When I was 9 years old and living in the middle of Midwestern America, taking a weekly bath and eating Swanson TV dinners while my mother toiled away in graduate school, the blockbuster movie of the year was It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. This 1963 American comedy was produced and directed by Stanley Kramer and starred Spencer Tracy and the best known comedians of that era including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett,…
As I have mentioned, I am going through the process of applying for dual citizenship from Italy by virtue of my father’s birthright as an Italian citizen. I am doing this for myself and my youngest son, Thomas, who really prompted the process. To do this we have to go through what is called a judicial review process and that requires a whole lot of documentation. The company I am using to do this is…
The other day, Kim and I came to the realization that we had absolutely nothing planned for this weekend. Kim had no shows or show rehearsals. Due to school-ending season, most of the movies out in the market are kids movies. There were no neighborhood events. Nothing, not even necessary shopping chores. My daughter and her brood arrive next weekend and our dance card will be actively filled for a month with activities and lots…
At various times, the classic white shirt has been denigrated as stodgy and yet used repeatedly by cool dudes with the top few buttons open to exemplify the height of refined male couture. When I went to work in NYC after business school in 1976, the white shirt was more the former than the latter. It was legendary that if you worked at IBM you had no choice, you had to wear a white shirt…
I am wide awake yet again tonight. If someone asked me if I have trouble sleeping, I don’t think I would say I do. But there are nights like tonight that are enough to make me wonder. I know all the things you are supposed to do to get a good night’s sleep and equally all the things you are supposed to not do to keep yourself from getting a good night’s sleep, but that…
How are we supposed to feel about the U.S. bombing of Iran last night? For almost 50 years we and Iran have been at odds with one another. They have, indeed, called for the annihilation of both Israel and the U.S.. Thry have been at the center of much of the terrorism cloud that has blanketed the globe since 9/11 and before. Their fundamentalist way of life is anathema to our western liberal democratic ideology.…
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the United States and Soviet Union that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. It’s widely considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear conflict. I was eight years old at the time and living in the heartland of Madison, Wisconsin. While my mother got her graduate degrees at the University of Wisconsin, I attended Spring…
My friend Steven and I had an exchange this morning that involved British witticisms. It started with “Bob’s your uncle” and went immediately to “And Fannie’s your aunt.” “Bob’s your uncle” is a classic British expression meaning “and there you have it” or “it’s as simple as that!” It’s used to indicate that something is easily accomplished or completed. For example: “Just add the flour, mix it in, and Bob’s your uncle – you’ve got…
I understand that to some people, writing a blog is extremely self-absorbed. There is truth to this to be sure. I have said many times that I write for myself and if others choose to read it and find interest in it, so be it. I do not focus on my readership statistics despite every effort by my blogging service to tell me who is reading me and how much they are reading me. Recently…
The other day, while talking to my friend Steven on the phone, he asked me if I was doing OK financially. It was an unusual comment, especially from someone who used to work for me for many years. I didn’t take offense at the question and gave my usual litany of things that have drained money from my wealth over the years, but I basically responded that I was doing just fine. That is the…