Authenticity, authority, credibility, credentials. Have we forgotten that these are essential ingredients in establishing expertise?
Money Matters
My favorite skinny jeans have a tiny hidden pocket. What’s inside it? A small lip gloss, and a neatly folded twenty. An emergency stash. I feel better knowing that it’s there. My other jeans? Generally, there are two or three dollars in a back pocket, along with metro tickets – just in case. And I […]
The Grass is Always Greener?
Do you covet what the “other guy” has? Is the grass always greener? Literally? I ran across this article in the New York Times, which elicited a chuckle at first, then interest, and finally, a flicker of concern. A chuckle because lawns in Phoenix, Arizona are being sprinkled with green paint rather than water. Interest, […]
Isn’t it the month for a Mad Girl’s Love Song?
A little something different for a Spring weekend, whatever the weather? Sylvia Plath’s Mad Girl’s Love Song is one of my favorite poems from my teenage years. Recently, something reminded me of the words, “I think I made you up inside my head,” and I found myself searching out this classic example of the villanelle […]
Stranger Than Fiction
You know what they say. Truth is stranger than fiction. Reading about the devil ball at the Master’s tournament, I certainly thought so. (New sort of lap dance? I suppose the condom dress qualifies as well.) As I reflect on a few recent events (none I care to share at the moment), I flash. A […]
Anger or Impotence
While visions of Reality TV and sexual athletics may be dancing through my head in the early a.m. – as I am extricating myself from dreams – within a few minutes of brewing my coffee and scanning a few headlines, other thoughts quickly take precedence. In keeping with yesterday’s theme – the “human” side of […]
Data Data Everywhere, If We Hear It – Should We Care?
Ah, the delights of data. Numbers transformed into trends, figures forwarded along into carefully constructed quasi-truths, and their inaccurate or incomplete essence, affirming our opinions, substantiating our deepest fears, undermining our confidence in… oh, just about anything. Does anyone use common sense anymore? Data data everywhere, if we hear it – should we care? I […]
Thanking My Lucky You-Know-Whats
Riding around searching for a connection. Nope. Not of the “let’s hook up” variety, thanks very much. Of the Internet variety. But no. You’ve never done that before, right? Driven or strolled slowly down your street, hoping to hop on someone’s working line – if there is one? Big storms mean big interruptions. And after […]
Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover
You know the old adage – Don’t judge a book by its cover. In other words, we shouldn’t judge by appearances, though we know that first impressions count, that the public face is important to success in many areas, that social conventions serve their purpose. But is anyone ever who you think they are? Haven’t […]
Tipping the Scales
Are you impetuous when it comes to decision-making, or do you weigh all the factors and carefully consider consequences? As my son and I reflect on his college choices, I ask myself to what extent I might influence his decision-making. All things being equal – financially – would I leave the choice up to him? […]