Chris McShanag has worked alongside two physician entrepreneurs to build a business that provides virtual assistants to doctors, dentists, and veterinarians. The service worked so well that Chris and his partners finally realized it would work for any company. Many business owners contemplate moving from one business niche to another, but very few actually do […]
Hi-Rez Declaration page 2
Hi-Rez Declaration page 1
MMRadio McShanag
Sly Stone at 80
Sylvester Stewart Stone “In the story before my story, F. L. Haynes, Fred to those who knew him, went to Denton, Texas to set up the St. Andrew Church of God in Christ. The Church of God in Christ was a Pentecostal denomination with roots in Tennessee, only a few decades old at that point […]
1829 Jefferson book fold-out 2
1829 Jefferson book fold-out 1
www.1776.house
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The cover is about 11 inches. The pages are approximately 10.75 inches.
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A Fly Fishing Fanatic in America’s 13 Colonies
I don’t know if he was was an American Patriot or a British Loyalist. All I know is that he owned a 1726 edition of “The Gentleman Angler,” a leather bound book on fly fishing. That book was 50 years old when Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence. Speaking of Jefferson, that same fly-fisherman […]
a songstress and her two little brothers
CONFESSION TIME: I’ve always been a fan of the Bee Gees. But I gotta say, I think I like this young woman’s interpretation better than the original. Listen to both and see if you agree with me. The melancholy tone of her arrangement takes me to that same place Antonio Carlos Jobim takes me with […]
Two Wise Men and Justin Bieber_ with Snacks
“Two Wise Men and Justin Bieber, with Snacks”by Tim “Eye-of-the” Storm, of mauiart.co
MMRadio_Uzair_Ahmed
Good business ideas often die on the vine because of the cost and logistics of bringing those ideas into reality. Uzair Ahmed saw all these missed opportunities, so he figured figured out how to use technology and automation to make these good business ideas come alive. Uzair tested a high-tech, low-overhead system to launch a […]
New Yorker Dec 22_1951
This New Yorker cover is December 22, 1951, by W Cotton.The Wise Men & the Light of Christmas, to the right, is by Jim Serret.The tiny sculpture of The Old Man and the Sea is, of course, by Jane DeDecker.
New Yorker Christmas 2023
Roy answers Indys Question
“You did a great job, Indy. Your question was about whether I was going to teach an updated “Pendulum” in 2024, right?” You have a good memory, Roy. “Touché. I see what you did there.” So are you? “It depends.” On what? “If enough people want it and let Wizard Academy chancellor Daniel Whittington know […]
Aaron Burr and Quixote
Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel after Hamilton announced that he was going to “waste his shot” by firing it high into the trees. Having fulfilled his promise, Hamilton stood there while Aaron Burr calmly shot and killed him. I could find no record of Aaron Burr ever having owned the […]
Ben Franklin and Quixote
George Simpson Eddy published his chronicle of the 1350 books in the personal library of Benjamin Franklin in a publication of the American Antiquarian Society in October, 1924. On page 19, we read, “The Doctor [Franklin] was a friend of Baskerville, the famous English printer, and bought many of the books printed by him. He […]
Alexander Hamilton and Quixote
Alexander Hamilton’s copy of Don Quixote was published in Amsterdam in 1755 by Arkstee et Merkus. In January of 1795, Congress was debating The Report on a Plan for the Further Support of Public Credit. Alexander Hamilton wrote to a letter to Rufus King, dated February 21, 1795, saying, “To see the character of the government […]
John Adams and Quixote
John Adams was Thomas Jefferson’s friend – and nemesis – and like Jefferson, he was obsessed with Don Quixote. In David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book on John Adams we read, “Another child, Thomas Boylston, was born in September of 1772, and again Adams was off on the ‘vagabond life’ of the circuit, carrying a copy […]
G Washington and Quixote
On September 17, 1787, when George Washington finally saw the Constitution of the United States of America adopted after four months of intense debate in Philadelphia, he immediately went to a bookseller and paid 22 shillings, six pence for a copy of Don Quixote de La Mancha. According to MountVernon.org, “this seventeenth-century Spanish allegory does […]
Learning to Draw
“We stopped for coffee afterward, and I asked Jacob why, given his skill at seeing and showing the world as it was, he never wanted to draw the particulars of this world as it is, the world that we found ourselves in, where people met at endless dinner parties. He drew his kids, beautifully, but without […]
Dream Impossibly
Irwin Michnick, the Brooklyn-born son of a Jewish furrier from Ukraine, was a jazz musician who wrote radio commercials and advertising jingles for companies like L & M cigarettes and Ken-L Ration dog food. Bob Levenson was a copywriter at Doyle Dane Bernbach who needed a tune to go with the words, “Everybody doesn’t like […]
American Exceptionalism
“The charge that Obama threatens American exceptionalism is daft. He is, after all, fond of declaring, ‘In no other country on Earth is my story even possible.’” “Things hit rock bottom when conservative Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker flayed Obama for not using the words ‘American exceptionalism’ in his 2011 State of the Union speech, […]
Thomas Jefferson and Don Quixote
The Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia at Monticello.org says, “Don Quixote was one of the few works of fiction that Thomas Jefferson was clearly partial to. He used the text in its original language to learn Spanish, and had his children do the same. Jefferson owned a number of different editions over his lifetime.” Monticello.org also lists […]
Apricots
Why not a meadow?Why not a little clearing and a streamto wade in? Why not take our pants off,a little respite from our partnerswho couldn’t see us, who’d never see usno matter what we did? What we did was wrong,the way we did it. It was miraculous, it took hold long afterwe trudged back to our […]
OK Indy whats your question
“Okay, Indy, what’s your question?” Are you going to teach an updated Pendulum in 2024? “I haven’t decided.” What does it depend on? “Lots of things.” Like what? “Show us what you discovered about Don Quixote and the founding fathers and I’ll tell you at the end of the rabbit hole.”
MMRadio UX user experience
UX stands for “user experience,” and a deep understanding of it has allowed Satyam Kantamneni to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in additional income for his clients. Think of it this way: if you could experience your business the way your customers do, you would know exactly what to change to make it a […]
Truman Capote Christmas
I subscribe to surprisingly few online things. delancyplace.com is one of them. This is what they sent me on November 30th. – Indy Beagle Seven-year-old Truman Capote, abandoned by his divorced parents, is taken in by depression-poor cousins in the rural South. One of these cousins, a distant, elderly cousin, becomes his closest friend and […]
Learning English is Hard
SHOUT OUT to Morty Silber of Montreal for sending us this. – Indy Beagle & The Tiny Tribe
Roys office at night
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The Father of Tom McDowell
My Dad died 3 years ago. He worked hard in construction – seven days, most weeks – to feed his 6 kids. And he played ‘drums’ every waking hour. Everything was a song and a rhythm inside his head. Dad didn’t give direct advice. He was a “show, don’t tell” guy. I asked him for […]
Tim Storm special offer
Tom McDowell is a friend. He is also an important artist. And now I have another friend who is becoming a big deal in the art world. I told you last week to keep your eyes open for a special painting from Tim “Eye of the” Storm. This is that. Fantastic Christmas gift.Professional, archival quality.Vivid color.Detailed […]
Stafford_MMRadio
Every day, 3,000 new people decide to get into the game of online selling. Ninety percent of them – 2,700 per day – will never make a sale. Matthew Stafford knows what they are doing wrong and how to fix it. Matthew’s magical formula for won’t drive potential customers to a website, but it will […]
Brannan Rock Photo
Check out good brother McDowell – alias Brannan Rock – on Instagram, or at Saatchi Art, or at brannanrock.com. “Psychoanalysis is the study of secrets people keep from themselves.”
The Two Times We Read Don Quixote
The Two Times We Read Don Quixote When a nation is pursuing a beautiful dream, the artists of that nation will paint, and sculpt, and write plays about heroes who fight against impossible odds. And they will cheer for Don Quixote, a visionary hero who saw beauty, justice and honor in a common village girl […]
Man riding a lion
Being an entrepreneur is like a man riding a lion. People think, “This guy’s brave.” And he’s thinking, “How the hell did I get on a lion, and how do I keep from getting eaten?” Radio ad #3 for Billy Cline’s hot new company YourNewDoor.com
The worst poverty
“The worst poverty is not to live in a small house, but to live in a small world.”– Roy L. Smith
The pale heart of winter
Springtime pierced the pale heart of winterwith a shout of green and a blade of grass. The mumbles of summer are wooden wagon wheelsbanging hollow in the dust far away. Autumn sings of passage with a tear in her eyeas the quail fly up for the hunters. The white of winter is a splinter under […]
Uptown Funk
Hey, even if you have seen this before,you need to take a moment to watch it again. “Why” Did you ask me why? “Yes. Yes, I did.” Because it will lighten your mood andamaze you a tiny bit and help you have a better day. “Okay, then, I’ll do it.”
Muppet Dance Swayze
It’s the final dance in Dirty Dancing. But they’re dancing to The Muppet Show theme tune. Heh, heh, heh. – Indy Beagle
MMRadio Bronson Hill
He started with $200,000 in 2018. Today it is $200,000,000. You can do it, too. Bronson Hill heard Warren Buffet say that people will work the rest of their lives if they don’t find a way to make money while they sleep. This week, Bronson reveals to roving reporter Rotbart his successful strategies for […]
Billy Cline_Forrest Gump
The Dog Star and the Dog Days of Summer
Q: Why are they called “the dog days of summer?” A: The star Sirius – the brightest star in the sky, by far – is colloquially known as the “Dog Star” reflecting its prominence in its constellation, Canis Major (the Greater Dog). The heliacal rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient […]
The Pillow of Time
I found the Pillow of Time, laid my head on it, went to sleep, and was immediately at a concert featuring the Ozark Mountain Daredevils in 1975. I still had my iPhone with me, so I recorded part of it. Take a look. I woke up, had a midnight snack, went back to […]
While my guitar gently weeps
George Harrison wrote the song. He died in 2001. In 2004, his son Dhani got together with some rock legends to do a tribute performance of George’s song, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” You will notice Prince standing off to the side for the first half, then he steps to center stage at about 3:20 […]
Mark Fox talks about change
People are resistant to change. “If you have a really new and creative idea and people don’t hate it, they weren’t listening.”– Mark Fox Being joyful isn’t what makes you grateful. Being grateful is what makes you joyful.”– Ann Voskamp Mark Fox was the youngest Chief Engineer in the history of the space […]
Vigorous Writing
“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.”– William Strunk “I’ve found that when a talented writer is operating with such wild poetic energy, such freedom from academic rules, […]
Seinfeld Charm Bracelet
Do you remember what Jerry Seinfeld said about “making a charm bracelet”? Essentially, you notice a connection between two things, and then you add other things that have a similar connection. Steve Jobs and Brian Sanderson agreed that this was the essence of creativity. Jesse Case saw a connection between two things and then made […]
Jeff_Kikel_MMRadio
Freedom Day, according to Jeff Kikel, is that juncture in our lives when work becomes optional, not a financial necessity. His formula begins with a shift in your mindset regarding your relationship to money: “It should work for you. You should not work for it.” If the idea of working for pleasure rather than necessity […]
Jefferson and Adams
“They were an incongruous pair, but everyone seemed to argue that history had made them into a pair. The incongruities leapt out for all to see; Adams, the short, stout, candid-to-a-fault New Englander; Jefferson, the tall, slender, elegantly elusive Virginian; Adams the highly combustible, ever combative, mile-a-minute talker, whose favorite form of conversation was an […]
The Brilliant Chris Torbay
Today, when the wizard was talking about The Function of Fiction, Doris Lessing chimed in and said, “There is no doubt fiction makes a better job of the truth.” This brand-new, 60-second radio ad has been on the air for less than a week, but magical things are happening in Florida because of it. © […]
5 Chatbooks
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Chesterton and Quixote
“If Don Quixote returned today with the same wild ways of knight errantry, it would be the knight errant that was sensible and the world all around him that was crazy… The rational world has turned out much more irrational than the Dark Ages… The nations have found more nonsense and nightmare in the building […]
Bert and Ernie
Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life.“ For real..
Brand Indifference
Data: Civic Science 2019 – Lots of marketers worry about brand haters. I mean, they sure seem vocal, and word-of-mouth is important. But 99% of the time, haters aren’t your biggest issue. The good folks at Civic Science surveyed over 26,000 people about their opinions of Dick’s Sporting Goods and R.E.I. (the 2nd and 11th […]
Style as Morality
Rainbow Blood Fiction Writers
Deadpool 2
“The Old Man and the Sea is the story of a fight between an elderly, accomplished fisherman, Santiago, and a really big fish. Like… HUGE. The story opens with Santiago suffering eighty -four days without catching a fish because he’s the unluckiest son-of-a-bitch on planet earth. Honestly, if you were in a boat for eighty […]
MMRadio Nick Barrett
Nick Barrett’s invention is only as long as a paperclip and as thick as a quarter, but it won the $10,000 prize for “coolest product” at this year’s National Retail Federation trade show. Monday Morning Radio co-host Maxwell Rotbart says inventors and entrepreneurs can learn a lot — and save themselves huge headaches — […]
Lemons and the House of Usher
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Steve Jobs talks about branding
The wizard promised that I would show you the speech that Steve Jobs made when he returned to save Apple from extinction and make it the first company in the world to achieve a 1-trillion-dollar valuation. And you’ll find that video below. But I should also point out that today’s Monday Morning Memo sprang from […]
Being Jewish
AI is a can opener
In a short, just-published essay, the brilliant Leah Bumphrey explains the true use of artificial intelligence in a summary that I can only say is dazzling for its insight. Click the image of the robot below to see what Leah has to say today. Aroo, Indy Beagle
Carpenters Harmony
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Walking in Rhythm
Disenchantment Calvin and Hobbes and Don Quixote and Peter Pan
“Enchantment! If disenchantment is the loss of myth and illusion in our lives, then what is the chant that calls those essentials back? An ongoing enchantment is at the heart of ‘Calvin and Hobbes.’ It’s at the heart of ‘Don Quixote’ and ‘Peter Pan,’ too. These are stories about difficult and not infrequently destructive characters […]
MMRadio Rock and Rocket
Zeynep Ekemen is the founder of a company that sells antimicrobial film for high-touch areas, such as door handles, elevator buttons, and staircase rails. A few years ago, sales of her product took off like a rocket… then fell like a rock when Covid was no longer part of the daily news. Listen and learn as Zeynep explains […]
CBS Sunday Morning_Portals
Léon Cogniet (1817) “The Artist in His Room at the Villa Medici, Rome”
Danny Hodge
Tom and Jeffrey and I were texting about politics the other day when a little dog ran into the road and Tom swerved violently to avoid him and landed us smack in the middle of a discussion about professional wrestling. When I was a little boy in grade school, Danny Hodge was the king of […]
Portals Collage
Objectification 2
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systematic reduction of a woman
“The thing about the systematic reduction of a woman down to her parts is that she doesn’t always know it’s happening while it’s going on. Just one day she wakes up and realizes that all she was was a face, a line of cleavage, two legs, a couple of hands, the swivel of her […]
hais house shoes
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MMRadio Cahan
In 1855, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his Journal: “If a man has good corn, or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles, or church organs, than anybody else, you will find a broad, hard-beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods.” In time, […]
Willie K Vanderbilt II
Willie K. Vanderbilt II (1878–1944) Michael Franti, “Sometimes” (acoustic) This particular version is extremely hard to find. – Indy
Vanderbilts Anacostia
This is the Anacostia, a steamship of which Cornelius Vanderbilt was so proud that he commissioned this photograph to be taken of it. The original was badly faded, but I was able to restore it in Photoshop to what you see above. – RHW
One Man Dog
Do believe I’m gonna clap my hands.Think I might tap my feet.Put together a one-man band, take a walk on down the street.Have a one-man parade! Nobody needs to know.Cause I’m right good at holding on to secrets, and I don’t believe they show. All I want is a little dog to be walking at […]
Michelin Man
The original Michelin Man from 1894. The Michelin Man is white because rubber tires are naturally white. It was not until 1912 that carbon chemicals were added, turning them black. The change was structural, not aesthetic. By adding carbon, tires became more durable. Michelin began reviewing restaurants so that people would travel further distances to […]
MMRadio Walt Disney
On October 16, 1923 — precisely 100 years ago today — Walt Disney and his brother Roy launched an entertainment business. It filed for bankruptcy shortly thereafter. But the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio rebounded and evolved into one of the world’s best-known and most beloved companies. This week, roving reporter Rotbart explores the history of The […]
Art Lee
Here’s What Happened I could afford furniture that was poorly constructed, but what I wanted was ridiculously overpriced, very expensive, high quality designer furniture: a Ferrari for the price of a Ford. My grandfather designed and manufactured the world’s finest furniture, but when he died, no one in my family wanted to run a furniture […]
Wonder Quote
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Peter Nevland Oklahoma Rock
When it comes to gaining and holding attention, “Predictability is Death. Spontaneity is Life.” This is Spontaneity. – Indy Beagle There is nothing exciting about driving on the long, bleak stretches of Eastern Oklahoma highway at the end of winter. It has to be one of the most mind-numbing, energy-sucking experiences that I’ve ever squeezed […]
Freebird cant change
After a concert in South Carolina in 1977, the band boarded a chartered plane for Baton Rouge to play at LSU the following night. After running out of fuel, the pilots attempted an emergency landing before crashing into a forest 5 miles outside of Gillsburg, Mississippi. Most of the band was killed. On Skynyrd’s 1976 […]
Freebird
If I leave here tomorrowWould you still remember me?For I must be traveling on now‘Cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see. But if I stay here with you, girl,Things just couldn’t be the same‘Cause I’m as free as a bird nowAnd this bird you cannot changeAnd this bird, you cannot changeLord knows, I […]
Duck of Justice
There were two options: work midnights, or be Public Information officer. I had already done midnights a lot in my life, so I said, “I’ll take that second choice.” So one of the jobs of the public Information officer is to handle the Facebook page. I talked to our Chief, Mark Hathaway, and I […]
Academy Reunion
I spent 114 hours creating these two books for guests who will attend the Wizard Academy Reunion on October 28. “Wise Men, Wise-ards, Wisards, Wizards” is 143 pages of my favorite depictions of the namesakes of Wizard Academy, the wise men – the magi – of Matthew chapter 2. The book is filled with paintings and […]
Curt Tueffert MMRadio
Curt Tueffert has spent four decades helping people enjoy world-class sales success. When it comes to selling, Curt has seen it all, done it all. Qualify customer prospects, help them past their hesitations, and never feel rejection when rejected: Curt can tell you how. According to roving reporter Rotbart, this week’s episode will instantly […]
Man Who Walked Around the World
To capture a sequence in perfect time in one long, unbroken camera shot, may seem like it could easily be done, but I assure you, it is not. Five short minutes is all I askand I know that you can make the time,though you feel urgency pressing all around…Doesn’t it count I took the […]
A Gentlemens Wager
You may think this is about hearts that rend,or whiskey, or Celts, or making amends.But that’s where you would be wrong.The End. I tell you this truth with lips and penand on me you know you can depend:I just want to spend some time with you.My friend. – Indiana Beagle
Tullamore Dew
“The Parting Glass” has been sung by friends saying goodbye in Scotland since 1605, the year Cervantes sketched Don Quixote in the air with his pen. Variations and fragments appeared across time until the melody was finally collected and codified in 1782. “The Parting Glass” is often sung at funerals. Of all the money that […]
And so it goes
In every heart there is a room, a sanctuary safe and strongTo heal the wounds from lovers past, until a new one comes along. I spoke to you in cautious tones, you answered me with no pretenseAnd still I feel I said too much, my silence is my self defense. And every time I’ve held a […]
Can People Change
Q: Can people change? A: Identity would seem to be the garment with which one covers the nakedness of the self; in which case, it is best that the garment be loose, a little like the robes of the desert, through which robes one’s nakedness can always be felt, and, sometimes, discerned. This trust in […]
Seinfeld and Ai Fashion
Vi Wickam and 10 Ways
Vi Wickam wrote a summary that will save you money:“10 Ways to Know if Your Digital Marketer is Legit.“ You definitely want to take 3 minutes to read it. Really. – Indy Beagle