Quick Looks

The trailers for:

•  "Beneath Hill 60."
• "A Hidden Life"
• "Two For the Road"

Hmm

The trailer for "Parasite."

The Meaning of Fredo

Ann Althouse and others weigh in on the meaning and sadness of Fredo.

The Bitter Issue

My first book was published in 1976 by the Arizona Historical Society and is now out-of-print. I'm preparing a revised edition.

The Bitter Issue focuses on a major change in post-WWII Arizona politics. That shift ultimately affected the political careers of Barry Goldwater, John Rhodes, and Morris Udall.

Straight Line Selling

"In fact, now that I thought about it, no matter what objection the prospect hit me with, I would never just answer it and ask for the order again. That would be pointless, since the objection was merely a smoke screen for uncertainty. By itself, in fact, all an answer would do (even a perfect one) is force a prospect to shift to a new objection, because the root problem still hadn't been addressed."

- From Way of the Wolf: Straight Line Selling by Jordan Belfort

The Loneliness Epidemic

In City Journal, Kay S. Hymowitz explores what has become an international problem. An excerpt:


In a 2018 survey of attitudes of 10- to 19-year-olds by PerryUndem Research and Communication, three-quarters rated having a successful career as “very important.” Fewer than a third said that marrying or having children mattered that much. Notably, boys and girls had almost identical answers.

This doesn’t surprise me. My boomer acquaintances, college-educated professionals and devoted parents, nudged and prodded their kids from elementary school through college and beyond to prepare for the Big Career. When it came to that other crucial life goal—finding a loyal, loving spouse, a devoted mother or father for their children—their lips were sealed. Such traditional aspirations would have seemed an imposition on their children’s authentic desires rather than a piece of learned wisdom. Yet learn it they had: they danced euphorically at their children’s weddings and are now putting dinner companions to sleep rattling on about the grandkids.

Great Memoirs: A Series

A well-written and often humorous account by one of General Crook's officers.

Be Strong

Be strong. In a world of craziness where it seems essential to brag about a day of e-mail, conference calls and poor quality coffee...Stop and think. And don't just do things. Do the right things. Set your compass.

- Nicholas Bate


[Photo by Jordan Madrid at Unsplash]

Roma

Althouse notes there's no more lounging on the Spanish Steps.

Sad. 

But we'll always have this informative documentary on Roman gladiators.

Music Break

Richard Harvey and John Williams with Concerto Antico for guitar and orchestra.