tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25700240206607826032011-08-01T14:47:00.230-04:00MegaceptA slightly off balance view of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-21665626543538447982010-07-04T00:35:00.000-04:002010-07-04T00:35:29.371-04:00A Star Spangled HolidayWhy do we celebrate Independence Day?
Mostly because the one-third of
colonists who fought to shrug off the shackles of tyranny that
bound the colonies to Britain managed to get France to come into the
war against the British. Thus the colonies became free to spread out
across the continent and steal land from its rightful owners.
If they had lost, July 4th
would be the North American Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-59403488855972581272010-06-09T14:49:00.004-04:002010-06-09T14:58:00.853-04:00Levy's Second Law and the BP oil spillLevy's second law: "Intelligence is no guarantee against stupidity," ought to be as well known as the second law of thermodynamics. Indeed, it should be required reading at any institution of higher learning.
The importance of this principle is easy to see. Just look at the roster of luminaries and high wage earners among
Bernie Madoff's suckers. Or look at President Obama's
endorsement of Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-13541907762454726472010-05-02T21:11:00.004-04:002010-05-04T17:22:28.978-04:00Markets are always rightThe PBS series NOVA has an interesting show this week. Called "Mind over Money," it summarizes the debate between rationalist and behavioral economists over the role emotion plays in financial markets. http://www.wgbh.org/programs/programdetail.cfm?programid=16
The idea that markets always act rationally and that the market price is always the correct price is at best a tautology. At worst, a Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-46363141147510650782010-04-13T20:35:00.001-04:002010-04-13T20:35:51.629-04:00Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-67350530073508989012010-04-13T20:17:00.002-04:002010-04-13T20:32:28.733-04:00What is decorative painting?Decorative painting was news to me until I saw this web site www.patmcmahonartist.com.
The photos in the Portfolio section are semi-amazing and show how Pat McMahon uses her skills to restore objects, match designs from an earlier day and bestow a feeling of beauty and luxury to interior designs.
Well worth taking a look.
Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-1222953552558432122010-03-23T14:41:00.000-04:002010-03-23T14:41:08.193-04:00Music and Comedy - Timing is everythingComedy and Music are closely related in many ways, none more important than the issue of timing.
As Mark Twain said, the difference between the right work and almost the right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. As I say, the difference between the right timing and almost the right timing in comedy is the difference between a thunder clap and a belch. (Okay, a belch is Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-89490340804255893972010-03-02T16:35:00.000-05:002010-03-02T16:35:06.416-05:00The Stations of Middle Aging1. You're almost middle aged when you decide you need to find a doctor.
2. You're middle aged when decide you should schedule an annual check up.
3. You're really, really middle aged when you put your doctor on speed dial.
4. You know you're almost at the end of middle age when you have to write down a list of your medications before you see a new doctor.
5. You know you've left middle age Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-47681897911903854822010-02-18T11:15:00.000-05:002010-02-18T11:15:09.432-05:00When Sirens singWhen Sirens sing their voices shimmerLike a mirage above the wine dark sea.Do they attend their sisters' seductive song Or only the grunts and gasps of sailorsBelaboring the waves with frantic oars?Are Sirens aroused by sounds of human lustOr inflamed merely to engender death?Do they pity or revel in men's mortal criesAs sacrificial flotsam sinks like the Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-27432874269719965662010-02-14T22:29:00.000-05:002010-02-14T22:29:31.421-05:00An Apology to the People of Washington, D.C.On February 1, I posted a satiric piece, “Ten Days and
Counting,” castigating senator-elect Scott Brown on his lack of accomplishments
in the Senate nearly 2 weeks after the election.
As I say, this piece was purely satiric since Brown had yet
to be sworn in as Senator. Apparently, the newly elected senator took me
seriously and hurriedly had himself sworn in shortly thereafter, just in timeMark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-14379858331177149972010-02-11T10:15:00.000-05:002010-02-11T10:15:09.127-05:00February 19th Fund for Haiti ReliefHappy Birthday to me!
At my time of life, birthdays have lost some of their appeal. So I'm appealing to you to donate to Oxfam America to support Haiti Emergency relief.
I've set up the February 19th Fund on the Oxfam America site to make it easy for you to donate. And to make my birthday more meaningful.
Thanks.Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-14507654737820515582010-02-01T10:30:00.000-05:002010-02-01T10:30:35.051-05:00Two weeks and counting. . .It has been two weeks since Scott Brown was elected to the U.S. Senate. As we begin the second month of his term, it is surely time to look back and see what Sen. Brown has accomplished.
What, in fact, has he done to further the security and prosperity of Massachusetts and the nation?
The sad answer is nothing.
Despite the perilous times in which we live, with two wars and wounded national Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-86684496141674958932010-01-26T12:34:00.002-05:002010-01-26T12:41:20.904-05:00It’s the Economy, Stupid!The conservative American Enterprise Institute has come up a an interesting analysis of Republican Scott Brown’s victory over Democrat Martha Coakley in the special election to fill Ted Kennedy’s senate seat: http://www.american.com/archive/2010/january/massachusetts-the-educated-class-versus-the-people
The thesis is that college graduates, the “educated class,” voted for Coakley while less Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-42463477241607571692010-01-24T21:10:00.002-05:002010-01-24T21:43:59.938-05:00The Magic FlukeVisiting the country by chance
I happened to stroll out after dusk.
I found a handy woodsy bench,
Sat to smoke a briar pipe
And to think long thoughts.
A braggadocio owl took me by surprise
As I caught her brief triumphal call—
A pithy aria from this Queen of Night—
Eulogizing some hapless rodent.
I sat back and watched the stars revolve.Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-56490114006031367412010-01-17T00:31:00.001-05:002010-02-11T10:23:24.982-05:00Solve the Deficit with a LotteryNo one likes to pay taxes. Everyone enjoys games of chance like horse racing, card playing and the stock market.
Recognizing this Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick wants to legalize casinos and allow race tracks to install slot machines since voters and legislators both balk at tax increases.
Like most Democratic proposals, it contains a kernel of sense but is far too timid. (C,f, the Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-66315699534904199902010-01-16T23:45:00.000-05:002010-01-16T23:45:28.204-05:00Life is Like CelluliteLife is Like Cellulite. . .
unsightly, unfortunate, unfair, and lumpy.Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-42531536229173506152010-01-11T16:40:00.003-05:002010-01-11T16:52:36.922-05:00Republican PCLet me join in the fun and denounce Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid for his remarks on President Obama's candidacy. How dare he
assert that Obama would have had a harder time running for president if he had
darker skin and a less Ivy League accent? This statement is outrageous! True,
but outrageous.
It implies that some American voters are so hung up on
racial stereotypes that it would be hardMark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-36675027173336612932010-01-04T16:15:00.000-05:002010-01-04T16:15:47.216-05:00Careers for the Coming RecoveryWith unemployment and underemployment at near record highs, finding a job is tough. Why not use this time to develop an independent career that will take advantage of the coming recovery?
Become a naming and branding specialist.
Just follow these few basic rules and soon giant multinational corporations will be begging you to name their newest brand of soap, cell phone or social networking siteMark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-16780356275561472272009-12-29T12:49:00.000-05:002009-12-29T12:49:30.606-05:00Predictions for 20101. Global Ionization — Scientists will discover that Earth’s supply of electrons is rapidly diminishing due to the steadily increasing number of electrons being used up by right-wing bloggers, teenaged text messagers and mid-life tweeters.
2. Under-developed African and South American countries will form an international cartel for selling electrons to the United States, Europe, Japan, China andMark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-43244002766157182912009-12-25T03:04:00.003-05:002009-12-25T18:44:05.719-05:00Sheriff of Nottingham MedicineThe idea of universal health care is simple and elegant. Make sure no one is denied access to doctors, hospitals, clinics or treatment simply for lack of money.
Back before Medicare and Medicaid, medical costs for the poor were covered (inadequately) by charity and what was called “Robin Hood Medicine,” that is, doctors and hospitals overcharged wealthy patients to subsidize poor folks.
Today, Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-66944923330101244512009-12-22T22:38:00.032-05:002009-12-25T03:09:44.071-05:00Christmas ReflectionsChristmas tide sweeps back the night
A new sun rises cold and bright,
To herald a season of ascendant light.
Sky blue shadows reflect the site
Of cyclic warfare, dark versus light—
If not of evil and eternal right.
As old men descend to sleep and night;
Waking children rise up to delight.
Mark Levy
copyright 2009Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-91745102184291557672009-12-17T13:20:00.001-05:002009-12-17T22:13:00.917-05:00A Poem for December BridesIn remembrance of Spring Byington and her 50's TV show "December Bridge" here are a few poetical thoughts on marriage.
On Marriage
Weddings, it has been said, celebrate
The triumph of optimism over experience.
(Which may be why so many marry young.)
Matrimony is, they say, the victory of hope
over destiny;
Mindless glands overwhelm the mind’s
accumulated wisdom.
Thus Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570024020660782603.post-17859117015577732242009-12-17T12:53:00.002-05:002009-12-17T13:03:13.056-05:00Why Megacept?In college I learned a number of useful and edifying things.
Perhaps the most useful at the time were the three necessary elements for an assigned essay:
The CrucFac (crucial facts)
The SpecRef (specific references)
The Megacept - the over arching conceptual theme.
As life has gone on, year following year, decade following decade, ear hair following knee pain, I have lost whatever command I Mark Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02424578970434418401noreply@blogger.com0