PicoBlog

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Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow. Isaiah 1:18 You're only as sick as your secrets. Alcoholics Anonymous “What do you see when you're in the dark and the demons come?” Mitch Leary (John Malcovich) asks this of Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) in a creepy late night phone call in the 1993 movie, In the Line of Fire. Eastwood, a secret service agent, failed to take a bullet for President Kennedy on that fatal day in Dallas, and the assassination haunts him to the present day.

Mesannie Wilkins (Annie) was 63 when her doctor told her she had 2 years to live. She’d just recovered from pneumonia when they found a spot on her lung. The doctor wasn’t sure if it was cancer or tuberculosis, but either way the prognosis wasn’t good.  Couple of years if she took it easy, he said.  He knew Annie was dirt poor, so he offered to get her into a state funded retirement home.

The Royal Family’s favorite public relations strategy of “never complain, never explain” is, like many of their traditions, a vestige of the Victorian era. It was, at that time, built upon the idea that the Monarchy’s greatest strength was its mystique. There was also this notion that allowing the public to “poke holes” in the Monarchy would weaken it; if they knew too much, they might lose interest or respect. In 1867, writer Walter Bagehot wrote that "

When I was very young, Grandma Collier bought a piano for my sister and me. Grandma Collier could really play. So could my dad. I think she had high hopes for her granddaughters. Practicing piano is not what a highly extroverted kid like me wanted to do after school. But I took piano lessons for years, and they did cement my love of music. I still enjoy hearing people play the piano.

One morning in July 2021, after spending too much time blocking yet another round of trolls on my Facebook page, I tiptoed over to Twitter to vent: “I’m thinking of writing a children’s book titled, Tom The Troll Has Been Blocked.” I had no such plan. I was just sick of trolls. Their profile photos on Facebook typically feature men who not so much smile as leer, and are either bare-chested or wearing military garb.

OMG, everyone, how is it September? Today is my kids’ first day of school. We spent the weekend frenetically preparing for it because we only just returned from our vacation late Saturday night. Somehow, we got everything ready, but barely. (I’ll share more deets about our trip in Friday’s paid newsletter.) Before I jump into today’s topic, a couple of fun announcements: I’m running a 25% off Back-to-School Sale through Friday, September 15!

I wonder if you’ve seen.. This.. ✨ a lot recently? This is the Sparkles ✨ emoji. And over the years, It has been used for.. a lot of things. Magic. Fairy dust. Samsung decided to use it for.. Fireworks? One time? But more recently, since maybe around 2019 or 2020, I’ve been using it for.. Other things. I can’t even really tell you what. But a few years ago, I started to use it to add some flair.

Editors Note: There will be no newsletter on Friday due to the holiday. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and gets to enjoy time with family and friends. Ps. Friday’s podcast (a fun chat with two Aston Martin executives discussing how they leverage Formula 1 to sell sports cars) will still go out as scheduled. Subscribe here. ncG1vNJzZmigpZmxrbHUqWWsrZKowaKvymeaqKVfpXypu9ZmmKaZqqS7brXSZqysoZ6ceqe7zq2ZmqScYsGwecaepZ6qkamy