Category: Personal

He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad. —Raphael Sabatini from Scaramouche. That quotation is about another heroic character, but it could just as well apply to Edmond Rostand’s hero, Cyrano de Bergerac. Cyrano is a delightful movie. It stars Peter Dinklage—who I believe gives a brilliant performance—as…

There is an intriguing and, I think, truly important essay by Tracy Dennis-Tiwary who has devoted the past 20 years to understanding difficult emotions like anxiety. She is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and has a new book, Future Tense: Why Anxiety Is Good for You (Even Though It Feels Bad). It is so…

Dear Friends, Many of you know that I am a student of Objectivism, and some of you know why. But others may wonder why I’m so attracted to the philosophy and give it so much time and investment. A wonderful summary is contained in “Introducing Objectivism,” which is a column that Ayn Rand wrote on…

“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark… Do not let the hero in your soul perish…” – Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged In my last blog, I posed a question: What do you do to keep your fire burning? It ignited a lot of interest. Thank you for your posted answers and…

(Since many of my family and friends are advancing in age, I thought this post may be helpful. I do hope it is.) Generally, doctors are very smart, hard-working, and conscientious—and incredibly busy. Their knowledge and skills vary widely. Obviously, doctors can be outstanding, caring, life-saving professionals. Or on the other hand… Generally, the advice…

“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark….” Ayn Rand wrote that.  I have a question for you: How do you keep your fire burning? How do you keep your fire burning for each day, each week, month…. What are your thoughts and ideas for keeping your fire burning… brightly? Once I…

A philosopher once told me that the way one ends a relationship says a lot about a person’s character. Yelling and screaming recriminations and walking out and slamming the door is damaging to the people involved. Unfortunately, such endings are common. So often, relationships end badly—sometimes with great loss, trauma, or even tragedy. There are…

I came across an enlightening article in The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine, published by the Oxford University Press. I recommend reading the article, which opens: The term P4 medicine (predictive, preventative, personalized, participatory) was coined by Dr. Leroy Hood of the Institute for Systems Biology to demonstrate his framework to detect and prevent disease…

I highly recommend a delightful new movie called King Richard. It’s the story of the father of two of the most famous tennis stars, Serena and Venus Williams. It’s a wonderful story (if you can overlook the tiresome, woke messages). The movie showcases exemplary, uplifting values, which I think everyone (Objectivists in particular) will enjoy….

I want my friends and family to live a long time, so that’s why I’m writing this. (Everything I write in this post is my opinion and isn’t meant to be taken as medical advice.) According to physicians I’ve come to trust, there are five main things that one needs to prioritize when it comes…