The BlueprintStories in the popular press these days abound with references to “conspiracy theories.” It seems that every time some fringe group or some eccentric individual makes some wild, unsubstantiated claim, we have a new “theory.” Actually, we don’t.
If you’re called upon to write an online article, a news item, or a discussion piece, follow these 17 guidelines for readability and impact. This 4-minute read will make you a better online writer.
Author: Source: Comments: A thoughtful piece on the impact and intrusion of portable technology on our lives. Walter Kirn is a novelist and essayist. Link: https://walterkirn.substack.com/p/the-first-refusal Views: 239
A hypothetical conversation between the updated version of my ‘Sixties self and a modern woman, negotiating the terms of a mutually acceptable sexual experience.
US airlines are still in reactive mode when dealing with noncompliant, deviant, and violent passengers. The cruise lines solved the disruptive passenger problem long ago, and their solutions can apply—with creative adaptations—to air travel compliance as well. Let’s consider the possible lessons the airlines can learn from the cruise lines, and how they might make those adaptations.
The day will come when water will be more precious than oil.
It has already come in some places and cases, but as a society we haven’t begun thinking of it in that way.
Picture the “Great Hydro-Paradox”: on one hand we have severe water shortages in places like California and various other agricultural regions; parched land; crops failing; animals dying; farmers and small business operators in financial crisis; the national food supply becoming precarious. (Typically, 11 US states experience episodic or chronic drought: Arizona; California; Colorado; Montana; Nevada; New Mexico; North Dakota; Oregon; Utah; Washington; and Wyoming.)
At the very same time, people in vulnerable coastal areas like Florida and Louisiana are swamped by torrential rains; wading hip-deep in churning water; their flooded houses damaged beyond repair; automobiles swept away to destruction; drownings and other consequential loss of life; public services knocked out; and many businesses utterly destroyed.
All in the same country on the same day.
Suppose we decided to give water the same commercial, technological, and logistical priority that we’ve always given to oil? What’s to stop us from moving water around on the same scale as we move oil?
From its very founding, the architects of a successful republic have to get certain things right in order for the new enterprise to survive and thrive. Some things have to come first. In their approximate order of urgency, let’s consider solutions to the following challenges. Figure 1-1 illustrates these 10 basic components, or sub-systems, of a thriving republic.
Author: Source: Comments: This timeless dissertation reminds us that one of the factors that cause Americans (or people of any culture) to …
Author: Source: Comments: This young woman is remarkable for her intelligence, her presence, the elegant simplicity with which she speaks, and her …