Journey to the Past
When he was a young college student, my wifeās great-great-grandfather joined the revolution. He and his pals tried to overthrow the German government. The year was 1833, and young Adolph Wislizenus āstormed the castleā with a band of student revolutionaries in Frankfurt. Their plan: Sneak-attack a few arsenals. Capture the soldiers. Take the guns. Arm…
I recently heard this wild story about Native American warriors. Two tribes face off on the battlefield — maybe the Sioux on one side, the Crow on the other. They shout taunts at each other. Then a brave young warrior from one side gallops forward on his pinto, charging at the enemy… …not to kill…
In 1925, John Caples was a rookie copywriter working on an ad for home-study piano courses. He drafted several headlines that he shared with his boss. Here are a few: āCan you play the piano? Neither could I three months ago?ā āThey laughed when I sat down at the piano. But when I started to…
One of the great business stories of all time is also one of the shortest. Just nine words. Here it is: You can pay me nowā¦ …or pay me later. If you watched television in the 70s, you couldnāt miss those ads for Fram oil filters. The broken car. The expensive repair. The mechanic saying…
Hereās a TV recommendation: Watch āGrant,ā the new three-part documentary on the History Channel (here’s theĀ trailer).Ā Ulysses S. Grant was a complicated man. Some historians have painted him as a drunk, a villain, a reckless general who got lucky, a corrupt politician. This documentary rewrites that history. It exposes some of the warts. But generally,…
Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of Michael Jacksonās death. So the TV talking heads spent a bunch of airtime debating whether itās OK to enjoy the King of Popās music. The debate goes like thisā¦ On one side are those who cite allegations that Jackson molested children. You canāt separate the art from the artist,…
In 1774, King Frederick II of Prussia was ruling over a land ravaged by famine. He urged farmers to plant potatoes to end the famine. But back then, potatoes were considered livestock feed in Eastern Europe, not suitable for human consumption. So farmers defied the king and didnāt plant them… …until King Frederick changed marketing…
In July 1968, a young sound engineer named Geoff Emerick grew annoyed with his employers and quit his job. Geoffās employers muddled through without him. And fifty years ago this month, they released a double-albumā¦ …with a plain white coverā¦ …entitled, simply, āThe Beatles.ā So, yeah this really happenedā¦ A 22-year-old sound engineer is hanging…
When I was younger (and lonelier), I wrote a song called āUnrequited Love.ā I wrote it a few weeks after a blind date. I thought the date went well. I called her — several times. Left messages suggesting a second date. No reply. No more dates. Sad story. Iām thinking of writing a similar song…
I was cleaning out some old files and found the āDress Code Policyā for one of my early jobs. Coat and tie required. No jeans. Closed-top shoes. No sneakers. Etc. Etc. Etc. Blah blah blah. That was 1998. Times have changed. I remember the first time I worked at a place with āCasual Fridays.ā It…