My 3 favorite reads of the past year can be found at the link below. They're all nonfiction and very relevant to what's happening in these trying times we're all living through. Mark is an author, Independent, Curious, Straight-forward, Educated, and Strong. — Read on shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/mark-jabbour
Category: Society
My Neighborhood: Update
I thought I'd update my previous post about my neighborhood because things have changed. Areas of change are: the Area; the people; and the crime. Let's get into it. The Area is that which is changing the most. Specifically the open space behind me, and the property south east, where ballfields are being built. The … Continue reading My Neighborhood: Update
The Male Loneliness Epidemic
is a thing that was recently brought to my attention via a YouTube, Breaking Points, podcast. The podcast is the brainstorm of Krystal Ball, long one of my favorite political and cultural commentators. Krystal and I share a birthday, though we're 33 years apart in age. She first caught my eye back in 2007 on the run-up … Continue reading The Male Loneliness Epidemic
Jesse Stone vs. Harry Bosch
I just finished my second go 'round of the Prime series Bosch (2014-2022). There are eight seasons (to include Bosch: Legacy). Each with ten 1-hr episodes. The show is based on Michael Connelly's (1956-) ongoing detective crime novels. Of which there are twenty-four (1992-2022). Because I had just finished binge watching Robert Parker's Jesse Stone movies. Also … Continue reading Jesse Stone vs. Harry Bosch
You Are What You Watch
or, what you watch depends on who you are? That's a kind of nature / nurture question. Or a "what came first?" trope. Isn't it? Were you born a sociopath, a psychopath, or did events beyond your control make you into one? Is there such a thing as "bad seed"? I came to this question … Continue reading You Are What You Watch
CHIMP EMPIRE: Who Are We?
is the way James Reed's Netflix documentary (April 2023) begins, and ends. Does the four-hour series answer the question? That depends on who and what you believe. For me it does a very good job. We are the The Naked Ape (1967); or as Jared Diamond wrote, The Third Chimpanzee (1992). Robert Wright called us The Moral … Continue reading CHIMP EMPIRE: Who Are We?
Men Without Work
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
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
Lucy’s Legacy: A review
Lucy's Legacy: Sex and Intelligence in Human Evolution (1999) is a book written by Alison Jolly (1937-2014) about that which the title indicates. Moreover, the book is one of the most intelligent, thoughtful, amusing, detailed analysis of who we are. Which begs the question: Why isn't it more widely read and cited? The answer is … Continue reading Lucy’s Legacy: A review
Best and Worst Jobs
The best and worst jobs (career) is, of course, subjective. However, I've had many and also lived 70+ years on the planet. In other words, I speak from much experience. Continuing with recent posts - here are my thoughts. There is a difference between choosing a job and a job choosing you. The former is, … Continue reading Best and Worst Jobs