Flesh & Blood = Passe
It seems only proper that the “restaurant” chain that has replaced human food with unpronounceable chemicals should replace human servers with metallic robots.
Afterthought. Now, if we could only replace those pesky human customers with AI modules paying in bitcoin, the chain could be complete – and humanity could revert to cooking their own meals, dining, and even conversing.
***
Do you know who said: “The only law that is really lived up to wholeheartedly and with a vengeance is the law of conformity.”
Hint: This Manhattan-born boy grew up, married twice in Brooklyn, then moved to Paris, where he wrote Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn which were summarily banned – thus catapulting all his writings into best sellers
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said, “A successful man is one who can make more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man,” was Lana Turner.
***
Work Wit
Our HR Director has given us all barcoded ID tags to wear at work. It allows the machines to identify us and track our movements. He says it’s part of the firm’s “Getting to Know You” policy.
Biz Quiz
What U.S. President, in 1992, upon first encountering a supermarket bar code scanner was stunned and perplexed? George H.W. Bush. The commonly rumored beliefs that his son, President George W. Bush couldn’t hold the code right-side-up to the reader, and that President Bill Clinton has his mistress do the supermarket shopping, are unsubstantiated.
***
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
WAR – 1) Humanity’s preferred method of negotiation. 2) A highly lauded, invariably unnecessary bloodbath, allowing those in power the dual benefit of punishing other powers who too slowly yield up their wealth, while diminishing the glut of young, glum heroes at home who might later become competitors.
***
On A Personal Note
Eves of Wine and Nonchalance
The mood swiftly crescendoed from convivial to jovial. ‘Twas Friday eve at the South Brunswick Public Library where a gratifyingly large crowd had gathered, palates at the ready, to take my “Tour of New Jersey’s Fine Wines.” I really revel in giving these tastings, partially because it bursts the negative myth about our Garden State having no exquisite vintages, but mostly because you encounter folks at their most unfettered – all expectantly happy. And that’s my point.
We Americans, having no pre-set, formal class structure, have become absolutely obsessed with stratifying every deed, thought, and preference with thinly veiled competitive rankings. Now one would think surely that joyfully raising a glass of fermented fruit juice to one’s lips would be completely devoid of all better-than-thou contention. I mean, after all isn’t the best wine in the world the wine you like the best? (My frequent preachment.) Yet even in so personal and innocent a pleasure, there are those who would turn simple taste into tournament. As I chatted with folks amidst their sips and samplings, no fewer than three happy tasters came and thanked me for validating their strong individual preference for sweet wines. (Actually, it is sweet wines – far and away the most globally popular – that keep vineyards financially afloat.) They finally felt free to bypass that effete Cabernet whose choosing placed the imbiber among the truly elite, and reach instead for the glass that put a smile on their lips. Why not.
So please accept this poor scribbler’s wish. Be it choosing career, friends, or beverage, may you sample many, many vintages, and may your selection be guided primarily by the joy each delivers to your soul.
Eclipse of Reason
Why is it we Americans throw parties to celebrate hurricanes and the disappearance of the sun, but plunge into a panic of despair when interest rates rise two tenths of one percent?
Afterthought. It all seems strange that we will drive 300 miles to watch the sun disappear, while grumbling if we have to reach too far for the remote.
Do you know who said:
“A successful man is one who can make more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.”
Hint: This 20th century Hollywood femme fatale who dazzled moviegoers in The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Bad and the Beautiful, and Peyton Place, successfully married an amply well-heeled hubby – until her daughter stabbed him to death.
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said, “Economy does not consist in saving the coal, but in using wisely the time while it burns,” was Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Work Wit
My father always said, “You cannot cheat an honest man. But don’t worry, son, they’re such a small percentage of the market, it’s not worth bothering with them.”
Biz Quiz
What state boasts the largest number of fraud cases? California bears that crown with 47,000 reported fraud cases in the last year. The average scam victim nationally looses $650.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
INFLATION – A form of price gouging that shifts the cause from the merchants, on whose shoulders it belongs, to some ill-explained phantasm called the Economy.
Finally, the Good News
Faith & Good Works
Imagine a gentleman who believes that Peace In Our Time is a goal within our grasp. No, ‘tis not some wide-eyed dreaming idealist, he is one of the toughest negotiators you will ever encounter – and an idealist. Dr. Andrea Bartoli is the savvy peace broker you turn to when warring factions must end their conflict or destroy the nation. A leader in this impossible mission team, Andrea has recently formed the Sant’Egidio Foundation for Peace and Dialog to share these sought-after conflict resolution techniques worldwide. The Sant’Egidio is a volunteer Christian community founded in 1968, to service the poor and promote peace.
As an example of Sant’Egido’s efforts, after the 2024 Easter Conference in Conkary, Guinea, team members loaded a ridiculously top-heavy truck with 150 mattresses and drove it into the notoriously inhumane Dubreka prison. Here, Guinea’s poorest are detained for such crimes as petty theft, and typically forgotten since they cannot afford legal counsel. Prior to receiving these mattresses, prisoners slept on the mud-packed earth in their crowded cells.
To learn the fascinating story of Andrea Bartoli and the Sant’Egidio Community, now expanded into 70 countries, visit https://www.santegidio.org/pageID/1/langID/en/HOME.html
***
Name Your Price
The housing shortage has gotten so bad in the U.S. that realtors are grabbing up any unused building currently abandoned. Guess that explains the “For Sale” signs on the halls of Congress.
Afterthought. Seems as if the only political promises being kept are from those legislators who pledged voters that they would avoid governing at all costs.
Do you know who said:
“Economy does not consist in saving the coal, but in using wisely the time while it burns.”
Hint: While his own coal was burning, this 19th-century author and speaker founded Transcendentalism, wrote Self-Reliance, mentored H.D. Thoreau, and was deemed by Friedrich Nietzsche as “the most gifted of all Americans.”
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said, “Let us be happy and learn to live within our means – even if we have to borrow money to do it,” was Charles Farrar Browne – pen name: Artemus Ward.
***
Work Wit
Sales Tip 101…To make money for one fiscal quarter, produce a mediocre product and spend a fortune convincing folks that it’s a high-quality necessity. To make money for a lifetime, offer an excellent product and let others do your advertising.
Biz Quiz
Of North American business’ $400 billion spent on advertising, how much of that was spent on digital formats? In 2022 our digital ad tab was $262 billion – almost 70 percent of the total.
***
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
SEMINAR – A gathering of the bewildered before a panel of pundits who spout current jargon and ancient maxims. Viewed by employees as a too-brief work holiday, and by employers as a final desperate resort to boosting production.
Snippet from my new book: Fellow Traveler
The Bard
It was a small, rosewood mandolin, held tightly against the softly frayed lapels of his gray jacket, as the taberna owner guided the silent man gently by the elbow to his café table. A few steps off Athens’ central Syntagma Square, this cozy eatery had become a favorite haunt during our expeditions seeking mythical traces of the Iliad’s wrathful Achilles. The lamb was good and the retsina, well, plentiful. But what kept drawing us back was this elegant patron and his constant companion he always carried.
With no preparation or announcement, the mandolin launched into a heavy, rhythmic accompaniment, and its owner into an undulating bass melody. The captivating ballad had begun. My ancient Greek was rusty, my modern Greek vocabulary small, but nouns like Achilleus, Patroclus, and Hector left no doubt as to the thread of our bard’s tale. Local Athenian regulars at their tables swayed in time, rocking their chairs against the whitewashed walls – some mouthing remembered phrases. Lorraine and I felt we had stumbled 1200 years back into a time when wandering Greek poets would stroke their lyres, and fire warrior’s imaginations with tales of their ancestors who had battled and fallen before the walls of Troy. After an exhaustive recitation that ended far too soon, the taberna owner came over and by hand began feeding our entertainer. It was only then that I realized that, like the magnificent Homer, our bard was blind.
To learn more about This Athenian Bard and other fellow travelers, visit www.BartsBooks.com.
***
Grade Grinders
Listen to your parents, study hard to get better grades than your fellows, and you’ll end up drawing a huge salary paycheck…And it will be signed by that bookish CEO who somehow just had a lust for learning.
Afterthought. School is not competitive. People make it competitive. The wildly innovative CEO of Campbell Soup Company was led early on to discover the classroom and library as treasure troves for her natural curiosity. Kinda makes you wish everyone had parents like hers.
Do you know who said:
“Let us be happy and learn to live within our means – even if we have to borrow money to do it.”
Hint: An influencer of Mark Twain, this 19th century humorist, famed for his dead-pan delivery of wildly satiric lines from the podium, wrote under the pseudonym whom he depicted as “an illiterate rube with Yankee common sense.”
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said, (when asked upon his deathbed if he had made peace with God…) “It really isn’t necessary, we have never quarreled,” was Henry Davi
Work Wit
Mind Melding…There exist two effective methods of achieving consensus: #1: Become so irrationally terrifying that others are too frightened to disagree; and #2: Set up a white board and endlessly confuse folks into agreeing so they can get the hell out of the meeting.
Biz Quiz
What are the two sure-fire issues guaranteed to deliver a unanimous vote? Board member compensation raises and Golden parachutes for CEOs who are guided by shareholder advice.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
MERGER – A business dealing involving two blatantly distrustful parties, who, in the spirit of mutual profit lust, agree to set aside their suspicions and shake hands.
****
Fashion Statements
All the latest genderless pants come equipped with beverage pockets, phone pockets, but no wallet pockets. Guess that by the time you finish paying for the first two, you’ve got no cash left to carry.
Afterthought. Phone-tap shopping is such fun. You don’t even need a balance in the bank to “pay” for every little thing your heart desires.
***
Do you know who said:
(when asked upon his deathbed if he had made peace with God…)
“It really isn’t necessary, we have never quarreled.”
Hint: This son of a wealthy New England pencil maker learned to “Simplify, Simplify, Simplify” on Walden Pond and Cape C
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said, “What disqualifies War from being a true game is probably what disqualifies the Stock Market and Business – the rules are not fully known nor accepted by all the players,” was Marshal McLuhan.
***
Work Wit
Lax Tracks – The trouble with our CFO is that he expands the style of Business Casual to his corporate accounting method.
Biz Quiz
What states pay accountants the highest compensation? In order: New York, New Jersey, Virginia, California – and topping all of these, not surprisingly, is Washington D.C.
***
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
DOCUMENT – A piece of scribbled paper putting on airs after being scanned into some high tech device.
***
Finally the Good News
Loaves & Fishes
In a rural corner of northern India, squatting on an unpaved road, a street vendor announces to her cohort, “I need to save.”
“And I dream of a pair of sandals. But you can barely feed your three children – how do you expect to save money for future days? The local bank agreed. When they sought a saving plan from their local bank, our two street vendors were promptly ushered outside. But these ladies were not to be deterred.
They began spreading news of their financial savings plans/dreams with other vendors. Then they shared their idea with other mothers in their village. The pot began to boil. Individually, each was scraping by on nearly nothing. But slowly they began to pool their resources. Gradually, these ladies’ funds accrued, and their meager resources became bounty. Thus was born the women’s bank of Utter Pradesh (The formal name does not translate easily). Today, they make micro loans to neighbors wanting to set up a sewing business, or food loans to fellows temporarily without work. This marvelous true tale shows how great prosperity can blossom when watered with the blessing of cooperation and determination.
For further examples of admirable social entrepreneurs visit Finally, The Good News – BartsBooks
Shrinkflation Fighters
In an effort to keep that same level of quality taxpayers have come to expect from the IRS, your Revenue Service promises to increase the 2023 tax guide pages by 70 percent, the phone waiting time by 200 percent, the number of weeks waiting for refunds by 150 percent, and the dubious dependability of official advice will hold constant at zero.
Afterthought. In an age when every business is charging more and offering less, ‘tis refreshing to see at least one institution still delivering as big a bang for grabbing your bucks as ever – despite their heartbreaking reports of understaffing.
Do you know who said?
“What disqualifies War from being a true game is probably what disqualifies the Stock Market and Business – the rules are not fully known nor accepted by all the players.”
Hint: Known as the “Father of Media,” this Canadian philosopher predicted the worldwide web in 1964, coined the term “global village,” and revealed woeful truth with his saying “The media is the message.”
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said, “Man is a creature who lives not upon bread alone, but primarily by catchwords,” was Robert Louis Stevenson.
Work Wit
Fail once and folks call you unlucky. Fail three more times and you’re a looser. Fail four more times and triumph once, and media brands you “An Overnight Success.”
Biz Quiz
What three types of business startups boast the highest success rate? Business Consulting, IT Support, Cleaning Services. (More cleaning startups succeed than new marketing firms. Hmmm.)
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
CATCHPHRASE – A high-sounding, meaningless cluster of words that legislators sell to voters, who then elect them to sell influence, government contracts, and integrity to the highest bidder.
See also “MAGA” and “Manifest Destiny.”
Finally, the Good News
Ladies Take the Lead
When its women are poor – ain’t no nation wealthy. And right as you read, the United Nations is aggressively taking aim to eliminate the poverty of women in its 68th annual Commission on the Status of Women Session. From March 8 – 22, thousands of women representing 180 nations will flood into New York City to launch, push through, and make happen policies and programs that will empower all women and girls by addressing poverty from a gender perspective.
Did you know that in great number of nation’s women hold no right to own property – so that when a woman’s husband/brother dies all her possessions are up for grabs? That more than 100 million women and girls are living in extreme poverty? Well, these CSW ladies and gentlemen are gathering around the U.N headquarters to lay out solid, working remedies. The plans forged by both governmental and non-governmental organizations will create 300 million new jobs, accelerate vital aid to women entrepreneurs, and urge the 2.6 billion people going to the polls next year to cast their votes for gender equality. (This writer must confess a special interest in the U.N.’s 2024 CSW, since his wife, Lorraine Jackson, is one of the delegates.)
To learn more about the 68th Commission on the Status of Women, visit UN/news.org – CSW68.
***
Human NFTs
The Cambridge English Dictionary defines nonfungible as some quirky, original item that is unique and cannot be replaced – like your inlaws or Congressperson – no matter how hard you try. Kind of a shame.
Afterthought. Seems odd that so many corporations are forever buying up and collecting the whole set of legislators, when they are as stable as bitcoin.
Do you know who said:
“Man is a creature who lives not upon bread alone, but primarily by catchwords.”
Hint: The author of this sardonic quote never witnessed a political debate, TV ad, or Fox News, but did find time to pen Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said, “I have searched all the parks in all the cities and found no statues of committees,” was G.K. Chesterson.
Work Wit
Necessary Jewelry….Today’s job applicant facing that all-important interview will always remember to remove all body piercings, but wouldn’t dream of removing his fitness earbuds.
Biz Quiz
What percent of Americans wear earbuds? 80 percent of Gen Zers (ages 12 – 27) wear them for an average of 6 hours per day; From ages 30 on it dwindles from 30 to 17 percent.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
KNOWLEDGE – 1) A collection of other peoples’ original ideas which when ingested by students, many parents believe, holds the mythical powers of instilling financial wealth. Often seen parading as intelligence.
2) Although it rhymes with college, knowledge stems from entirely different origins.
Snippet from my new book: Fellow Travelers
A Follower of The Way
My heart wept for this young monk. The northern Thailand metropolis of Chiang Mai literally reeks of Buddhist devotion. The countless gilded spires of her 15th century wats (temples), and their incense rising heavenward, instill on even the most casual traveler a sense that here is a holy city. At the end of our first week exploring the area, Lorraine and I found ourselves seated on the steps of the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep with a young robed monk in his late twenties who labored and prayed at this wat. We had brought him an offering of toiletries and underwear for which he thanked us profusely, and, in careful English, he began to unfold his personal story.
As he came to the end, this beautiful boy, in the prime of his life cast his eyes down and shared with us, “I am afraid I will never be a good Buddhist….I have studied and prayed for the last seven years, and I still have desires.” His words had landed on a man who fervently sees emotions as a divinely-gifted source of joy and passionate desires as a vital wellspring of personal power. I realize that several segments of Buddha’s followers see dispelling of desires as a necessary step toward enlightenment, but my witnessing the sadness in this young voice – the sincere devotion coupled with a frustrated sense of failure…Perhaps I was like the blind man holding only the tail of an enormous glorious elephant. Yet I confess, his words still sting my soul.
**********
See it – Tax it!
The American Bar Association is working to mandate registration and insurance for e-bikes. The lawyers claim it will greatly increase safety – for their stock portfolios, I mean.
Afterthought. The only good thing ever to come out of national registration & taxation was Jesus Christ being born in Bethlehem. If you really want to increase safety, why not register those idiots who walk into busy streets with faces staring into their phones?
Do You Know Who Said
“I have searched all the parks in all the cities and found no statues of committees.”
Hint: Often referred to as the Prince of Paradox, this 286-pound British author wrote, along with a mountain of scholarly essays, Father Brown – the novel about the oh-so-English priest-detective, which has become the popular TV series.
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said “Vision without execution is hallucination,” was Thomas Edison.
Work Wit
The ME in Team… Business leaders who are cock-sure confident to the point of lunacy and who ruthlessly slave drive employees for their own personal enrichment, may be assured of great praise by the media, and great debits in their balance sheets.
Biz Quiz
In the 21st century, how many Fortune 500 companies have failed? 52 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 firms thriving in the year 2000 have failed, gone bankrupt, or disappeared as of 2023.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
CONTRACT – A gauntlet hurled down between two attorneys to see which one can walk away with a greater amount of his client’s money.
Snippet from my new book: Fellow Travelers
Running Rivers Blind
“To New Zealand – The most Can-Do nation in the world,” we toasted.
Lorraine and I clinked glasses with Ted and Johnson, two new-found fellow whitewater paddlers whose exploratory exploits put all my treks to shame. They had just come off three weeks running nameless steep creeks that shed waters from the mountainous spine of NZ’s South Island. Their modus operandi was to spot blue lines denoting streams on a map, bushwack themselves, gear and kayaks to some accessible point, put in, and run it blind. Fruit, first aid kit, sleeping bag, bivvy sack – and, of course, duct tape – comprised majority of their equipment.
These gentlemen’s risk tolerance would make bitcoin investors look like frightened rabbits. When a tight tongue of water hurls your boat around a corner in front of a chest-high tree fallen across the creek, you simply Eskimo roll – drift under it – and hopefully roll back up downstream. When you encounter a “strainer” a fallen tree that puts a curtain of branches in your path, you discover new and original methods of prayer….
What adventures inspired these travelers’ toast “The Most Can-Do Nation? How did Ted & Johnson find, get to, and survive these lost rivers? For the rest of this tale visit BartsBooks.com.
Close Connections
My buddy just texted me with a request to phone him. Apparently, he can whip off a 200-word missive while driving 75 mph down the interstate, but the complexities of connecting to a personal conversation elude him.
Afterthought. All this would have more sense, perhaps, if I weren’t already sitting in his back seat, watching a Friends rerun on my own phone.
Do you know who said:
“Vision without execution is hallucination.”
Hint: This legendary inventor envisioned & executed the electric light and motion pictures, but somehow could never quite wrap his mind around Mr. Tesla’s idea of alternating cur
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said “A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall,” was Vince Lombardi.
Work Wit
Boss of your boss…American business folks believe that if you invent more, network more, and labor longer hours, you may someday be supervising your boss. Is that the lure of hope – or revenge?
Biz Quiz. How long do we work? The U.S. Department of Labor states that the average American worker (all levels) labors 2,200 hours a year. This compares favorably with the 16,000 – 18,000 hours throughout Europe and the 2,000 in Japan. The dish of mobility, whether served hot or cold, is apparently a very tasty and desired delicacy.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
BUSINESS PERSON – A bundle of whimsically conflicting agendas bundled together within a fragile skin of transparent ambition. (See also Hope, Energy, and Avarice.)
***
Snippet from my new book: Fellow Travelers
A Mediterranean Diet
Phalanxes of Egyptian bathing beauties, swathed from head to toe in flowing robes of black cotton, tentatively brave the azure waves rhythmically swarming o’er the fine sands of Alexandria’s public beach. Clasping hands for support, these Islam lasses shriek with delight along this historic shore where the ancient Nile pours its waters into the Mediterranean Sea. From our café table overlooking this frivolity, Lorraine and I sip viscous-thick coffees, as a young boy sporting a wad of ink-black curls hefts an intriguingly heavy bucket onto our table. Like the city’s namesake, this earnest lad, with no more clothing than Kipling’s Gunga Din, announces that he too is named Alexander…. And then, with a slight bow, he gets down to business.
Fresh from the waters we now gaze upon, Alexander has netted a bucket of sea urchins. These intimidating nuggets bristling with poisonous spines, he assures us, embody an ambrosia fit for the deities of the Nile and Olympus, and honored American guests, like ourselves. Ever suckers for a sales pitch, we shell out a batch of piastres, and watch as Alexander deftly de-shells the fist-size globular echinoderms. With no little pride he sets before us dainty umber ovals vaguely resembling miniature human brains….
Did we dare partake? Were they as absolutely divine as our young host boasted? For the rest of this and other tales visit Fellow Travelers on www.BartsBooks.com
February 13, 2024
Changing With The Times
In former centuries, fame and wealth were lavished on sword-wielding warriors who would whip up chaos. Today’s grand medals and celebrity go to hard-bodied hurlers of footballs and rotund chefs who whip up fancy French sauces. We are defined by our heroes.
Afterthought. Perhaps one of the greatest gifts of technology is that it has helped take the glory out of lethal combat.
***
Do you know who said:
“A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall.”
Hint: Son of a Brooklyn butcher, the author of this somewhat biased opinion coached the Green Bay Packers into five National Football League titles, including the first two Super Bowls.
***
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said “The holy passion of friendship is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through an whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money” was Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain).
***
Work Wit
Desperate Classified Ad… Wanted: Recent college graduates with a greater-than-one-tweet attention span, and Boomers with the patience to solve at least one computer glitch without throwing a tantrum.
Biz Quiz
Are there any Boomers left in the U.S. labor force? Yes – a few. As of the 4th quarter 2023, the United States claimed 17.3 million working Boomers (born between 1946 – 1964). It is expected that by December 2024, we’ll see more working Gen Zers (currently ages 12 – 27) than Boomers.
***
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
EXIT STRATEGY – The emergency response plan to a crumbling corporate veil and suddenly being held accountable for one’s actions. Such as, “Sally, under my bed you will find a pre-packed bag and a charter plane ticket to Dubai. I need them now.”
***
‘Tis the Season
In Defense of Valentines, Romance & Lovebirds
While she lies sleeping, I rise and finish my poem to my best beloved, in which I recall those sweet, brief glimpses of her that glow ever in my memory and fuel my soul. It will get penned onto a large paper heart and, after reading it to her over breakfast, it will join the others in the countless clutter of scribbled love verses published on the north wall of our house. The remainder of our Valentines Day ritual involves lobster, highly-over-priced Champagne, a trek of recollection down some wooded trail, and other intimacies. After all, what is life without love and what is love without celebration?
Now I realize that behind the sound of my popping the cork, murmurs the call from all those unlovely folks spouting the commercialism and silliness of Valentines Day. Masking their fear with cynicism, they insist we should plunk our minds onto more serious matters – presumably the rapes, corruptions, and murders that fill our nightly “News You Need to Know” columns. Yet my personal crusade for glee, laughter, and the volcanic passion of love, claims as honored an intellectual pedigree as any of those whose preachments would send us ever down rabbit holes of endless anxiety.
I refer to philosophy’s 18th century crew of visionary thinkers – The Romantics. These poets, writers, and students of life looked inward, seeking and examining the full potential of the human personality. Romantics hung their first glance on the ideal – studying the potential and imaginatively catapulting it into a path for brilliance. They were preoccupied with the hero and the genius that glows as a waiting ember within each of us. So this February 14, I invite you to love like a Romantic – cut loose. Seek that that absolute best and powerful potential of those you love and then whip up a little joyful hoopla in gratitude that such wonders of love float dazzlingly around us.
Have fun,
– Bart Jackson
February 8, 2024
More Weeks of Winter?
We’re not taking sides on climate change, but this February second when they went to check on the Groundhog’s Hole, they discovered he’d been eaten by a starving polar bear – and his den was flooded by a mud slide.
Afterthought. Regardless of how much evidence piles up of humanity’s self-destructive emissions, we will always be able to find fools willing to stick their heads in a hole and shut their eyes to all remedies.
***
Do you know who said:
“The holy passion of friendship is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money.”
Hint: This author of Pudd’nhead Wilson and other wisdom-drenched satiric novels counted the young Helen Keller among his own friends.
***
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said “Business executives feel about government regulation the same way children feel about laws that limit their consumption of ice cream,” was Peter Baida.
***
Work Wit
Three men were being shipped to a desert island and told they could take only one book. The Imam took the Koran. The priest selected the Bible. Ah, but the entrepreneur grabbed a copy of How to Build a Canoe.
Biz Quiz
What nation boasts the most startup enterprises? The United States (over 5 million in 2023). Europe, with more than twice the population, launched 3.4 million new businesses.
***
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
INHERITANCE – 1) A curse visited on a heretofore loving family, designed to rend relations asunder by enforcing ruinous idleness on some, and inciting feuds among those remaining. 2) A grave test of character inflicted upon a family’s members by those dearly departing it.
***
Finally, The Good News
Yes, You Belong
‘Tis a simple truth. Those individuals who make up the self-named Queer Community (LGBTQIA) – just like every one of us, require the security and safe space to be themselves, to be counted, and to live lives without fear. Robert Seda-Schrieber not only knows this, as founder & Chief Activist of Princeton, NJ’s Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, he ensures it.
The energetically creative list of the Center’s programs range from Social gatherings, Author-led book discussions, Politicians visiting to learn and understand, and Reproductive rights sharing forums – to Pride parades and Drag queen story hours. ‘Tis a hub that offers warmth, love, and inclusivity, along with a firm grasp of social action. In a nation where that precious sense of community seems to be ever fragmenting, it is so refreshing to see a leader like Robert building it back up.
To learn more Robert Seda-Schrieber and the Rustin Center, visit www.rustincenter.org.
February 5, 2024
Vested Interests
Listening to politicians tell you about the health of the economy is like inviting a mosquito to evaluate the health of your blood.
Afterthought. My father always taught me to never trust financial assessments from a person who votes his own pay raise from out of your pocket.
* * *
Do you know who said:
“Business executives feel about government regulation the same way children feel about laws that limit their consumption of ice cream.”
Hint: This O. Henry-Award-winning short story master gained fame from his The Nurse’s Story, also authored Money Madness, The Men who Make the Rules and Poor Richard’s Legacy – American business values from Benjamin Franklin to Donald Trump
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said “All you have to do is say something that nobody understands and they’ll do practically anything you want them to,” was Jerome David (J.D.) Salinger.
Work Wit
Employees are Quirky… Expect them to do everything you ask of them and they will – grudgingly. Ask them to surprise you and achieve the nearly impossible, and ‘tis amazing how eagerly they set to and attempt it.
Biz Quiz
As a new employee, this bank clerk was sent to New Orleans by the firm’s president to deliver some bonds. Instead, this future financial lion cashed the bonds, bought a shipload of coffee, and returned to the bank three times the profit expected. Who was he and what happened to him? His name was James Pierpont Morgan; the banking firm of Duncan, Sherman & Co. was his employer. They fired young JP, but he managed to do rather well for himself soon after.
***
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
MID-LIFE CRISIS – Currently, that traumatic stage of modern life during which women decide to have children, and men decide to buy a Ferrari.
***
Snippet from my new book: Fellow Travelers
When Empire Fades
His sheep nibbled around the feet of a giant, startlingly-fanged lion, while ranks of tall-plumed, sword-waving soldiers looked on. Hattusha, grand capital of Hittites Empire, once ruling most of Anatolian Turkey, now, two and a half millennia later, seemed to boast a single human inhabitant: Baris, absolute ruler of nearly two dozen wooly minions. Lorraine and I had arrived in full archeological fervor to walk the high stone walls, gates, and temples of this Ozyimandesque ruin. But our true cultural education came when Baris invited us into his home to meet his wives and children. What a rich blending of modern perks, devoutly stirred into layers of old and treasured traditions….
So, how does today’s tech take its place among those who value the past?) To find the end of this tale, visit https://www.BartsBooks.com.
January 24, 2024
Never Too Close
Our society encourages the glue of love, they just don’t want the surfaces to touch.
Afterthought. Over the years, we have surrounded physical intimacy with more conditions and taboos than we impose on physical violence. I’m not sure if our cultures fear the joy involved, or the offspring that result.
* * *
Do you know who said:
“All you have to do is say something that nobody understands and they’ll do practically anything you want them to.”
Hint: This author’s Catcher in the Rye caught the fiery ire of prudish school boards across the nation when they learned that students were reading about Holden Caulfield’s bumbling sexual adventures
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said “What we call man’s power over Nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument,” was Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis.
* * *
Work Wit
To the Right of Truth…In the Boomer’s generation, folks got fired. More recently, folks got laid off. Now companies are “rightsizing” their employees. But no matter how softly you spin it, it still adds up to “Clean out your desk, son. No more salary, and don’t steal any pencils on the way out.”
Biz Quiz: To obtain the “right size” number of employees, how many U.S. tech workers were fired in the first half of 2023? Best estimates say that 200,000 of America’s 5.2 million tech workers told to hit the bricks in the first two quarters of 2023. * * *
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
STRATEGIC – An nonessential exclamation point inserted to punctuate a mediocre business operation. For example, having a marketing plan is good, but having a strategic marketing plan, apparently, really captures my attention!
Finally, The Good News
For Roland Schatz, it’s a simple equation:
- Our planet needs reforestation to survive. (About a trillion trees are required.)
- Homeless people need jobs that pay in a currency that works for them.
Thus A + B = A social & planetary victory. Roland arranges for homeless individuals in Europe and the Near East to plant trees in vital regions, for which they receive a credit card good at many of the local stores and eateries in their area. (The homeless worker even receives the carbon credits as a bonus – good for extra food.)
As founder of UNGSII Foundation, this is just one of numerous projects Roland has set in motion to help humanity fulfill the United Nation’s 17 Sustainability Goals.
To learn more about Roland Schatz and the amazing work of his foundation, visit www.ungsii.org.
* * *
January 17,2024
What We Swallow
Truth is the precious sustenance enjoyed by the intelligent. Rumor is the sweet candy that salivates the simple-minded. Our news media is apparently in the confectionary business.
Afterthought. News providers ever assure themselves that nothing boosts circulation/views like a good rumor, particularly when targeted at a celebrity whose name already sparks emotion. Just remember, you are what you digest.
Do you know who said:
“What we call man’s power over Nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument.”
Hint: This Belfast-born, scalpel-witted author of The Screw Tape Letters and The Chronicles of Narnia provided the average spiritual searcher more reasons for following Christianity than a passel of pontificating pries
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said “Without promotion, something terrible happens…Nothing!” was Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum.
Work Wit
Executive Value…Based on our CEO’s performance, our board’s decided to have him indicted for embezzlement when he goes to cash his paycheck.
Biz Quiz: What is the very best and the very worst course of action a CEO may make? General agreement seems to award the most productive CEO effort is to create – by example – an emotional enthusiasm among all members of the firm. The worst move: let investors’ advice guide corporate actions.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
AUTOMOBILE – 1) A costly machine that increases the speed and anxiety of travel. 2) A cultural icon by which men judge the personal worth, and women judge the sexual allure of its owner.
Snippet from my new book: Fellow Travelers
Blood Stones
“My love, did you know that Antwerp is the diamond capital of the world?” This cultural nugget was called out to me by my bride who perched behind me on our tandem bicycle as we pedaled our way into that gilded city. Lorraine had leaned her lips way forward into my ear to make me fully aware of this vital fact. “Keep pedaling,” I responded. Fat chance. Within minutes, we stood before a glistening glass case with a fatuous salesman babbling to my dazzled wife about marquise vs. ascher cut stones. Behind him, in the shop’s corner a grey figure (Wilbert) bent intently over a rotating grinding wheel, his face inches away from the precious diamond he was painstakingly shaping.
In earlier Belgium travels, I had watched a factory of such craftsmen pressing stones against turntable-size grinders, and learned that the diamond dust they inadvertently inhaled gave them a 25-year life expectancy. In later treks through Africa’s Ivory Coast, I would witness the wincing slavery afflicted on the conscripted miners of these prized objects. The price some pay for what is deemed beautiful.
So, how many of the Antwerp’s diamonds did Lorraine put us into hock for? (Through this city pass 85 percent of the world’s rough cut diamonds.) To find the end of this tale, visit https://www/BartsBooks.com.
*****
January 10,2024
Finally, The Good News
***
Wild Child Days
Perhaps the grandest thing about the holidays is that children can ignore all those parental proddings to grow up, and, for a brief time, may just celebrate on the true, wide-eyed joys of being a kid.
Afterthought. And for all us already-gown-ups, the dubious joys of donning the mantel of adulthood get set aside this season, as we look back through the lens of nostalgia and recall all those joyful adventures that nobody ever caught us doing.
Do You Know Who Said:
“Better to do a good deed near home than to go far away to burn incense.”
Hint: No one is absolutely sure how far away this daring aviator eventually ventured, but in 1932, she did inspire countless explorer-wannabes by being the first lady aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic.
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said “A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband,” was Michel de Montaigne.
Work Wit
We had to let that manager go – he kept mistaking emails for work.
Biz Quiz: How many emails do we send? U.S. residents send 333.2 billion emails each day. The average office worker sends 40 emails daily, yet receives 121 business-related emails daily. How does that tally?
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – An arduously conceived imitative offspring of humanity which, being spawned from our species’ imagination rather than its loins, is viewed with even more fearful suspicion than children.
Snippet from my new book: Fellow Travelers
A Legacy of Pride
Barley, like humanity, has learned to adapt and thrive in nearly all climes across our globe. From Tibet to Tierra del Fuego, we have encountered hardy humans gathering in tough stands of barley. Yet nowhere have we seen this crop cultivated with more careful regard than in a high corner of Perthshire Scotland, where under the calloused hands and watchful eyes of Callum, two yearly plantings are brought to plentiful harvest. The white cottage and barn of his farm stand as small islets amid a peaceful sea of wind-kissed grain stretching to distant foothills.
Callum sits us at his table, centerpieced with a large Scotch bottle. With no little ceremony, he hoists the amber bottle from which he liberally pours, then holds it up for our inspection. He then points toward the west window. “Since that distillery first malted barley for its single malt Scotch in 1825, our family and this farm has been its sole supplier,” Callum announced with no little modesty. “Every dram enjoyed all across Scotland and beyond – every smile on thirsty lips can trace its origin back to this land and my family’s labors…”
To learn more about Callum, his agricultural magic, and the exquisite taste of his elixir, visit https://www.BartsBooks.com.
December 12,2023
Reputation Inflation
You never realize how enviably successful your friends are until you receive their annual Christmas letters.
Afterthought. During the Holiday Letter Brag Competition truth tends to get stretched further than a finely overblown LinkedIn profile. And while a little spin is harmless, too much leaves you with, well, bitcoin.
Do You Know Who Said:
“A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband.”
Hint: This famed 16th century French statesman and witty developer of the Essay form, was the son of fabulously wealthy herring-merchant parents who strictly arranged all his youth – and his marriage.
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said “Always carry a flagon of whisky in case of snakebite, and furthermore always carry a small snake,” was W.C. Fields.
Work Wit
If your company teases customers through a digital maze just to get a hold of a real human being, don’t be surprised if fewer and fewer buyers want to get into your game.
Biz Quiz: What is the number of Facebook (Meta) employees hired to deal directly with customer problems? Zero.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
EMPOWERMENT – Providing a disinterested soul with the tools and dubious motivation to labor on your behalf at tasks which neither of you enjoys doing.
Finally, The Good News
The phone rings. “Do you need any help in moving your aunt’s furniture into the retirement home….I can’t come until this afternoon because I’m helping our minister who has been finding homes for immigrants for over 20 years – the man is amazing…” And so come the calls into our home from friends this yuletide season. Everyone is holiday-stressed, yet everyone is willing to pitch in and volunteer. Out on our kitchen table stands a heap of mail from charities dedicated to bringing compassionate care to everything from whales to war-torn refugees and the disease afflicted. Yes, these pleas for your hard earned cash are overwhelming, to say the least. But think about it for a moment. The United States boasts over one and a half million charitable organizations, to which we Americans donate nearly $500 billion every year. Even adjusted for inflation, we Americans give three and a half times what we were giving in those supposedly golden times of 1954. (If you want a little uplifting, visit the Givers Hall of Fame at philanthropyroundtable.org.) So let me personally thank each of you in our country for your generous – and increasingly generous heart. It makes me proud to be an American.
November 30,2023
Who Owns Whom?
As we cram more stuff into our lives, houses have necessarily grown larger and individuals have necessarily grown smaller, and of less importance.
Afterthought. “He who dies with the most toys wins,” may be the mantra of the mid and older generations, but a refreshing breeze is blowing from so many of the younger generation who refuse to see themselves as merely consumers.
Do You Know Who Said:
“Always carry a flagon of whisky in case of snakebite, and furthermore always carry a small snake.”
Hint: This Hollywood wit said “go away kid you bother me,” but was more than willing to answer Mae West’s call when she beckoned with “Come on up and see me.”
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said “The CIA is made up of boys whose families sent them to Princeton but wouldn’t let them into the family brokerage business,” was Lyndon Johnson.
Work Wit Put a “Special Sale” sign beside it and a Santa’s hat on top of it and you can charge anything you want for it after Thanksgiving.
Biz Quiz: How much did frantic retail shoppers spend on Black Friday in 2023? Americans spent $9.8 billion on retail goods this day after Thanksgiving – up 7.6 percent from last year.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
PLEASURE – A raw human emotion from which we mold the backbone of the American economy.
Snippet from my upcoming book: Fellow Travelers
The World Fixer
It seemed a fairly standard upscale Cairo apartment, except that all upholstered furniture lay carefully blanketed with newspapers to catch droppings from the wounded fish eagle who screamed just overhead as we entered. Rose and her exquisitely tolerant husband had found this injured raptor hopping along the Nile and had brought it home to nurse its recovery. While penning an article on Cairo’s nefarious Pet Market, I had invited passionate animal advocate Rose to join Lorraine and me as we toured the stalls ‘neath the broiling Egyptian sun. She was a whirlwind. Grabbing a vendor’s galabeya, she pointed to his cage crammed with tortoises stacked like cordwood and demanded he give them better treatment. A tall, bewildered seller of secretary birds and an albino crocodile came under her wrath as Rose screamingly cited CITES illegal trade laws and threatened to bring this man to justice. Even on our way to her home, Rose lectured our taxi driver – a father of seven – how Allah would better favor those with minimal means who practiced birth control.
Rose was truly an individual fireball, whose sole ambition was to make ours a better world. And if we are lucky, our world will begin to grow a lot more Roses, for our own sakes.
To learn more about Rose and how she is reforming Cairo by storm, visit BartsBooks.com.
November 23,2023
Blissful Ignorance
My new FamilyLurk spy app tracks the every movement of my spouse and children. The new deluxe model tracks my blood pressure and sends alerts when I learn the results.
Afterthought. Apparently we don’t have enough anxiety buttons in our civilized life, so we have to send our prayers to the technology deities to help us foster a few more. If we trusted our loved ones to live their own lives, do you suppose we might better tend to our own? Nah, probably not.
Do You Know Who Said: “The CIA is made up of boys whose families sent them to Princeton but wouldn’t let them into the family brokerage business.”
Hint: This legendary legislator and President who pushed through the 1964 Civil Rights Act, also noted that, “The guns, and the bombs, the rockets and the warships are all symbols of human failure.”
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said “I am not against hasty marriages, where a mutual flame is fanned by an adequate income,” was Will Durant.
Work Wit
Marketing is the art of seducing folks to poke their noses into your business. Sales is the art of making them want to pay for the privilege.
Biz Quiz: During the last decade, what percentage of newly launched marketing firms are founded/headed by women? Approximately 80 percent.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
ETHICS – A set of lofty behavioral standards designed by a group of scoundrels as a fig leaf to cover a furtive tradition of disreputable actions. See also U.S. Supreme Court.
November 7th, 2023
The Ghouls Among Us
This Halloween my son wanted to dress up as a politician, but we couldn’t find an orange prison jumpsuit in his size.
Afterthought. Nonetheless I think the boy has real political potential. He has convinced the neighbor kids to go trick-or-treating, give him their candy, and then pay him for the privilege of participating in his Halloween Action Committee.
Do you know who said:
“Meetings are indispensible when you don’t want to do anything.”
Hint: This Canadian American economist guided five Democratic presidents, served as a Harvard professor for half a century, and authored 40 books – including The Affluent Society which outlined the rise of post World War II income disparity.
Answer to Last Week’s Quote
The person who said. “Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone,” Was John Maynard Keynes.
Work Wit
Hire Education…I have a solution to the illegal child labor problem. Just send all underage children to college – and you’ll never get a lick of work out of them after that.
Biz Quiz: What is the minimum legal age for non-agricultural labor in the United States? With some exceptions, age 14. (Currently 16 states are structuring bills to remove all age limits.)
Are child labor violations on the rise? 2022 saw the number of children working in violation of child labor laws rise 37 percent over the previous year and 283 percent over 2015.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
Liquor – The cure for all old ills, and the creator of fresh new ones.
Snippet from my new book: Fellow Travelers
Into the Jaws
Nemu’s coal-black lips pulled back into a broad smile revealing glistening rows of white teeth. “Every one of our young men must learn how to kill a lion to gain his manhood,” explained Nemu. “It is necessary for us.” Reverently raising the crescent ebony blade in his fist, he placed it in my hand. “I can teach you how. I know you can do this.” My own face winced into a dubious skepticism as my fingers gripped the handle of this flat curved wooden tool that reminded me of my mother’s vegetable chopper. Disbelief blurred most of the Maasai warrior’s words as he detailed how my hand would ram this awfully small blade held horizontally into the lion’s open mouth, then quickly rotate it to vertical, and in one smooth lethal motion, yank it back out, with the predator’s throat attached. Or was it vertical, then horizontal…
So was Bart insane enough to accept Nemu’s offer? Weren’t there some far more effective methods of keeping lions at bay as the Maasai men formed a defensive ring around their camp? More about these Tanzanian tribespeople in further pages. Visit https://www/BartsBooks.com.
October 31, 2023
Modern Mismatch
He was the kind of sport who sought to win her favor by showing her his Fitbit numbers. Alas, she was the kind of lady who left with his friend who was sporting a Rolex.
Afterthought. In the contest of carrots vs. carats, she may find your being a healthy vegan rather sweet, just so long as you take her dine on your thousand-acre cattle ranch. In displays of personal power, currency counts.
Do you know who said:
“Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.”
Hint: This most influential economist of the 20th Century believed that the spending habits of folks are whimsically erratic, and if you’d really like a little economic stability, perhaps government might do something other than look on in wise and masterful inactivity.
The Answer to Last Week’s Quote,
The person who said ““The American people are quite competent to judge a political party that works both sides of the street.” Was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Work Wit:
What Price Beauty…America is the only nation where you can become a hedge fund manager, psychologist, financial advisor or priest by simply hanging out a shingle. But to become a beautician
You must pass an exam and buy a license. After all, we have our professional priorities.
Biz Quiz: What is the startup cost of a new beauty & hair salon? Most of the 1.4 million Hair and Nail salons in the U.S. spent between $120,000 and $600,000 to open their doors. Nationally, men and women spend $49 billion and $528. billion globally in hopes of beautifying themselves.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
COMPUTER SCREEN – An oscillating piece of addiction that mysteriously makes itself smarter through increased use, while having the reverse effect on its operator.
Finally, Good News
The world had opened before Maggie Doyne. She was 18, just graduated from Mendham New Jersey High School, and her backpack was all loaded for a trip “off to see the world.” High in the Nepalese Himalayas, Maggie befriended a six-year-old girl in need of – everything. She became determined to break the cycle of poverty first for this girl’s family – then for others. And so the revolution began.
Today, Maggie Doyne’s BlinkNow Foundation runs and operates the Kopila Valley School, a children’s home, women’s center, and an expanded new 400-student campus, erected with astoundingly inventive environmentally sustainable features that are being emulated worldwide.
Who says 18 is too young to begin changing the world?
Want to Pitch In? Visit www.blinknow.org. Read the BlinkNow story; consider donating cash, books, school supplies….and perhaps have your son, daughter, parents join Maggie’s team over in Nepal for a life-uplifting experience. Why not?
*****
October 24, 2023
Speaking of Honor… You should have seen our CEO appealing to the board of directors’ sense of honor. It was like watching a violinist trying to saw down a tree: he had the right motion, he just was using the wrong tool.
Afterthought. Alas, greed and fear of greedy shareholders can all too often blanket board members’ vision of pursuing the honorable course. Thus the wise CEO is one who can lead her team along a profitable path to the most ethical decisions.
Do you know who said:
“The American people are quite competent to judge a political party that works both sides of the street.”
Hint: This 32nd President of the United States, despite being stricken with polio, bootstrapped our nation out of its worst depression, led us confidently through the world’s greatest war, and dealt with everyone from Joseph Stalin to the opposing party to achieve progress. (He also coined the term “Arsenal of Democracy.”
The Answer to Last Week’s Quote,
“Science is a first-rate piece of furniture for a man’s upper chamber, if he has common sense on the ground floor.” Was Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Work Wit: Who Makes the Wealth?…Most owners will gleefully spend a major percentage of their company’s earnings to upgrade the firm’s machines, while begrudging every dime spent paying or training the folks who run them.
Biz Quiz: What’s the percentage of U.S. Businesses’ earnings spent on technology upgrades per year? Answer: 3.2 for large corporations; 4.1 for midsize firms; 6.9 for small companies. Amount spent on training America’s civilian workforce: $595.80 per employee per year.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
EMPLOYEE – 1) A potential entrepreneur who holds the dream in his pocket but has somehow misplaced the courage. 2) The source of all business innovation.
News Flash! Prepare to Be Uplifted “Finally, Good News” Comes to https://www.bartsboooks.com
We feel it, we benefit from it, but too often we never see it. It’s that quiet, insistent stream of progress running beneath us, carried forward by the most fascinating, energetic individuals and the highest-achieving organizations in our society. And we at BartsBooks have decided it is high time that we bring their light to light up your days. Forget the mayhem mongers of mass media and the nightly news who focus only on a miniscule aberrant fringe. Finally, Good News presents those hidden legions of dedicated, world-enhancing individuals. Their creativity is astounding, and their accomplishments seem unimaginable.
So the next time you are about to gripe that the whole world is going to hell:
Click onto https://www.bartsboooks.com– Click on the Finally Good News button – and discover how Tom Johnson heals thousands with his Africa Surgery, Inc…how the health & human services non-profit “211” helped 20 million suffering people through last year.
And in the future…
You will read about the global hunger-fighter who feeds more people in a week than Elon Musk has fired in a lifetime. You’ll learn how a certain savvy investor has funded the planting more trees than any PAC fund has seeded dollars to grow political influence.
Do you have a creative contributor to share with us? Write us at info@bartsbooks.com
October 16,2023
Subject: Too Much of a Good Thing
Fifty years ago Boomers were instructed that their future lay in putting plastics into everything. Now Gen Z is instructed that their future depends on getting those plastics outside of themselves.
Afterthought. “I want to say one word to you – just one: Plastics. The future lies in plastics.” In the 1967 film The Graduate, veteran businessman Mr. McGuire’s career advice to young Benjamin Braddock (played by Dustin Hoffman) was understood as a sign for generational change. And so it is today.
Do you know who said:
“What divides people is less a difference in ideas than a likeness in pretensions.”
Hint: This early 19th Century poet/songwriter, known as “the first superstar of French popular music,” was sent to jail for satirizing Parisians in power, where he penned some of his greatest hits.
Work Wit:
Market vs. Manufacture… Just because a person is very good at advertising himself, doesn’t mean he has the best product.
Biz Quiz: How many applications does it take to get hired? Americans who send out 21 to 80 applications have a one-in-three chance of getting hired. But statistically, those who send out more than 80, stand only a one-in-four chance.
Curmudgeopedia – Devilish Definitions of Life as We Live It
FRACKING – A costly, brilliantly engineered invention for producing gradual genocide in the species of its originator, with a byproduct of large amounts of released gas. (See also Government.)
Snippet from my new book: Fellow Travelers
Ignore the white hair, this lean looking hiker strode up the hill from Berchtesgaden with a gait that made it clear: this was not a man you’d want to mess with. As we crested the summit and beheld Adolf Hiltler’s historical Eagle’s Nest getaway, this gentleman tapped my shoulder, introduced himself as James, and then from his wallet pulled out a aged, black-and-white photo of himself in an American uniform, perched atop the German Fuehrer’s beloved monument, tearing down the giant swastika in 1945…
What was James’ story? Did he actually drink wine from Hitler’s bunker? Visit Bartsbooks.com to discover more Fellow Travelers.