Sailing from "Inner Harbor" to Crime Fiction Writing

Since 2010, I have written a blog called "Inner Harbor." The posts tend to be a vehicle for my reactions to current events. I typically comment on issues or incidents promiscuously discussed in social or traditional media. Certain posts involve episodes whose root was either an immediate, personal incident or a reflection on some aspect of my own life. In some cases, I comment on people or contexts which aroused my curiosity, but were otherwise unknown to me.

"Inner Harbor" began when my wife, the fine art photographer Amy Becker, suffered a serious illness. My posts were intended as a daily commitment to our love and firm belief in each other's talents. Every post offered an opportunity for her to hear my voice and witness its growth. Without Amy's strong encouragement and visceral commitment, I would not have developed "Inner Harbor," nor used that blog as a vehicle to generate a style and voice suitable for a creative journey.

I believe I have now achieved "Inner Harbor's" purpose. This summer, I stopped writing in "Inner Harbor." At that time, I came around to the notion that nonfiction could not adequately represent contemporary issues. "The rule of law" crowd, through its ruthless use of intimidating litigation and restrictive legislation, made nonfiction writing a debilitating exercise in risk management. Having people speak "on the record" has become an excruciatingly difficult task for even the most skillful or highly placed writers. Public discourse became a realm where spin doctors, investigative wolves, and data "scientists" commanded the media's high ground. Entertaining distortions took precedence over intelligently presented fact, something exploited most shamefully via "reality TV" and political propagandists.

This degradation of rationality compelled my move into writing mystery/detective stories. This pulpy world has historically, successfully been viewed as a portal into depictions of contemporary reality. Fiction allows the weaving of character, context, and motive in useful, and yes, entertaining ways. Coinciding with ceasing "Inner Harbor" posts, I read a number of Italian crime novels. The ones I have read embrace a mixture of reportage and fiction -- exactly the formula I wanted to pursue. Their sharply drawn characters struck me as entirely, unsentimentally real. And the books integrated current events, such as human trafficking and institutional corruption, with men, women, and children whose flaws and strengths displayed the writer's and audience's interest in humanity that no software wizard could "engineer."

I look forward to the challenge of creating work worthy of these Italian writers, along with iconic American detective novelists whose work I admire. Whatever I do, I will have also fulfilled advice my father offered me on his deathbed. He held me hand firmly and asserted that I should pursue fiction writing.

It took me a generation to embrace my father's perspective. I'm ready now to begin that journey to create work into a world Raymond Chandler aptly characterized as one where "the streets were dark with something more than night..." To that end, "More Than A Fresh Corpse" will be a blog/sketchbook for this effort.

Chinese Firm Purchases Spanish "Ghost" Airport

It's hard to imagine a developed nation having an abandoned airport capable of handling transcontinental flights. Yet, that's the case with Spain. When the Iberian nation was feeling flush, a rush to build new airports took hold. This phenomenon manifested itself most ambitiously with a grand facility intended to service Madrid. (Anyone who has landed at or departed from the Spanish capital will appreciate the need for more runways and terminals.)

Alas, the newly minted airport at Ciudad Real lived a short commercial life, opening in 2008 and going bust four years later. One could suppose its extremely inconvenient location and the financial disaster of that time led to its demise. Since 2012, the structure has looked as ruined as the background of a dystopian movie set.

According to a BBC report, the billion-dollar airport was sold for 10,000 Euros to a Chinese consortium. The Asian business group will use their new possession to provide entry for Chinese firms and goods.

"Ruin porn," such as the photographic images of the airport, have a certain cachet today. The shambles of Detroit, structures from the former Soviet Union, and buildings in Palermo (skillfully photographed by Letizia Battaglia), are among the settings that have attenuated interest in empires whose grandeur or oomph have passed. The obvious inference from this interest is an unconscious belief that the current world is undergoing an "evolution" for which Detroit, Moscow, or Sicily may be harbingers.

This reflective stance also suggests that the future feels both unknown and a little creepy. That's certainly the case at an abandoned airport whose presence serves as a visual signpost at the intersection of the past, present, and future.

Billboard report: US Users' Music Streaming Doubled From Prior Year

Theverge.com summarized a story originally appearing in billboard.com regarding music streaming in the United States. The gist is that the streaming music current is moving swiftly (no pun intended) stronger. According to theverge.com's story, the volume of streamed music has doubled over the prior year's activity. By any standard, that's a profound amount of interest in musical content. Little wonder, then, that Taylor Swift and other A-list music celebrities want substantial control over their sales and distribution.

Interestingly enough, music videos represented the largest user increase. This phenomenon dovetails with social media marketing's current mantra that videos and still images drive much more traffic than mere alphanumeric tweets, pins, or posts. I can't speak to the reliability of the Nielsen data quoted in theverge.com's article. However, anecdotally, I see plenty of people watching some video clip on their cell phones. God only knows what has them entertained or absorbed. In a YouTube universe, that consideration becomes the territory of analytics, data "scientists," and "innovators" sizing up the relationship between social engagement, content, and gross profit.

Music tends to be a Trojan horse for digital trends. Whether the power in the streaming relationship remains with the consumer is a thorny question. "Free" always sounds good, until you're the one giving your merchandise away, and your counterpart views gratis acquisition as an entitlement.

Obama's Third Gitmo Closure Envoy: Is Third Time the "Closing" Charm?

Among the sore points in US-Cuban political relations is Guantanamo Bay. The military base rankles Cubans; the terror prison rankles the world. In the 2008 presidential campaign, candidate Barack Obama asserted he would make every effort to close the Gitmo slammer. Seven years later show a distinct lack of progress toward that goal. The president has hired, and accepted resignations from, two emissaries called "Special Envoy for Guantanamo Closure." Their job was to negotiate prisoner release to the home countries of the incarcerated. Those discussions were filled with obstacles and a general sense the prisoners were not welcome to return.

Lee Wolosky
(Image: blfllp.com)

Obama's third envoy is a New York attorney named Lee Wolosky. According to a story in today's Miami Herald, the 46-year-old barrister brings more than Harvard Law smarts to a very rough game. He's worked with both GOP and Democratic administrations on sensitive national security matters. Wolosky currently represents clients suing the Bank of China for its alleged role as a conduit for terrorist funding. He's a partner in David Boies' law firm. In case you're keeping score at home, the publicity-welcoming Boies has repped the likes of former A.I.G. Maurice Greenberg, Al Gore's ill-fated legal action in the 2000 presidential election, and Apple. One can suppose from that background that Wolosky can manage "difficult" clients, intransigent counterparts, and complex cases.

Gitmo will certainly challenge Wolosky's skills. Meanwhile, let's see if Obama's third Gitmo envoy is the charm that brings this bizarre episode to a desperately needed ending.

Puerto Rico Near Financial "Death Spiral"

In February, 2014, I blogged about Puerto Rico's impending fiscal disaster and its impact on the US municipal bond market. The financial earthquake from a likely Puerto Rican bond default appeared to be substantial. What changed between then and now? Until recently, nada.

In the past few days, Puerto Rico's rulers have thrown in the towel. According to a story in today's Washington Post (and elsewhere), the Commonwealth is $72 billion in the hole. Meanwhile, the debt meter is running without hope of repayment. Puerto Rico's governor has characterized the island's financial situation as entering a "death spiral." Ugh. Considering the majority of domestic mutual bond funds hold Puerto Rican paper, this scenario is a problem that could jar millions of American retail investors as well as institutional players.

The nearly certain Puerto Rican default, coupled with the Greek financial crisis, makes it a tough holiday week for high finance's Masters of the Universe. Predictably, Puerto Rico's governor has asked creditors to "share the sacrifices" the island's residents will soon be asked to endure. There has been no evidence to request has met any sympathetic ears.

$72 billion is a lot of money, even by today's tawdry standards. However, a little perspective might be helpful. In 2003 alone, the Department of Defense officially spent $54 billion on the second Persian Gulf war alone. Including operations in Afghanistan, the DoD raised the ante in 2004 to $70 billion. Those conflicts remain ongoing.

So does the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's financial bleeding.

Sikh Immigrants Seek Stabilty, Success in Italy's Parmesan Region

Donald Trump
(Image: guardian.co.uk)

The zeitgeist against useful immigration policies reached its most absurd, bigoted level this month when Donald Trump denounced Mexican "rapists." His shameless fear mongering, part of Trump's clown act, provides red meat for right-wing Americans for whom xenophobia translates into a thoughtful foreign policy direction.

Alas, Trump is not alone in an increasingly global concern over immigration. Since the end of World War II, Western Europe has experienced social unease as its population began to include "guests" from Africa and Asia. Recently, that concern has spread, as a wave of Eastern Europeans and Balkan nationalities prefer the hardships of existence in Germany or Italy to the known desperation of life in their respective homelands. Of course, the tragic North African exodus to Mediterranean countries is a major Italian political and social issue. Italian crime fiction writers, such as Massimo Carlotto and Andrea Camilleri, frequently and effectively weave these immigration phenomena into their works. The consciousness and impact of immigration is a live wire issue, although most Americans think it is contained to the United States and to Donald Trump's racist nightmare scenarios.

Sikh working on northern Italian dairy farm
(Image: bbc.com)

With all the social, legal, and criminal issues swirling around these new arrivals to Europe, it was heartening to read a BBC feature on an immigration success story. The unlikely heroes are Sikhs who emigrated to northern Italy's agricultural heartland. They found that the flat, fertile area that's home to Parmesan cheese production was similar to their native Punjab. Given their own rural backgrounds, the Sikh immigrants were quite comfortable working with the Italian region's milk-producing cows. They also did not have to be fluent in Italian to work with the bovines. And the long hours of farm life did not bother the Sikhs at all.

The Sikh immigrants, according to the BBC story, have played a significant role in resuscitating a once-threatened Parmesan production culture. They live in harmony with their neighbors, their bilingual children are proudly Italian and Sikh, and the productive, wealth-generating livestock remain in skilled hands.

Americans have long believed, or at least paid lip service, to the virtues of a sensible immigration policy. For Western Europeans, this perspective is something of an acquired taste, as their societies were not built on immigration. (Italy is somewhat exceptional in this regard, because of the mass migration of unemployed southern Italians to the more prosperous north.) The massive flow of humanity around the globe is one of the 21st Century's immediate issues. How it is handled will be part of this decade's political narrative. Hopefully, the Sikh success story will be one path toward the resolution of population migration in our time.

Key Murdoch Minion Tapped for Top Newark Public Schools Job

Newark, New Jersey has a long history of "troubled" public schools. All the king's men and all the king's horses have not been able to put the Garden State's largest K-12 system together into something approaching satisfactory performance. It got to the point where the state took over the school system. Local voices were pushed away, while Newark's public education efforts attracted the attention of political opportunists and wealthy "we-know-what's-best-for-you" ideologues.

Cami Anderson
(Image: state.nj.us)

Ironically, bellicose GOP governor Chris Christie and liberal media darling Cory Booker found common ground regarding Newark's schools. During Booker's tenure as Newark's mayor, Christie installed Cami Anderson as Newark's superintendent of schools. This was done with Booker's blessing. Ms. Anderson was no stranger in the night in the movement to "reform" K-12 education. She had served in executive capacities with Teach for America, an organization which used marginally trained, well-intended college grads as instructors in some of the nation's most desperate urban schools. (The teachers work like dogs, last about a year or two, and then in the vast majority of cases find another career.) This 21st Century version of a children's crusade also provided administrators with leverage against teachers' unions. Later, Anderson worked in New York for Wireless Generation, which later became Amplify, a Rupert Murdoch-owned enterprise whose ostensible purpose is K-12 "reform" via data-driven imperatives (supplied and managed by Amplify). Murdoch's education biz, through former NYC Education Commissioner Joel Klein, established a lucrative beach head in Gotham. Among Klein's key associates was Chris Cerf.

Chris Cerf
(Image: nj.com)

Cerf supervised Anderson's work with the NYC Department of Education. He later crossed the Hudson and worked as Governor Christie's Acting Commissioner of Education. His key hire was...ta da...you guessed it, Cami Anderson, as Newark's K-12 boss.

In 2014, according to The Star-Ledger reporter Bob Braun, Amplify Education (one of Amplify's corporate entities) received three contracts totaling about $2.3 million contract from the Newark public school system. At the time, Cerf was in the midst of a transition between his role as the state's top education dog, and jumping onto Amplify's payroll.

Recently, Ms. Anderson decided to call it quits in Newark, about eight months before her contract would have expired. A new mayor, a pissed off community whose wishes were consistently ignored by Booker and Christie, and a governor who would be king were three strong reasons for her departure. The new superintendent? Chris Cerf. He'll get a three-year deal to run the system his way. Cerf, to no one's surprise, advocates more charter schools, defanging the teacher's union, installing data-driven "solutions," and lots and lots of electronically-based testing. He'll also feel at home with "concerned" billionaires who have their own education "solutions." As it happens, Newark is an ideal petri dish for these social experiments.

Chris Christie, Oprah Winfrey, Corey Booker, Mark Zuckerberg
at the announcement of the Facebook boss' $100 million stock "donation"
to improve Newark's public schools.

We'll see if Cerf engages the parents of Newark children, something Anderson did not manage to accomplish to anyone's satisfaction. It will also be interesting to follow the money. Power brokers, notably Booker and Christie, have stonewalled any attempt at transparency regarding the Newark school system's finances and program decisions. Will Cerf be different? His political and corporate connections suggest that will not be the case.

YouTube Launches Newswire Team to Curate Eyewitness Footage of News

Google's YouTube has, for better or worse, become a significant, primary news source. The ability of a person-in-the-street to provide in-the-moment video and post it on YouTube has changed information dissemination. For TV networks, the emergence of YouTube and its Newswire project would suggest a greater migration of eyeballs to the online world.

The fly in this ointment is its rawness. How could one trust the veracity of an amateur video? It's not as if an outsider video provider had any institutional connection that would bring ballast to the "must-see" moment. Well, to solve that issue, the folks at YouTube have announced the formation of "YouTube Newswire." This team's role will be the curation of the day's hot news videos. According to a story in theverge.com, the Google group will partner with Storyful, a social news outfit whose primary mission will be to vett the video content.

As Google itself pointed out, over five million hours of video are watched on YouTube every day. Not all of them are cute doggies, charming babies, and celebrity baloney. There's hard news. However, as Google knows, trust is a big world in the social media universe. The YouTube Newswire alliance with Storyful seems a small price to pay to maintain that trust.

US Airlines Play the Slots at NYC Area Airports

Newark Liberty Airport
(Image: panynj.org)

Remember a time when airlines competed against one another? Those days are increasingly becoming a chapter in commercial aviation history. The major US carriers -- United, American, Delta, Southwest -- are apparently pursuing a business strategy predicated on local dominance rather than robust competition. A case in point is Newark Liberty Airport, the closest New York area airport to my residence. United currently commands about seventy percent of the facility's arrivals and departures. That fact gives the airline considerable leverage in its consumer pricing. In contrast, United's LaGuardia-based service is typically cheaper than its Newark-based flights to the same destination. A lot cheaper, as I discovered (and used to my advantage) during my frequent flyer days.

Access and passenger-unfriendly pricing is hardly limited to New York. Hubs such as Atlanta foster de facto monopoly service and high rates. How can this business situation exist? Airport access is entirely controlled by the number of slots an airline can obtain. This tends to be a fixed number. According to a recent Bloomberg article, these slots are the currency between airlines that aim to obtain quasi-exclusive control of lucrative local markets. The recent Newark-JFK slot swap engineered by United and Delta is a case in point. Why the FAA permits these anti-competitive situations to fester is an interesting question.

Image: en.wikipedia.org

One suspects the United States is marching toward acceptance of the notion of controlled aviation markets, high prices, and effectively no competition. These three qualities precisely characterized the friendly skies prior to industry deregulation. One big difference between flight during the Mad Men epoch and today's House of Cards era is service. At least in a deregulated world, you didn't have to pay for a pillow, a blanket, or a meal. Then again, a traveler couldn't gamble on an airplane. Contemporary passengers can simply go online and play the slots.

Good luck beating the house, whether it's Las Vegas action or slot-fixed airline fares.

Goldman and AIG: A Tale of Two Tales

Hank Greenberg

The New York Times, in a display of wicked irony, today published in its online edition two stories connected at more than the hip. The articles, placed adjacent to one another on the paper's splash page. concerned Goldman Sachs and A.I.G. At one point during the day, a third feature, focusing on former A.I.G.'s chairman Hank Greenberg's nemesis, Eliot Spitzer, joined the twosome. Well, someone at the Times certainly had a sense of humor.

In 2008, A.I.G. and its house of subprime loans collapsed. The Federal Reserve essentially seized the firm. Bernanke's minions arranged for Goldman Sachs and a select few other Wall Street institutions to receive one hundred percent on the dollar for its A.I.G. debt. Let's just say that action is highly unusual in a de facto bankruptcy process. Hank Greenberg, who knows the inside game perhaps better than anyone, was "upset."

The former Army Ranger took his umbrage to court, suing the government for what Greenberg perceived as unfair treatment of his former firm. The case was considered a long shot. However, a federal judge today ruled in favor of Greenberg's suit.

Andrew Ross Sorkin
(Image: marketwatch.com)

The Times' lead financial dog, Andrew Ross Sorkin, expressed something close to disbelief in the judicial decision. He also got others to assert on the record that the judgment would create chaos the next time too-big-to-fail....um....fails. In fairness, Sorkin has a subtle understanding of the complex events of the 2008 crash. However, Greenberg happened to be right about the looting of A.I.G. for Goldman Sachs' (and other institutions') benefit.

One wonders what Greenberg thought when he saw today's Times story about Goldman. The Wall Street firm intends to get into the online, retail loan business. Yes, small-time loans would be a new profit center for the Masters of the Universe. In the event of default, guess who gets one-hundred percent on the dollar. Again.

Whisky: My Single Malt vs. Blended Journey

On a humid June Sunday evening, in a sober state of mind, I decided to read a BBC travel piece about Scotch. The article didn't drive me to drink, but it did remind me of my adult journey into the misty world of whisky -- not whiskey -- appreciation. Apparently, the Scots call their famous adult beverage "whisky." That's not how I was raised. My dad, who wasn't much of a brown spirits man, called the strong stuff "Scotch." He also claimed it was a Wall Street favorite, with the implication that the drink found its natural audience among hard-headed bankers. It wasn't the people's choice among my crowd, which had just obtained the right to vote. If my friends and acquaintances had held an election for the leading juice, they would have stuffed the ballot box for vodka.

View of Lagavulin
(Image: islay.org.uk)

Well, times and tastes change. A couple of presidential elections later, my Scotch appreciation ratio substantially changed through the influence of a teacher where I worked. She had lived a rather worldly life in Scotland and developed a perspective on whisky's hierarchy of quality. During one of her trips to the UK, I asked her to bring me back a bottle of "something good." I had a brand in mind, but she suggested Lagavulin. I went along with the recommendation of the voice of experience.

Peat mound
(Image: islay.org.uk)

Some weeks later, she presented me with a bottle of smoky bliss. She also insisted I consume the whisky "neat," which I did. The beverage, prepared over peat fires, communicated the character of Islay, the island of the drink's manufacture. I've made it a point to have some Lagavulin on occasion. Many years ago, my wife purchased on sale some Baccarat highball glasses for me. They work nicely with Islay's gift to whisky.

Until two years ago, I entirely focused on consuming single malt Scotch. However, I've made one concession to financial common sense, in that I order a blended whisky as a dinner cocktail. A dear friend talked me into it. She found the blends easier to drink and that's what mattered to her. I conceded the point. It also helped me economize on my whisky purchases, as blends are much cheaper than single malts.

I suppose the world of Scotch whisky drinkers will always be divided between those who prefer blends or those who demand their favorite single malts. (The nearly religious differences over individual single malts is a discussion in itself.) My theory is a simple one: I enjoy both styles and drink both types. And I've yet to have a conversation with a Wall Street banker over a glass of whisky, but I suspect that day will come.

Yahoo To Fold Its Maps Page

Yahoo billboard in San Francisco,
removed in 2011.

In a telling sign of the times, Yahoo will shut its maps page at the end of June 2015. The news, initially released via a Yahoo blog post, was reported by AP and reposted in siliconvalley.com.

Yahoo's strategic rationale is its focus on generating advertising revenue. One can suppose that Yahoo Maps just didn't have enough ROI to justify continuing the service. The unspoken reason is that Google Maps profoundly benefits from the Mountain View company's search dominance. Yahoo and former Google exec Marissa Mayer knows that unpleasant rationale as well as any Yahooligan.

Marissa Mayer
(Image: wikipedia.com)

She has made a public show of moving Yahoo into "more profitable" areas, with the recent NFL deal providing Exhibit A. That's fine, but Yahoo's larger problem, which Mayer has not solved, is its inability to dominate any business category. Google owns search and video (thank you, YouTube); Amazon commands e-commerce; Facebook has corralled the friends and family networks; Apple has a private and highly lucrative mobile-savvy customer base.

Yahoo has its merits, starting with its excellent Finance site that manages to be useful for the retail investor as well as some pros. However, one gets the sense that Yahoo is increasingly bringing up the rear, with little innovation, not much pizzaz, and declining interest. I admit to some sentimentality regarding Yahoo. I've used the service for years and can recall its golden years. Those times, of course, are long gone, but the brand still resonates for me. Its allure, though, is diminishing. That's bad news for any brand, but especially one for which "ahead of the curve" is both the essence of its value proposition and its survival mantra.

Hillary Backs Age 18 Universal Voter Registration

Hillary Clinton
with former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
observing the North Korean border

During a speech today, Hillary Clinton advocated for nationwide universal voter registration for all citizens who reach age 18. The comments, as reported in the Los Angeles Times, had two purposes. One of them was to increase the number of eligible voters, a seemingly laudable goal. Hillary's other goal was to criticize Republican presidential candidates whose actions have effectively trimmed voter rosters in their respective states. The GOP plan is predicated on uncomplicated electoral math in which racial minorities and young voters are systematically blocked from their voting franchise. Often, the right-wing uses the absurd them of "voter fraud" to achieve its cynical purpose.

The GOP should be -- but isn't -- ashamed of itself for perpetrating this offense. If the Republican programs were so popular, the party of the elephants would not have to resort to discouraging or suppressing voters from expressing their opinion. Once upon a time, the GOP could count on white male voters to carry national elections. (This was a premise of the 2012 Romney campaign.) Well, we know how that one worked out, although the Democratic Party had to fight Republican voter suppression efforts in states such as Pennsylvania.

The notion of universal voter registration makes sense. The "state's rights" crowd is almost certain to fight any such proposal. They want to take "their" country back. So do 18-year-old voters.

Actor Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Treme) To Pen NOLA Book

Wendell Pierce (middle)
in a scene from Treme
(Image: hbo.com)

Wendell Pierce first caught my attention during his years playing worldly, cynical Baltimore police detective in The Wire. The 48-year-old actor later appeared as a musician in Treme, an HBO series about post-Katrina NOLA. Pierce's ambitions range beyond the small screen or even the second screen. His newest venture is authorship of a book about his hometown, Hurricane Katrina's physical and psychological impact on the Crescent City, and his own family's storm-driven odyssey.

According to Dianna Dilworth's piece in Galley Cat, Pierce's book's title is Hurricane Katrina in the Wind in the Reeds (sic): A Storm, A Play, and the City That Would Not Be Broken. Meanwhile, Pierce will star in a New Orleans stage production of Brothers From the Bottom, a play concerning post-Katrina issues that continue to roil the cradle of American jazz.

Report: Costco Now Biggest Organic Grocer, Not Whole Foods

If you were taking odds on which grocer sold the most organic goods, Whole Foods would seem like the smart money bet. You would also lose your money. According to financial analysts cited in a Seattle Times article, Costco's organic sales are outpacing "Whole Paycheck's." The story behind the news shows up deep in the article: "The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that demand for organic foodstuffs is growing at double-digit rates."

Fed Reserve Report: Some States' Policies Accelerating Personal Income Divide

Domestic concern over America's widening personal income gap has gotten the Federal Reserve Bank's attention. A recent Fed research report, according to a Washington Post story, details states whose tax policies effectively increase the wealth gap between the have-a-lots, the have-somethings, and the have-nots. Regressive tax regimes typically form the heart of levies that hammer the poor and working classes. The dwindling middle class is now discovering the potency of regressive tax schemes (i.e., everyone pays equally, such as gasoline taxes).

The right-wing won't have an easy reply for these findings. GOP presidential candidates, for example, can't smear the Federal Reserve as a tool of class warfare and retain a shred of their credibility. As the draconian GOP regime Kansas has demonstrated, the Republican mantra of "tax cuts" leaves the civic body fiscally bankrupt and its citizens morally shamed. What the Republican Party doesn't really want to talk about is its implicit embrace of a two-class society, although Mitt Romney came close to articulating this position during his 2012 presidential campaign. The common sense reality is that those on the bottom will pay for the luxuries enjoyed by the top, through regressive taxes and give-to-the-rich tax cuts. That scenario sounds more akin to a banana republic than a confident democracy.

Richard Prince's $100K Instagram Art Work

Richard Prince
(Image: Patrick McMullen,
posted in observer.com)

I don't know if the artist Richard Prince's friends call him "Rich." Many others do, but more as a Homeric epithet than an informal greeting. The non-royal Prince has made a staggering amount of money (by art world standards) through appropriating the work of others. He has claimed, and successfully defended in court, that he brings extra value to each "borrowed" work through adding some nuance to it. These additions often border on the insultingly trivial.

Recently, Prince has shifted his aim from the work of established photographers to amateurs posting images on Instagram. Similar to a chef topping cooked fish with a parsley sprig, Prince joins a selected Instagram photo with a comment. And, voila, an "original" work of art is born. (For more juicy details on this episode, including Instagram's public statement on the issue, by all means read a related Business Insider story by Madison Malone Kircher.)

Meanwhile, as reporter Lizzie Plaugic's well-written article in theverge.com noted, Prince's Insta-art sells for $100,000 per piece. The powerful Gagosian Gallery provides Prince's work the marketing and sales muscle and hot client list required to move such high-priced merchandise.

At the heart of the issue is the legal notion of "fair use." Plaugic's piece explores this point without jumping into fair use's deep water. It appears Prince has cynically exploited the intent of the law for selfish commercial gain. He seems indifferent to fairness, never mind "fair use." Between his own financial resources and Gagosian's clout, Prince can simply continue his reverse Robin Hood style of artistic creation. How fair is that?

US Army Reports "Accidental" Live Anthrax Shipments

In 2001, the United States confronted a threat that hypothetically was far greater than terrorists using commercial aircraft as mass murder instruments. Shortly after 9/11, deadly anthrax found its way into postal facilities and a media outlet. Washington's bone stupid reaction to the menace did not diminish its potential for disaster.

Biological weapons have been in the American military arsenal since World War II. They remain on the military's roster of deadly force, with the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and laboratories scattered throughout the United States, functioning as repositories and testing facilities for germ warfare. Recently, the Pentagon revealed that live anthrax was "accidentally" shipped from Dugway to labs in a number of states. Live anthrax was also sent to South Korea and Australia. Oops.

According to an Associated Press story printed in The Washington Post, the Defense Department is reviewing its procedures for handling the deadly material. While they're at it, the Pentagon could simply say basta to maintaining and "improving" its biological arsenal.

Well, we all can dream.

Three NYC Real Estate Stories: Laugh or Cry?

Sometimes, I think The New York Times craves real estate stories of a certain kind. After all, Gotham's biggest business is real estate. Recently, the alleged newspaper of record published three stories whose common denominator featured multi-million dollar properties.

The articles included the following items:

• The week's top residential unit sale was over forty-seven million dollars.
• Artist Jennifer Bartlett has put her Brooklyn home on the market for $8.5 million. She'll move to her "second home" in Amagansett. Hey, who said artists don't make a living? (By the way, a shout out to someone's publicist, as the story practically read like press release.)
• The venerable Four Seasons restaurant is essentially being kicked out of its Seagram Building site next year. Why? The landlord wants three million per year rent, plus a share of the restaurant's revenues.

Pool Room/Four Seasons Restaurant
(Image: fourseasonsrestaurant.com)

The Four Seasons piece, while alluding to its clubby atmosphere, notably left out some players' names. Also, it was interesting that not one financial titan was mentioned in the article. No hedge funds, no private equity, no big, bad bankers. Nada. There was nary a hint of the zillionaires who have turned Manhattan into a sort of Monaco-lite. They remain secretive buyers of real estate: we only know what price was right.

Happy Rockefeller -- RIP

Happy Rockefeller
(Image: wikipedia.com)

Happy Rockefeller, whose marriage to Nelson Rockefeller became a Sixties cause celebre, passed away earlier this week at age 88. The New York Times' sympathetic obituary of the second Mrs. Rockefeller noted that she maintained an active, dignified life in New York's philanthropic circuits.

When then-Margareta Fitler Murphy (a/k/a "Happy") and Rocky dumped their respective spouses and became Mr. and Mrs. Rockefeller, the nation (especially Republican voters) was scandalized. Divorce just wasn't done among respectable people and certainly not among people of quality. In a wholly unplanned and unwanted way, Happy Rockefeller led the way for women's emancipation. She quite ably worked political campaigns with her husband. She endured the philistine criticism of her martial choices. She maintained an active public life after Rocky dropped dead, allegedly in the arms of a paramour.

Shirley Chisholm
(Image: wikipedia.com)

Today, American women aspire to the highest political offices. Hillary Clinton found out the hard way in 2008 just how much misogyny exists in the American electorate (and that's among "progressive" Democrats!). Other women, such as Carly Fiorina, Sarah Palin, and Michelle Bachmann, have openly expressed their presidential ambitions. In the mid-1960s, none of these women (nor Mrs. Clinton) would have had a puncher's chance of being taken seriously as potential Commanders-in-Chief. (Ironically, African-American congresswoman Shirley Chisholm did run for the presidency in 1972, and did win votes.)

Happy Rockefeller's experience as a "political" wife seems like an afterthought in the annals of women's political advancement. Her marriage to the "Chase Manhattan Bank made flesh," as Gore Vidal once characterized Governor Rockefeller, entwined with Rocky's lust for the presidency, became a particularly dreadful form of American moral theatre. Smart minds like to assert the nation has "moved on" from those dim days. However, will America permit its presidential candidates. such as Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, the right to moral privacy?

B.B. King -- RIP

B.B. King passed away, having managed to fully live a full eight decades and a portion of a ninth. The blues legend lived large, sang larger, and played guitar with a unique style. When you heard a B.B. King song, you knew it was his song. His music spoke to human truth and a reality as far away from algorithmic "solutions" as one could imagine.

I never saw King perform in person. However, when I listened to his music, especially his early recordings, I felt his presence. Rest in peace, B.B. and thank you.

Niche Bookstores 'Surviving and Thriving' in NYC

I arranged the media outreach for this event. It took place May 12th, under the auspices of the Book Industry Guild of NY. I'm the organization's media contact.



The moderator and panelists were quite good, and the Shelf Awareness story does a good job reporting the event.



Niche Bookstores 'Surviving and Thriving' in NYC

NY Times Reports That US Honeybee Decline Is Accelerating

Bee Goddess and priest/priestess dressed as bees
from ancient Sumeria

If you lost nearly half of anything, you would be concerned. When the item in question in the nation's honeybee population, the concern becomes elevated. Bees are essential to pollination. Their decline has caught the attention of the scientific and agricultural communities, which have now taken some steps to measure the number of bees buzzing around the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

According to a report in today's New York Times, a survey of American beekeepers showed a loss of 42 percent of their honeybees in the past twelve months. That loss is roughly eight percentage points higher than in the prior two years.

There are a number of suspected culprits impacting the dwindling bee population. Neonicotinoids, used in pesticides, are prime candidates. Western Europe has notably been vary wary about neonicotinoid use and has banned use of certain of them. A mite has also been cited as a factor in the vanishing bee caper. Of course, the loss of wildflowers in the environment is a disaster for bees, as well as other members of the animal kingdom.

We have bees that frequent our flowers during the warmer months. They're heartening to see and hear. I don't mind that their presence can occasionally be inconvenient. Bees are doing God's work, so to speak. Let the bees be.

Uber Drives Away from Kansas

Uber continues to suffer from uneven publicity. For all the fuss Wall Street has lavished on the app-driven car service, a surprising number of domestic municipalities have frowned over Uber's tactics and apparent distaste for regulations determined by democratically elected bodies.

The latest black eye comes from, of all places, Kansas. The home of extreme right-wing politics sent Uber a clear message that the state, not Uber, would determine driver suitability and insurance requirements. According to a story in siliconvalley.com, both houses of Kansas' legislature overcame Governor Sam Brownback's veto regarding laws pertaining to Uber's services.

Uber's response was to pout and stomp out of the state. Ironically, Uber, whose CEO embraces the free-market mantle, has experienced its share of defeats in profoundly conservative areas, such as Boise, Idaho. Perhaps "free" has its limits.

Who's Afraid of Carly Fiorina?

Carly Fiorina
(Image: mcclatchydc.com)

Today's domestic news items included Carly Fiorina's announcement that she will run for the Republican presidential nomination. She had to share a crowded media flow. Ben Carson also declared his run for the GOP roses. Elbowing Ms. Fiorina's public pronouncement aside was the story about a possible terrorist incident in Texas, a New York City cop passing away after a perp shot him in the head, President Obama talking about race relations, overflow coverage of Kate Middleton's baby, and a media orgasm over the Metropolitan Museum's annual costume ball (run with an iron fist by Vogue editor Anna Wintour).

Poor Carly. Outside of her family and friends, who on earth wants her in the White House? Her resume, which she has the chutzpah to tout, includes ruining Hewlett Packard, a firm that was once the gold standard for tech company class. She ran for a US senate seat in California and got knocked out by Barbara Boxer. Fiorina has no identifiable base, little financial muscle, no pertinent or useful policy ideas. Meanwhile, the comic part of today's event was Fiorina's neglect to secure the carlyfiorina domain name. It didn't take long for someone to snatch it and play a prank on the woman who would be queen.

The Fiorina candidacy is a reminder just how powerful, and intoxicating, ego can be. It's also a wake up call to the nation to consider worthy candidates for the presidency. Let the political entertainers have a ball at the Met's costume ball.

NASA Mission to Mercury Nearing Its End

Surface of planet Mercury
(Image: Science/AAAS)
For more images and thumbmail background information,
visit: http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/news_room/multi04.html

One of America's great gifts to the world is its space exploration program. Among its accomplishments was the Messenger spacecraft, the first vessel to orbit the planet Mercury. Messenger has transmitted invaluable data about the first planet from the Sun. The information, according to a recent Scientific American article, has reshaped concepts about Mercury. These developments are exciting, and one would understand why NASA would have an urge to take a victory lap in recognition of a job well done.

The greater triumph, though, is the scientists' dedication to answering questions about the solar system that have been around since the time of the Pharaohs. Nailing down "truth" is a complicated activity in any field; the Messenger mission is a reminder that these endeavors are more than worth it.

Barely Surviving Frederick's of Hollywood Goes Full Monty with Online Sales

Frederick's of Hollywood
(Image: usatoday.com)

Once upon a time, Frederick's of Hollywood defined campy lingerie taste. The brand usually had its tongue firmly in its cheek, with its suggestive outfits and hilarious poses. Alas, Victoria's Secret, with its supermodels dressed in nothing much, seized the boudoir couture market niche. VS's surge, not so coincidentally, paralleled the popularity of contemporary cheesecake magazines as well as the desire of horny hedge fund managers to chase trophy blondes.

Honest, but downmarket Frederick's finally threw in the towel. All of its 94 stores have been shuttered, according to a recent story in the Los Angeles Times. The once-proud brand may now be found on the web, along with a cast of millions of URL-based enterprises. It's a depressing development. Frederick's once served as a refreshing antidote to inoffensive mall merchandisers and pointless prudery. That's now been banished to the Internet and the doubtful "benefits" of data-driven sales.

Apple's Woz, Stan Lee Join Forces to Bring Comic Con to Silicon Valley

Image: venturebeat.com

The most recent California earthquake was not caused by nature, but by human activity. That's the impact the alliance of Apple eminence grise Steve Wozniak and cartoon tycoon Stan Lee recently created. According to a report in siliconvalley.com, the duo will work together to bring Comic Con 2016 to the California Republic. Called Silicon Valley Comic Con 2016, the event will be held in San Jose, the heart of tech's gold rush country.

The linkage of high tech and the world of comics has big-time potential. The comic community moves by its own rules, as does tech. The consumer market for comics, with its universal appeal, relatively low production costs, and unrivaled print/electronic crossover appeal, is built for continued growth. Placing the comic fan base in the heart of Silicon Valley is a dream for marketers, developers, and fans.

The event, the first of its kind in Silicon Valley, promises to be an enormous hit, with impact well beyond the rumbles participants may feel just a few miles from the San Andreas Fault.

Napa Vintner Joseph Phelps -- RIP

Image: josephphelps.com

Joseph Phelps, who passed away recently at age 87, did not grow up in the wine trade. La famille Phelps made its fortune in Colorado's construction business. According to The Wine Spectator's obit of Phelps, the nascent wine wizard opened an office for his clan's construction biz in San Francisco. His attention quickly moved beyond the Golden Gate to Napa Valley and Sonoma County. Phelps quickly became a force, best known for producing fine Cabernet Sauvignons such as Insignia. His longest lasting contribution was bringing Rhone varieties to northern California's vineyards.

These days, it's easy to forget that West Coast vineyards were once better known for jug brands than boutique production. Phelps helped change that outlook for the better, and stimulated the popular belief that wines from Napa and Sonoma could hold their own against Old World stars. Phelps deserves a toast from anyone who likes wine for his belief in quality and a determination to see it realized.

Apple Bans Selfie Sticks at Worldwide Developers Conference

Today show "talent" taking a selfie.

Selfie sticks, once perceived as a useful photographic gimmick, have become a scourge at events and tourist sites. Even Apple has become exasperated with the thinly disguised car antennae. According to a Business Insider story reposted in sfgate.com, the trendy tech firm has banned selfie sticks at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference. I'm expecting addict-style selfie withdrawals on an unprecedented scale at the San Francisco event.

The Second President Clinton

Hillary Clinton's announcement of her candidacy for the 2016 Democratic Party presidential nomination came out via Twitter on a sunny April Sunday. The former Secretary of State and former First Lady learned the hard way about social media. This time, she let tweets do the work of spreading the news that surprised absolutely no one.

Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea Clinton
(Image: guardian.com)

While most of the Democratic Party is offering a nolo contendere to the formidable Clinton political apparatus, the Republican Party will not be so accommodating. The GOP will certainly want to make la famille Clinton a key issue in the upcoming campaign. To that end, Chelsea Clinton will become fair game, especially as she plays a central role in Mom's political march and in the Clinton Foundation. Expect the Republicans to drag media darling Chelsea into the mud.

Ditto for the Clinton Foundation. Mrs. C. will have some explaining to do regarding selected foundation initiatives, with medical programs focusing on sexual behavior at the top of the list. It's red meat for evangelical Christians, who form a significant portion of the GOP's primary voters.

Of course, there's Benghazi, which Fox News and other right-wing propagandists insist has dark, even criminal overtones. Where Hillary will have a significant problem is the Affordable Care Act. Her position on Obamacare will be telling, and the Republicans could make hay linking Hillary to this controversial program.

Ironically, the person who can least help the Clintons return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is its current occupant, Barack Obama. The president is caught in a net consisting of a health care conundrum, a middle-class freakout over Common Core, a mutiny over Iran, so-so economic progress for the majority of Americans, and a hostile Congress. The so-called "post-racial" society that liberals so triumphantly proclaimed after Obama's 2008 election has turned quite sour. Count on the GOP to tie Hillary and The One together.

Mrs. Clinton has never forgotten how men couldn't quite bring themselves to vote for a woman to be Commander-in-Chief. Compounding that obstacle will be her age: she will be nearly as old as Ronald Reagan was when he ran against Jimmy Carter in 1980. Finally, the First Gentleman lurks in the background. He's an X factor.

Tokyo Neighborhood Declares Godzilla Its "Tourism Ambassador"

Godzilla
(Image: nytimes.com)

Cities of varying scale have typically found spokespeople to promote the virtues of the ambitious metropolis. There's nothing new in this approach. However, the central Tokyo neighborhood of Shinjuku has taken the concept to another level. According to a story in theverge.com, Shinjuku's mayor recently declared the one and only Godzilla as the high-profile district's "tourism ambassador." I'm not certain how the fiery beast will greet both Japanese and gaijin tourists, but the fictitious beast makes a helluva companion for a selfie. However, I do advise Godzilla-fearing visitors to press "send" quickly, as the creature has a reputation for being a bit hot tempered.

Nixon's Western White House For Sale

La Casa Pacifica
(Image: wsj.com)

In case you need real estate's version of a safe deposit box for your cash, consider putting in a bid for Richard Nixon's former residence in San Clemente, California. Known as the "Western White House," the home and surrounding acreage sit on some of the Golden State's most desirable beachfront property. (Ironically, there is more than one "Western White House," including George W. Bush's ranch in Texas.)

According to a story in today's Orange County Register, the asking price for Tricky Dick's Pacific hideaway is $75 million. Even by New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, London, or Monte Carlo standards, that's a lot of money. The article did not state whether there would be an open house for prospective buyers, complete with annoying real estate brokers asking if their visitors have "representation."

Not even former president Bill Clinton can afford Nixon's "La Casa Pacifica." That's too bad, as the San Clemente compound would seem like a comfortable refuge for Chief Executives who've experienced a brush with impeachment.

Bison To Return to Illinois Prairie

Midewin Natural Tallgrass Prairie
(Image: Arthur Pearson, posted in humansandnature.org)

For the past few years, I've visited clients based in south-central Illinois. The land in that area is mainly dedicated to growing corn and soybeans. It wasn't always that way. Prior to European settlement, Illinois' natural habitat was mostly prairie grass. Some acreage near Chicago has been returned to its former state, and I always enjoy seeing it as I drive toward my rural destination. The only things missing are the bison, which thrive on certain prairie grasses, and the Native American inhabitants.

Admirably, the Land of Lincoln is increasing bison herds in its prairie lands. A piece in today's Chicago Tribune notes the experimental introduction of a small herd of bison to grasslands that once housed ammunition bunkers. The site--the Midewin Natural Tallgrass Prairie--sits about a two hour drive from Chicago's Loop.

Ever since hunters nearly slaughtered bison to extinction, the United States has struggled with ways to preserve these creatures. The fitful effort has managed to prevent the loss of the species. Now Americans can begin to view bison in something resembling their ancestral world, and develop a renewed appreciation of its grandeur and beauty. Surely that's worth a couple of hours drive from the city that once housed the nation's largest stockyards.

FDA Clears Genetically Modified Apple and Potato

Image: globalchange.umich.edu

According to a report in today's New York Times, the Food and Drug Administration has declared a genetically modified apple and a tinkered potato as "safe and nutritious" as their natural counterparts.

The F.D.A.'s review was not driven by regulation or statute. The Times story, however, noted that anti-GMO groups have chided the Feds' approach as far too reliant on the data the corporate firms provide.

In the apple and potato cases, the F.D.A. suggested voluntary labeling which, alas, did not require identification of the items as genetically modified. Well, it does not appear the creators of the GMO apple and spud intend to broadcast their "accomplishment." The Times noted the potato company's spokesperson said his firm "would sell seed to growers, so it would not be responsible for how the potatoes or products containing those potatoes (my italics) would be labeled."

Report: One In Ten Euro Bees Faces Extinction

Bee Pendant from Ancient Crete

With the spring equinox nearly upon us, thoughts easily turn to flowers and their natural partners, the bee. While alert Americans understand the survival crisis bees face in the US, what's less well known is the extent of the collapse of bee colonies in Europe.

Today's online version of the BBC reported that some experts believe one in ten native European bees face extinction. This grim finding, from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), suggests a brewing ecological crisis may severely impact the Old World's plant, animal, and human life. The BBC story, similar to American reporting, puts agricultural and economic losses front and center. Those are undeniably significant issues. However, a far greater disaster looms with the disappearance of these vital species. Bees have appeared over the centuries as mythological characters, valued food producers, and vital pollinators. Their impact on human psychology and spirit is far more significant than the creation of a parade of algorithms-of-the-week. The extinction of bee species subtracts something wonderful from our souls, a spirit that once lost cannot be replaced.

What can be done to reverse the decline in bee colonies? While no reputable source has a comprehensive, satisfying answer, it's fair to say that reduced pesticide use would be a good start.

Silicon Valley's "All-Male" Boards of Directors Remain High Tech's Black Eye

Airbnb founders Nathan Blecharczyk (left)
CEO Brian Chesky (center) and Joe Gebbie (right).
(Image: skift.com and nbcnews.com)

The Ellen Pao gender discrimination lawsuit against Silicon Valley VC heavyweight Kleiner Perkins suggested the "boys club" remains alive and very well in High Tech's leading firms. The issue of frat house mores and overt sexism just won't go away in "America's best hope for its future." Interestingly, Fortune recently named names in the all-male-all-the-time world of Silicon Valley's corporate boards. Reporter Michelle Quinn noted the story in her siliconvalley.com column today.

The firms are a subset of privately held enterprises called "unicorns." These creatures are not only elusive, but individually command a market value over one billion dollars. Among the unicorns with all-male boards are Uber, Airbnb, and ironically, Pinterest. Why should one feel surprised by these findings? Frankly, many Silicon Valley firms act with a deep sense of entitlement. These so-called disruptors feel rules are for others to follow, and for themselves to selectively consider. One wonders how this group would manage in a world of female "unicorns." Think Ellen Pao might offer an answer?