Odds and Ends
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For years, I used to recite the quip, “My dentist recommended that I stop reading The Philadelphia Inquirer because it was causing me to grind my teeth.” Once upon a decade, the media used to be a sense-making apparatus that did its best to call balls and strikes. Then the primetime cable news shows burst…
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This past Friday morning, while spending time with a client, something occurred to me. It moved me enough to say, “Jim, if it were thirty-five years ago, before diving into business, we would have discussed last night’s Seinfeld episode.” The exchange that Jim and I would’ve had all those years ago would not have been…
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We have developed instruments and methods to measure inches and miles, nano seconds and centuries, the speed that both light and sound travel. More impressive, astronomers have gauged that the universe is expanding faster than first estimated. It impresses me that we have developed the capability to measure everything under the sun and beyond. But…
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Dark, spellbinding, intense, beautiful, eloquent, and frighteningly virtuosic. And that just describes the first movement of Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Elegiaque Trio. If you’re new to Rachmaninoff, this opus is a good place to start. If you’re familiar with Rachmaninoff but not his second Elegiaque Trio, then you’re in for a real treat, as this piece blends…
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Recently, I watched a podcast, featuring pro-life advocate Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire, and Bronte Remsik, an abortion activist. “Podcast Land”—its longform conversations can be a healthy alternative to the tedium of the cable news cycle—has become a crowded space, so one should choose wisely. Typically, I limit myself to Impact Theory, Modern Wisdom,…
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It is known that J.S. Bach was the father of counterpoint harmony. I don’t know if Bach set out to create counterpoint harmony, a component that enriched music exponentially, or discovered it by accident. His music ranged from godly to subtly intense, and from celebratory to a man working out internal strife. And speaking of…
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I am grateful that my brain is wired in a way that enables me to grasp the complex harmonies of Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Hindemith. But it that a possession? Some esoteric force in the universe enabled me to capture and keep the heart of the world’s most beautiful woman thirty-two years ago. Is that a…
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…and the barkeeper asked, “What’ll it be, fellas?” Alexander replied, “A concentrated and centralized power structure, for we are a young nation with new and bold ideas and thus require a clear path forward to implement our brave initiatives. Thomas told the barkeeper, “A constitutional republic that destabilizes centralized power and distributes it to the…
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I creep downstairs at 5:45 a.m., put on a pot of coffee, and open my front door. I smile. The newspaper (The Philadelphia Inquirer) has arrived. My coffee (Bucks County French Roast; Starbucks has yet to reach the east coast) is through percolating. I pour two mugs and transport them and the newspaper to the…
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It was upon a summer’s breeze that the echoes from a forest beckoned a young lass. Often, from the confines of her mother’s garden or with her elbows resting on her bedroom windowsill, she had wondered about the wood just yonder did our golden-haired youth but never had she ventured into its denseness. Today,…
Michael's Corner 