Category: Society

Tis the Season! Spending Time with People Who May Not Be Your Favorites

Leave a Comment on Tis the Season! Spending Time with People Who May Not Be Your Favorites

Seven Tips to Ease Relations

I like to joke (sort of) that one of the special things about the holidays is that many of us get to spend time with people you would not choose to hang around with were they not relatives and you were at gatherings that seem mandatory over the holidays.

So, in a modest effort to help ease the pain and tension, to minimize the risk of food fights, and to ease up on the need for aspirin and Alka-Seltzer during this holiday season, I am sharing my often used tips for such encounters.

Join the discussion at: Tis the Season! Spending Time with People Who May Not Be Your Favorites

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Leave a Comment on A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

An Assortment of Odds and Ends This Week

A Couple of Economics Notes

Giving Tuesday – Holy Smokes! – I don’t know about you, but I was inundated with exhortations and pleas to donate to one cause or another on or around Giving Tuesday. I always thought Giving Tuesday was a fine idea, and I still do, but there needs to be some way to spread this out a bit. It was amazing how many came in, from every imaginable worthy (mostly) cause. I stopped counting the emails I got on this theme, but it was well over 100 in just a few days.

Join the discussion at: A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Have a Favorite Season?

4 Comments on Have a Favorite Season?

I Wonder What Our Favorites in Life Say About Us

Pick a Season

I had the pleasure last week of attending a concert built around Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. A fine choice for a concert, of course (those Italians are pretty good at this stuff). As I listened to the music, I thought, as I often do when hearing this collection, about my favorite season, and that of others.

For me, it’s Fall – no contest. No other season even comes close. The crispness, the color, that dynamic bridge that takes us away from the heat of Summer and pleasures us before the cold of Winter.

Join the discussion at: Have a Favorite Season?

1st Tuesday in November

1 Comment on 1st Tuesday in November

Victory Dances, Agony, and Arrogance

Elections Around the Country Carried Valuable Lessons for All

There was quite a variety of elections held all over the country last week, for all types of offices and referenda. As is often the case, there were more than a few surprises, results not really forecast by polls and pundits.Any single election, or even a collection of voting patterns, does not necessarily translate into future electoral results. But at times they do, and I think that is the case with these votes. I noted three consistent outcomes that I expect to see repeated in 2024.

Join the discussion at: 1st Tuesday in November

Old McDonald Had a Farm…

4 Comments on Old McDonald Had a Farm…

Good Results, Inspiring Stories, Playing with Goats

 Let’s Take a Walk

I mentioned last week that I had a good news story to share with you. This is it. I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed the experience that generated this posting.

There is an online publication in our local area dedicated to foodies and all that feeds the foodie world. We subscribe to Edible Asheville, finding their work quite good. The real attraction is that they connect all the dots, from farm to table. There are amazing things that happen in so many places that make that terrific meal you are about to enjoy possible.

Join the discussion at: Old McDonald Had a Farm…

Book Banning May Be The Single Worst Idea of All Time

2 Comments on Book Banning May Be The Single Worst Idea of All Time

It’s Wrong to Begin With, and Never Stops with “Just” Book Banning

Better Late Than Never

We were going to talk about this over a week ago, but the Middle East demanded a change of focus. That obscene mess is certainly not over, and we likely will come back to it again, but life does not think much of doing one thing at a time.

So, while we worry about international affairs, let’s not loose focus on key domestic issues. And book banning is pretty darn high on that list that deserves our attention and our action.

Join the discussion at: Book Banning May Be The Single Worst Idea of All Time

The House, the Middle East, & One Athlete

Leave a Comment on The House, the Middle East, & One Athlete

A Varied Mix to Ponder This Week – Much in the Balance, Everywhere

The House of Representatives

That seems an odd title of late: it’s not much of a House, and it seems to represent few of us. As if all the ongoing tensions in that small zoo where not enough, now we have a Speaker fired by 8 of his members, no clear replacement or plan to get one possibly worthy of the title, only about 30 days before the US Government goes broke, and Ukraine held hostage by a pouting few.

October is going to be an interesting month,

Join the discussion at: The House, the Middle East, & One Athlete

A Close-Up Look at Music from the Other Side

3 Comments on A Close-Up Look at Music from the Other Side

We Have All Enjoyed Concerts from the Audience. What’s It Like from the Stage?

Today, a short break from politics and social issues. You’re welcome.

Music in Life, and in Asheville

As I have noted in an earlier posting some years ago, I have a pretty eclectic music taste. I like a lot of different types of music. Were you to look at the play list on my phone, you would find everything from classical symphonies, to jazz, to mountain music, to Gregorian chants, to classic rock – and about everything in between.

But the sweet spot for me has always been classical symphonic music.

Join the discussion at: A Close-Up Look at Music from the Other Side

Let’s Talk About Age and Politics

4 Comments on Let’s Talk About Age and Politics

It’s a Serious Subject. So Far, the Discussion Has Not Been Serious

It’s Definitely a Topic of Late

We seem to have a perfect storm of older politicians. What this brings with it as a matter of national interest is evident everywhere. A lot of this focuses on Biden (which is at least partly wrong – more on that later). I would suggest a few points can be taken as givens that need not clutter the discussion. Among these are the following:

  • Clearly some politicians have aged out, they just did not get the memo.

Join the discussion at: Let’s Talk About Age and Politics

The United Auto Workers Strike

3 Comments on The United Auto Workers Strike

High Risks, Potential Value, and Important Issues Galore

A Little Long-Term History

This is as big a labor action as this country has seen in a very long time, with big stakes all around. The history of the UAW and auto strikes is, it seems to me, a mixed one. On the one hand, they led the way on much labor reform and empowerment. They helped at an important level to create much of the American middle class, based on good jobs for skilled employees.

They also can be said to have pushed too hard in some cases,

Join the discussion at: The United Auto Workers Strike