is a book by Nicholas Eberstadt, an American political economist, written in 2016 and updated in 2022. I haven't read the books but have listened to him talk about them on YouTube podcasts. The premise is that the documented 7.2 million men, aged 21 to 54, that have quit the workforce is a problem. For … Continue reading Men Without Work
Category: family
The Time Bind: Work-family balance
This is a review of the 1997 book The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work. It was written by professor Arlie Russell Hochschild over the course of seven years, based on her research of a Fortune 500 company in the rural midwest in the early nineties. What I want to do here … Continue reading The Time Bind: Work-family balance
Worst Book of the Year 2022
is Maggie Haberman's: Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America. Because it, this book, is representative of what has broken America. It is the descent of Journalism and Media into a confabulation of confirmation bias and rationalization, "humble bragging", gaslighting, and all other manner of self-serving distortions and delusion. Or as Consent … Continue reading Worst Book of the Year 2022
December Music
December is an album by pianist George Winston. It is my favorite Christmas music. Winston recorded it in the fall of 1982. That was quite a year for me/us. I had just finished "upgrading" our home in Conifer, Colorado - to a fully modern one. Moreover, my wife had became pregnant with my first (her third) … Continue reading December Music
Korak’s Story: My first Dog
Korak, named after the son of Tarzan, was my first (of many many more) dog. And everyone's favorite, except for Bert. Because his dog Sasha, a big and mean Alaskan Husky, would sometimes fight furiously. It was 1969, Fort Collins, Colorado, and I was a sophomore at CSU. After Teddy and I came back from … Continue reading Korak’s Story: My first Dog
Greatest Home Run Hitter Ever
is a great debate. It's between four New York Yankees: Babe Ruth in 1927: 60 Home runs; 164 Runs batted in; .356 Batting average; 158 runs scored. Mickey Mantle in 1956: 52 Home runs: 132 runs batted in; .352 Batting average; 132 Runs scored. Roger Maris in 1961: 61 Home runs; 142 Runs batted in; … Continue reading Greatest Home Run Hitter Ever
Memorial Day Down By The River
This Memorial Day weekend found me experiencing time travel. In mid-March my long-time friend passed away. His daughter and son decided to have a service for him and his long-time partner on that national day of remembrance. Fitting. The "returning" celebration was held on the land they had lived on for decades. It is land … Continue reading Memorial Day Down By The River
Crazy Love: Depp and Heard
Recently I was asked to recommend five books on any subject of my choosing. I chose Personality. The list was for a new website, Shepherd.com, that aims to rival Goodreads for book lovers. Two books not on the list are Interpersonal Diagnosis and Treatment of Personality Disorders and Crazy Love: Dealing With your Partner's Problem Personality. … Continue reading Crazy Love: Depp and Heard
Birthdays
Today is my brother's 74th birthday. That's him, upper right. That's me upper left. The year was 1984. That's our father with the stovepipe hat and fake mustache. Also in the picture are our wives and children (including my two step-children). We're all 37 years older, except for our mother and father. They're diseased. There … Continue reading Birthdays
Father’s Day: five years later
Does it get any easier - the loss of the father? Short answer: no. Father's Day is a commercial ploy to make money. These days, what isn't? Nevertheless, the father is important. Because without him none of us would be here. My father was both a complicated and simple man. Simple because he was basically what a … Continue reading Father’s Day: five years later