by Mark O'Brien | Sep 11, 2018
In his book, The Life of Reason, the American philosopher, poet, novelist, and critic George Santayana (1863-1952) wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to fulfill it.” Seventeen years after September 11, 2001, the matter is not...
by Mark O'Brien | Sep 10, 2018
Full disclosure: I have a saying from Groucho Marx, framed and sitting on a bookshelf, right next to my desk. I read it every day. It says this: Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can...
by Mark O'Brien | Sep 4, 2018
In the immediately previous post in this series, I proposed a cautionary statement by which we might attempt to find — if not to re-establish respect for and insistence on — meaning and substance in written communication. (All but the most hearty and quixotic among us...
by Mark O'Brien | Aug 27, 2018
I begin this post with two statements, the cause-and-effect relationship between which I’ll leave to you, dear reader: I vociferously believe1984 should be required reading. I live in a constant state of low-level anxiety. I don’t know that my nagging...
by Mark O'Brien | Aug 20, 2018
At risk of sounding demanding or presumptuous, we’d like an A for effort. Here’s why: We took shots at pointing out that — and how — marketing should be simple here and here. To no avail. But since we consider quit to be a four-letter word, we’re...
