Category: List

2023 Predictions

I am late for making 2023 predictions but this is mainly a fun exercise as no one is very good at figuring out the future. Based on my mediocre abilities to pick winners in my NFL pool, the reader should not expect great foresight here either.

Politics:

  • Neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump will run for president in 2024.
  • The leading candidates as 2024 Presidential nominees will be Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida (who will be helped by vaccination scandal, see below) and Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan.
  • President Joe Biden will pardon Donald Trump in the fall of 2023 as a result of multiple convictions against Trump. Biden will say that the pardons were initiated “to promote national healing and unity.” The pardon and subsequent agreements not to imprison Trump and members of his family will be a result of negotiations and agreements between the Department of Justice, the New York Attorney General, the Atlanta Attorney General and Trump’s attorney team. Disgraced, Trump will fade from public view.
  • Melania Trump will divorce Donald Trump.
  • In retaliation for the conviction and imprisonment of January 6 conspirators, a devastating domestic terroristic attack will occur and kill thousands of US citizens.
  • Vladimir Putin will suffer a “health issue” mid year and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin in mid 2023.

Photo by Virgil Cayasa

Sports

  • The Phillies will finish as a wildcard team in 2023 but they will not make it to the World Series.
  • The Eagles will make it to the NFC championship game against the 49ers and will lose due to key injuries in the offensive line and defensive secondary.
  • Tom Brady announces retirement after Tampa Bay loss in NFL playoffs.
  • The 76ers will lose in the second round of the NBA playoffs. 4 games to 1. This will be James Harden’s last season with the team. Joel Embid will request a trade at the end of the season. Doc Rivers gets fired.

Business

  • The Dow will finish at 36000 on 12/31/23; NYSE at 4300.
  • Twitter files bankruptcy.

Science

  • Scandal and controversy regarding the rollout, safety and efficacy of the various Covid vaccinations.
  • Frenzy will occur when an UFO sighting is witnessed by thousands and documented through video and radar.
  • No progress in finding treatment or prevention of Alzheimer’s.

That Was The Year That Was (2022)

2022 remembered in headlines. I prioritized the headlines by impact…

Ukraine conflict: Fighting rages near Kyiv after Russia invasion (2/24/22)

Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows (5/2/22)

At least 19 children and two adults were fatally shot at an elementary school (Uvalde, Tx.), the worst school shooting since Sandy Hook nearly 10 years ago. (5/25/22)

Cassidy Hutchinson provides explosive testimony during the Jan. 6 hearing (6/29/22)

Election takeaways: No sweep for the Republicans after all (11/9/22)

Jan. 6 committee condemns Trump as ‘central cause’ of insurrection in sweeping report (12/19/22)

FBI Raided Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Resort, Former President Says (8/6/22)

Academy Condemns Will Smith for Slap at Oscars and Opens Inquiry (4/28/22)

Social Security benefits to jump by 8.7% next year (10/13/22)

2022 World Cup: USA’s win over Iran caps tense, emotional build-up that had turned bizarre (11/29/22)

News: Most Influential vs Most Thoughtful

My list is decidedly different. I chose people whose contributions, judgement and commentary I respect.

Mediaite’s Most Influential in NewsEric Burleigh’s List of Thought Leaders in Media
1. Suzanne Scott Fox News1. Kara Swisher
2. Elon Musk 2. Andrew Ross Sorkin CNBC
3. Chris Licht and David Zaslav3. Maggie Haberman NYT
4. Tucker Carlson Fox News4. Maureen Dowd NYT
5. Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinsski MSNBC5. Jim Acosta CNN
6. Sean Hannity Fox6. Chris Wallace CNN
7. Matt Drudge7. Bill Maher HBO
8. Lester Holt, Norah O’Donnell and David Muir8. Jonathan Karl ABC
9. Maggie Haberman9.  Karine Jean-Pierre White House Press Sec
10. Greg Gutfeld10. Sam Harris
11. Ben Shapiro11. Charles Barkley TNT
12. Jake Tapper CNN12. Nicole Wallace MSNBC

Running on Empty

As I get older, there is a growing list of things that I can longer do or have lost interest in doing them…

Image by publicdomainpictures from pixabay
  • Playing basketball
  • Sex
  • Jogging or running
  • Ability to focus on a televised sporting event or show
  • Enjoy dining out
  • Patiently waiting in lines
  • Doctor appointments
  • Driving at night
  • Driving long distances
  • Children parties
  • Commercials, advertisements, public address notifications
  • Traffic
  • Politicians
  • Talking politics
  • Elections
  • Donald Trump
  • Eating apples
  • Religion or talking religion
  • Feigning interest in conversations or with people where I have little compatibility

Soundtracks of My Life

Most movies, documentaries and TV shows skillfully incorporate musical soundtracks to highten various scenes or stages in a story. If I made a movie about my life, here are the songs I would include as the soundtrack.

Solitary Man Neil Diamond (Title Theme for my Life—fatherless boy goes it alone)

You Belong to the City Glenn Frey (growing up in Camden)

What’s New Pussycat? Tom Jones (My lullaby to get my sister Monica to sleep and not cry when she was a baby.

Break My Stride Matthew Wilder (High school days)

I Can’t Stop Dancing Archie Bell and the Drills (playing basketball)

Love Her Madly The Doors (college dorm life)

Ohio Neil Young (Vietnam politics)

Superstar The Carpenters (first love, lost love)

Honey Please Can’t Ya See Barry White (discos and trying to find a girlfriend)

Christine Ben Jelen (girlfriend and wife found)

You Take My Heart Away Bill Conti (wedding)

Theme from Rocky (running, tennis, basketball)

She Believes in Me Kenny Rogers (wife’s faith in me as I struggle)

I See Your Smile Gloria Estefan (Sandra’s death)

Running Down a Dream Tom Petty (career struggles)

The Lonely Bull Herb Alpert (going it alone)

As Good as I Once Was Toby Keith (getting older and accepting limits)

I Am a Rock Simon and Garfunkel (protecting myself from hurt and disappointment)

The Greatest Love of All George Benson (self reliance)

One Moment in Time Whitney Houston (achieving a dream)

16 Things to Do to Be as Smart as Me

  1. Listen to the Pivot podcast with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway for commentary on business, culture, tech and politics.
  2. Read Maureen Dowd (New York Times)
  3. Watch a Chris Wallace interview. (The only thing worth watching on Fox News)
  4. View a White House press briefing by Jen Psaki.
  5. Read tweets from John Pavlovitz.
  6. Watch “New Rules” by Bill Maher (Politically Incorrect HBO)
  7. View Doonesbury cartoon on Sunday morning.
  8. View tech interviews by Emily Chang.
  9. Read posts on business, marketing, tech and entrepreneurship from Seth Godin daily (seths.blog)
  10. Listen to commentary from Fareed Zakaria.(CNN on Sundays)
  11. Watch PTI for sports commentary. (ESPN)
  12. Listen to Paul Finebaum for best insights into college football.
  13. Listen to first 15 minutes of Colin Cowherd show for his sports commentary on professional sports. (FS1)
  14. Listen to economic and business insights of Andrew Ross Sorkin (CNBC)
  15. Watch past Christopher Hitchens debates, conversations and discussions about politics, religion, history and culture found on YouTube.
  16. View online Yale course “Financial Markets” by Professor Robert Shiller found on Yale Courses on YouTube.

Senescence: Round 4

A shower of passing thoughts and thunderous ruminations…

With apologies to Rodney, five jobs where you don’t get any respect: 

  1. Epidemiologist 
  2. Eagles football coach
  3. Governor of a largely populated state
  4. New host of Jeopardy
  5. 44th U.S. President

Summer is coming to a close. I won’t miss the heat, the humidity or the mosquitos. I will miss the early dawn sunrises and the late dusk sundowns.

On deeper reflection, I have lived through 70 summers, how many summers do I have left to enjoy?

The French showed more resistance in 1940 to the German invasion of their country than the anti-vaxxers have demonstrated to the invasion of covid in the United States.

Long running TV Talk Show in the 1960’s and 70’s that would not last 13 weeks today: Dick Cavett.(That’s no reflection on Cavett, it’s a reflection of our culture and the limited sophistication and education of today’s audiences).

RIP Markie Post. She was a beautiful distraction on one of my favorite comedies in the 1980s, Night Court.

Celebrity whose death affected me the most? John Lennon

Current Five Overrated Sports People and Events

  1. Pickleball ratings
  2. NBA Draft
  3. Dallas Cowboys
  4. The Process (not Embiid but the tanking by the 76ers)
  5. Sports Talk Shows (worst show is Undisputed with Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharp)

While I enjoyed the Gold medal victories of the U.S. Men and Women’s Basketball Teams in the Olympics, I became a fan of the 3 on 3 Women’s Basketball competition (also won by the U.S.)

Two late Summer 2021 Book Recommendations:

  1. The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis
  2. The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, A Temptation and The Longest Night of the Second World War by Malcolm Gladwell

Another 1970 high school classmate passed away recently. My class had 481 students. Based on what I know, approximately 10% of my class has passed away in the 50 years since graduation. Given our stage in life now, it’s possible that 50% of us will die within the next 10 years.

Health, opportunity and time. The older we are, the less certain and smaller window to take advantage of them.

With possible apologies to W.C. Fields, I’d rather be living in Philadelphia than anywhere in Florida.