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Someone should write a book or something about how to raise your children to be politicians. It seems that all of the best politicians and political leaders were raised in politically active families. There’s a reason the United States has a few political “dynasties”. It should be fairly straightforward to write a plan for preparing […]
I was in a corner bookstore, back when such places still existed, looking for something new to read. I had recently read The Far Kingdoms, which I enjoyed, and I was searching for something similar. I stumbled on a stack of paperbacks by Robert Jordan. The cover art was possibly half the reason I was […]
It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that all the world’s political and social problems could be solved if we could just somehow correct the lack of thinking that is all too common. Progressives talk about education. Conservatives talk about religion. So many strive and strategize to make their voice heard above others, […]
One of articles recommended this morning by the Firefox web browser was this one: Moms Are Worried About Their Sons Post-Election, Too. It got me thinking about producing a vlog on the topic of what it means to be a man and how to become one. That led me to think about with whom to […]
A list of my favorite films. It occurs to me that I should examine them for commonalities. “Blade Runner” (1982) — This film is a visual masterpiece. The story, and the novel it is based on, really miss a great opportunity to explore a deep philosophical question, but in both cases it seems that merely […]
Frank Herbert’s Dune is a story about many things, but perhaps the most central is the formation of a superhuman mind. Much of the story and its plot points takes place within the inner thoughts of Paul Atreides. In its written form, these thoughts are easily expressed, and the resulting story is deep and powerful. […]
[Disclaimer: This is not, of course, a suggestion that we should try to avoid having a female President. Rather, it is an attempt to see the future.] The election of Barack Obama to the office of President was a huge win for Black Americans. However, it had an unforeseen side effect. The insult to racist […]
A few weeks ago, I was lamenting the sad state of the downtown riverfront. I took it as a sign of decline in St. Louis. Other signs have been the apparent loss of momentum in revitalizing areas like the Washington Avenue district, midtown, and Cherokee Street. Today, I went for a ride up in North […]
The thing that the Daniel Craig series of James Bond movies did, apart from casting an actor who is not naturally suave, was to make James Bond a tragic figure. It was long overdue, really. Prior to the 2006 “Casino Royale“, 007 movies have defied the standard storytelling ingredients of character flaws and character growth […]
It seems I have become a rice snob, or at least as much as one can be in America. I now keep a supply of Jasmine rice, broken Jasmine rice, and Basmati rice, and I can’t bring myself to mismatch them with the wrong dish. At the moment, I also have some Sona Masoori rice […]
