Data Plus
*The United States leads the world’s list of “advanced economies” when it comes to the percentage of people who think major reforms are needed in politics (85%) and healthcare (76%). (Pew) *People are afraid to speak their minds; over 80% regard this as either a “serious” or “very serious” issue. Compared with ten years ago, […]
Initials
A new game that is destined to go viral … or not. Step One: Identify an acronym known to at least a dozen people. Step Two: Create an alternative set of words using the same initials as the popular acronym. This new combination of words must be reasonably close in meaning to that […]
See Below
The following piece of writing is satire. It is fiction. Any resemblance to living or dead people or a particular Hollywood movie or a political philosophy or anything that is streaming is completely intentional. Contemporary Creative Cinematography: Take One Two nicely dressed women in their upper twenties are sitting at a nicely dressed table in […]
Restaurant Protocol
RESTAURANT PROTOCOL We have this unusual environment. Lots of indications that the economy is moving ahead nicely, regardless of the empty storefronts which dot the landscape. Most germane to this modest tutorial is that restaurants seemingly have ceased training their servers, apparently out of gratitude that the latter have graced the establishment with their sheer […]
Welcome to New York City
AN INCREDIBLY SHORT PRIMER You must be conversational about professional sports. Here are some succinct descriptors: The Jets are perpetual losers The Giants are always better than their record The Yankees must win the World Series or the season is a failure The Mets suck The Knicks are better than the […]
Totally Random Observations
*As has been widely reported, Russian computer geeks under the control of dictator Putin are playing games with all kinds of (mis)information to screw with peoples’ minds and perceptions of the world. According to a deeply troubling analysis of QAnon (“Pastels and Pedophiles,” by Mia Bloom and Sopia Moskalenko) Americans are nine times more likely […]
Labor Day Light Bulbs
*For a long time, I have noticed that in small towns or mid-sized cities, the two biggest buildings belonged to a college and a hospital. But only recently did a bright observation occur to me, namely that the two institutions had several characteristics in common: the service they provide is terribly overpriced, the outcomes they […]
Mid-Summer Missive
*Does it seem that Summer has just begun but some people are already thinking September really is not far away. Maybe the reason, for me, is that the Hispanic Resource Center of Northwest New Jersey is supposed to open then, and we need to identify and train committed volunteers for this groundbreaking initiative, of which […]
August Birthdays
It was only two days until August when I realized that I had not begun the creation of my monthly birthday card. Maybe that’s why I awoke at a ridiculously early hour. Or perhaps it was envisioning a mom and two kids navigating the chaotic highway system of Houston. Or the spectre of mandatory masking returning […]
The View from the Third Seat on the Left
http://bobhowittbooks.com/?page_id=22 The View from the Third Seat on the Left, Observations from the Camden Community Bus Tour The building rises majestically (relatively speaking), at the end of the most golden street in the city. It offers a great view of both water and a neighboring city’s skyline. It brings to mind a shiny new toy, […]