dumped on the Washington, D.C., area. Here’s some HD video.
How Looks Can Be Deceiving
It would be so easy to drive through Lutcher in southern Louisiana and not pay any attention to the weathered, century old, two-story storefront in bad need of paint. The building appears that it might even be abandoned, at first glance. Ah, but looks can be deceiving.
Starving People Need Food, not Money
I am saddened and moved that we are witnessing an entire nation collapsing, one of the most fragile places in the world, and our federal government STILL has not figured out how to respond. People are starving in Haiti. Amid the starvation, they are burying their dead.
Connecting the Dots
We’re hearing a lot of people use the phrase, “Connecting the dots,” these days. President Obama used it to explain the failure of U.S. intelligence to detect the radical Islamic man with ties to Al Qaeda who attempted to bomb a Northwest Airlines plane on Christmas Day.
Maybe Coffee Houses Don’t Travel Well
I’d like to ramble a bit about the concept of coffee houses and the need for more independent coffee places. I love coffee houses … or, at least, the atmosphere of coffee houses in Europe. Misha’s – a coffee house in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia – tries to get close to that type of environment.
Shorewood versus Shorecrest
Two competing high schools in the Seattle area – Shorewood and Shorecrest – have been dueling in the area of creative videos. Both schools have outstanding video production classes. Their respective videos are now on YouTube … and below … for you to judge who is the most talented.
For DC, a Massive Snow Storm
By snowfall standards for Washington, DC, it’s been a fairly intense winter storm that began late last night in this area. I would estimate 12-inches-plus of snow on the ground now where I live with more snow falling.
Glass Houses
Remember Andersen Consulting? It was the old accounting and consulting firm that got caught up in the Enron scandal of 2001. The firm changed its name and applied a fresh coat of paint to its image as it worked to save itself from itself and has continued doing business under the invented name of Accenture.
Pondering “The Big Questions”
As many veterans of the communications and media businesses might agree, it’s the big questions that capture our attention most. Not surprisingly, then, I read Steven E. Landsburg’s “The Big Questions” with great interest. “The Big Questions” is a funky book, like an intellectual roller coaster ride.
Open Letter Books
While visiting the University of Rochester recently, I learned about Open Letter Books, a new book translation and publishing enterprise that’s opening up a whole new spectrum of literature for American readers.
