Archive by Author
Something From Nothing
Day 192 Ahem. You may now refer to this college dropout as “Professor.” (If you speak at TED University that’s what they call you.) (That photo was lifted from Flickr, shot by James Duncan Davidson for TED.) Maybe sometime next week I’ll upload the script and my faaaaabulous slides, which were conceived and produced by [...]
Full StoryDo Be Do Be Do
Day 191 I’ve just returned from a reception for the TEDGlobal2010 Fellows. These world-changing individuals are intimidating even to the Fellows who precede them. Every time we meet a new class of Fellows, at least one of the outgoing Fellows or Senior Fellows will say, “I’m glad I didn’t have to compete for a spot in THIS [...]
Full StoryA Kid At Face
Day 190 I couldn’t help looking at the little boy; he was seated directly in my line of sight at the next table. He was looking at someone whose back was to me, and on his face was an expression of sheer joy. What was delighting this child? Maybe just being with and looking at [...]
Full StoryHot Hot Hot
Day 189 When I was a kid in Buffalo, I remember tossing and whimpering through many a summer night, unable to get comfortable no matter what I did. We had a fan. I would set that noisy monster at the foot of my bed, pour a glass of water on the single sheet that covered [...]
Full StoryIndulge Me
Day 188 “I’m not asking you to ENDORSE me, I’m asking you to INDULGE me,” said my husband. We were in a familiar conversation pattern: he says something with which I cannot agree, and I respond with “logic” and “common sense.” He becomes frustrated, because there are times when his motto is “This is what I [...]
Full StoryThe App of My Eye
Day 187 Did you see this? The geniuses at the MIT Media Lab have come up with another stunning use of technology. Soon, you’ll buy an app for your iPhone, add a $2 lens, and you’ll be able to give yourself an eye exam that tells you what prescription you need. This isn’t going to do much for the [...]
Full StoryIn German, It Means “Armor.”
Day 186 Social media experts advise everyone, even civilians with no “social profile,” to set up Google Alerts on themselves. I’ve had ‘em for years. Yowza, there are a lot of Harnisches in the world. Some I’ve eliminated with advanced search techniques. Larry Harnisch wrote a book about the Black Dahlia murder and he turns up too often. [...]
Full StoryMatch Game. Leaving ______
Day 185 If you are of a certain age, I don’t need to explain Match Game. but in shorthand, you fill in the blank and try to find the obvious answer that most people would say. Leaving ______. My first instinct is “Leaving Home,” which perhaps comes from the Beatles ’ “She’s Leaving Home ,” which came out [...]
Full StoryBedazzled (No, Not That One)
Day 184 Oh, I love the movie Bedazzled . Not the one with Elizabeth Hurley and Brendan Fraser - no knock on the performers. It’s just that Peter Cook and Dudley Moore achieved such perfection that it’s really hard for anyone else to riff successfully on it. The premise is that poor Stanley sells his soul to the [...]
Full StoryAs Joe Jackson (no, not that one) Sang,
Day 183 (POST UPDATED: NEW YORK CITY AREA ONLY, PLEASE) You can’t get what you want ’til you know what you want . In my experience as a coach, darn few people know exactly what they want and why they want it and how to get it and what they’re prepared to do to make it [...]
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