Essays by Larry Barnett
Let me begin by saying I like food; I make it everyday in my own kitchen. Food can undoubtedly be one of life’s finest distractions, though as I’ve been explaining to my three-year-old granddaughter Isabelle, no matter how cool food is, tomorrow it’s all poo-poo. But America is totally obsessed with … Read the rest
Experts like to make economics sound complicated; after all, who needs experts for something simple? Macro, micro, Keynesian, free-market, leading indicators, blah, blah, blah…start talking about this stuff and eyes glaze over, minds drift and before too long another scoundrel has ripped… Read the rest
My wife and I recently returned from a long-delayed week’s vacation south of the border staying at what was the first “health and fitness” retreat, Rancho La Puerta, founded in 1940. The founders of the ranch were a Transylvanian professor named Edward Szekely and his young wife Deborah who believed… Read the rest
There was a time when paying bills was a private affair, as were auto loans or credit card charges. An invoice was received, a check or money order was sent as payment; sometimes one would visit a local business and pay an invoice in cash. These transactions were based on trust, and reinforced the mutual… Read the rest
Human beings have been managing many things for a long time; we manage piling rocks into a wall, corralling livestock, selling stocks and bonds and so forth. The “management of things” means things are used and applied to situations by human effort so that a reasonably predictable outcome is the result.… Read the rest
I’m reading a 1996 book entitled “Demonic Males” which endeavors to explore the roots of male violence by examining the history and habits of our closest animal relative, the chimpanzee. Genome comparisons show we share 99 percent of our genes with chimpanzees, but genes tell only part of the story.… Read the rest
Everyone hates taxes, or so it’s said, yet of the certain both death and taxes are included. The anti-tax crusaders bellow “no new taxes!” while the pro-tax crusaders sound apologetic. At best the pro-tax forces muster arguments about “fairness,” but this is not a terribly convincing message in a country… Read the rest
I’ve been back in New York City for a while visiting my mother. She’s nearing 89-years-old, slowing down and not quite up to whipping up a big dinner like she used to, so we’ve been going out to eat quite a bit. Having run the gamut of neighborhood joints during the week, coming up with someplace exciting … Read the rest
Physicists generally agree the matter we can see and detect makes up only a small percentage of the total matter in the universe, something less than 17%. The remaining matter has been named “dark matter” because it cannot and has not been positively detected; its gravitational effects, however, have… Read the rest
America’s extended political primary process has been dubbed the “silly season,” but given the pronouncements of this year’s Republican candidates, “stupid season” is a more appropriate moniker. The various GOP candidates talk trash about everything from the TARP bailout to the recent budget … Read the rest
Ringing, actually. Like millions of others, I suffer from tinnitus, in my case a continuous squeal of high-pitched hissing, sounding much like the steam valve in a turn-of-the-century radiator I lived with in my first one-room apartment in New York.
Tinnitus affects millions of people, usually appearing… Read the rest
Lucky for us the framers of the U.S. Constitution put happiness right near the top of the list, just under life and liberty. Had that not been the case, most of us would be in dead-end jobs we hate, buried in debt, beholden to others, taking anti-depressants and complaining most of the time. OK, I’m being… Read the rest
It’s said that necessity is the mother of invention but what is the mother of necessity? Just as generosity is mother of all blessings, so the mother of all necessity is suffering.
To live is to suffer. Is there anyone you know who does not suffer? Everyone you see has suffered, is suffering or will one day… Read the rest
Nearly two years ago I wrote in this paper that popular fantasies about an increase in consumer spending turning around the economy were a joke. At that time the worst of the housing and credit crisis was becoming manifest, and foreclosures were beginning to soar. The bailout funds had made their way … Read the rest
Roundup (Glyphosate) is a particularly effective herbicide that is widely used in agriculture to control weeds growing among food crops. Monsanto, the developer of Roundup, wedded Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) with Roundup to create a completely integrated system of crops that are genetically… Read the rest
It’s said humor is tragedy revisited, like slipping on a banana peel or getting your foot stuck in metal bucket. It’s not very funny while it happens, but gets funnier when retold or remembered. I keep trying to find the humor in everyday tragedy, something I learned … Read the rest
A recent report in the NY Times listed the 2010 CEO income from 200 of the largest corporations. The amount of compensation was stunning, of course, and ranged from a stratospheric $84 million for Phillip P. Dauman of Viacom, $70 million for Larry Ellison of Oracle, and $76 million for Ray R. Irani of Occidental… Read the rest
I’m bedeviled by “y’ know.” Everywhere where I go I hear “y’ know.” From a literal standpoint, I don’t know, and I must assume I will be told, that is, what I need to know. Out of politeness, I don’t say “No, I don’t know,” since that would be humiliating and embarrassing to others. But I often think it.
Now … Read the rest
I must admit to feeling quite deflated by the recent Supreme Court decisions regarding the first amendment. To see liberal justices Ginsberg, Sotomayor and Kagen recently join Scalia and Roberts in deciding not to protect minors from videos filled with blood-spattering violence, torture and mayhem… Read the rest
Watching old films of the 40’s and 50’s explicitly reveals the underpinnings of our American cultural narrative. Produced before the rise of contemporary comic irony or social satire, these post WWII films feel more like “educational” dating or coming of age films that were shown in high school. Commentary… Read the rest