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  [This is a seasonal piece from Unit Three Writings] MY SEASON APPROACHES and with it arrive my best prospects for redemption. I refer to September, both as the ninth month and as a stage of Life–the ripeness of being that precedes the bitter cold. I refer to the September I was born to and those sweet, sad days that invite surrender to Melancholy’s caress. This belief takes shape in me only now, at fifty. It formed in increments by way of three separate and eclectic experiences. The first came while I was away at college, that blissful period when my future was indiminishable by doubt or skepticism, and a writing pad stuck out of my back pocket that I might recognize and record rare

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Movies

  SOME FRIENDS TOLD ME it was great and gave me the book that provides the basis for the show. It was great.  So imagine my delight when I saw Ewan McGregor, a favored actor of mine, cast as Count Alexander Rostov, who survived the purges of the aristos by the Bolsheviks only to be confined for life within the walls of a fine Moscow hotel–and not in his formerly capacious suite, rather in a dusty space just below the roof. This show–and the other series I  review this month, Sugar–sustain me with a total of 90 minutes of viewing ecstasy each week. I am no longer surprised at how the British can play Russian elites without adopting a Slavic accent. After Sean Connery as

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MoviesReview

  I HAVE ALWAYS enjoyed watching Colin Farrell act. Favorite movies of his come to mind such as In Bruges, Minority Report, and Banshees of Inisherin. Apple created an original  noir detective series called “Sugar,” after the main character: John Sugar, private investigator and played by Farrell. It is set in present-day LA and after four episodes, I am dazzled. There are other mysteries beyond the driving theme: the missing granddaughter to an ultra-famous movie producer.  He’s part of a larger service, but it’s not clear how that works (at least not to me, yet). He’s also got some personal psychological/physical symptoms that are starting to get more attention as the series progresses; all which build the tension and make it more compelling. The style,

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[Author’s Note: Mom went to her rest on Dec. 14th 2022 at 90 years of age. I composed a tribute to her shortly after that; here’s the link: https://www.moviesmarketsandmore.com/paean-for-a-country-girl-or-faith-family-community-learning-and-little-baseball/ This piece, Mercy, is one of my favorites and Mom was the main character and the inspiration. Early this month and inspired by her example, I went to the nursery, inexpertly selected flowers,  drove to the cemetery and planted them  behind the stone for my parents’ grave. My grandmother and grandfather got some, too. At the time, her date of death was yet unmarked.  It wouldn’t bother me if it stayed as it is] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IN MY MOTHER’S kitchen, and taped to the door of a cabinet where cups and plates are kept, is a laminated

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Markets

[Note: This material is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It does not recommend investments of any kind. Use a professional and licensed advisor or broker when making investment decisions]   In the last few days, I have read articles on marketwatch.com, a Wall Street Journal site, that have done well to explain why stocks are where they are. We are into uncharted territory again–well it can’t be “again” and “uncharted territory” at the same time, but it’s new so perhaps “everything old is new again.”In order to make sense of the current market environment, I have to reflect back on the environment of the Tech Bubble in 2000. I was working a trade desk and right in the middle of the mania—the insanity of

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Movies

True Detective Season Four: Night Country  I haven’t watched Jody Foster in a movie or series since perhaps Safe Room and certainly before that in Silence of the Lambs.As part of the True Detective series, this time the story is set in a remote part of Alaska where it’s dark for an entire month during winter. It’s also in a small coastal town where many of the townsfolk represent First Peoples. When mystery and mayhem visit a group of researchers who sequester themselves in a nearby compound, Foster plays local law enforcement, and compares notes on the case with a native American woman, a state trooper.At first, this  one reminded me strongly of Dark Winds, a series I reviewed that took place on reservation  land

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Movies

Movies are more than entertainment. While film is one of the most powerful mediums for storytelling, movies can inform and inspire. First of all, Movies—the good ones—are part of our culture. Once a movie is established as “good,” it conveys some valid message about the human experience. What people watch is important—just as it is important what they read and listen to.

Movies inspire, too. When I see  an impassioned performance or notice an exceptional display of cinematography, it makes me want to try and create art.  Great stories are there to ask us if we, like the hero and heroine, could rise to become our best selves when a lot was at stake, or when no one else would do the right thing.

So do I watch movies at home?  Yes, but the movie theatre, as Joseph Campbell noted, was like a temple. Moviegoing is a ritual. We go there to receive the potent “myths” of our time, and we hope to walk away slightly charged with purpose or reminded of what it means to be human—which is why we should be seeing movies at the theater, with strangers, humans.

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Markets

The markets are probably more interesting than the movies. After all, every day billions are pilfered in elaborate schemes, the equivalent of warfare takes place in the currency and equity markets, and heroes and villains make the headlines.

Aside from the drama involved, the spectacle of crowds in action is something to behold. The average person sees little more than the change in the value of their stocks or funds at the end of the day. But imagine watching a few bankers at the Federal Reserve change a couple words in their statement, only to add or erase half a trillion dollars in global values of bonds and stock.

Macroeconomics is essential. And the history of markets is priceless—people repeat the same patterns for centuries.

Does it matter that we use computers or smartphones to buy stocks? No.

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…and More

I have taught for about fifteen years now. But I got lucky. I was offered the chance to teach classes in world religions, diversity, economics, finance and Africa—to name a few.  The value for me was to see how those subjects interrelate.

I do not see political parties, or terrorists, or despots or ideologies any more: I see power structures and patterns. History did not have much value for me in high school or college—oh, it was interesting, but I did not see the usefulness. I see it today.

People have not changed in ten thousand years. They were just as smart then as we are today. And when they get together in groups, they do the same things. Over. And over.  Africa, for example, is a study in power structures. First tribes, then empires, then colonial powers, then religious influences, then Cold-War rivalries.

The world is anarchy. In anarchy, power is king. Watch the power. It’s a little like “follow the money.”

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