As a political science major in 1969, I was intrigued by Joe McGinniss’ The Selling of the President 1968 which chronicled how marketers packaged and sold the “new Nixon” to the American public. Their task was not an easy one. A bitter, angry Richard Nixon had temporarily departed the political scene in 1962 following his defeat to … Read more
Being a counter-intuitive thinker is fun. When you reject conventional wisdom and look for alternative explanations in every aspect of life, you begin seeing the world as it might be, not just how others want you to see it. People who take themselves too seriously often fail the counter-intuitive thinking test. One such person is … Read more
Welcome back. The second installment is based on quotes ranked 51 through 100 by the American Film Institute. #52 You had me at “hello.” (Jerry Maguire, 1996) The alt-right movement explains when they knew they had a champion in Donald Trump. #53 One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got … Read more
Welcome to a brief recap of the 2016 election based on many of the America Film Institute’s “100 Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time.” I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. The format for each quote includes AFI ranking, the quote, movie and year and the situation in … Read more
The “butterfly effect” is defined as the scientific theory a single event, regardless of size, can change the course of the universe. The concept has been used in many contexts. For example, environmentalist have warned extinction of the most seemingly insignificant species might be the trigger that unleashes a catastrophic ecological disaster. And as … Read more