Burning Bridges

Burning Bridges

by | Apr 29, 2015

Here’s one of the most commonly dispensed, least-examined admonitions I can think of: “Don’t burn your bridges.” Provided you exercise at least a modicum of discernment and discrimination, why not? To establish the point, I offer this brief,...
Us and Them

Us and Them

by | Apr 28, 2015

There’s a difference between melting and dissolution, as witnessed in the contrast between America’s former glory as the world’s Melting Pot — and today’s inglorious reality of cultural conflict, class friction, and political palaver about...
The Short End

The Short End

by | Apr 27, 2015

A recent article reminds us what an unimaginably unfair place the world is — “A global wine shortage could soon be upon us” — its message of dread and foreboding including this catastrophic information: Last year, global supply for wine already barely...
Bob’s Your Uncle

Bob’s Your Uncle

by | Apr 24, 2015

idiom: noun — an expression, the meaning of which is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements My recent post about malaprops had me thinking about idiomatic expressions. One, in particular, has stuck with me because of its pertinence to the...
Magic, Magic

Magic, Magic

by | Apr 22, 2015

The image above has been making the rounds in various web media for a while — LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, et al. In the interest of giving proper credit for the image, I searched for attribution for its creator and could find none. Nevertheless, I use it here to...
Smile When You Say That

Smile When You Say That

by | Apr 16, 2015

Since missing boats seems to be the story of my life, I shouldn’t be surprised that yet another one apparently sailed without me. To be more specific, I’m having trouble understanding what the big deal is about Harvard Business Review. (“Oh, my Gawd,...