It’s everywhere, and while it may by my memory playing tricks on me, I don’t remember so much “stupid talk” in the past. Gary Kiehne, running for Congress in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, claimed “[i]f you look at all the fiascos that have occurred, 99% of them have been by Democrats pulling their guns out and shooting people.” (Mr. Kiehne apologized promptly and unconditionally.)

Rep. Ted Yoho (Rep.-Fl.) said:  “I’ve had some radical ideas about voting and it’s probably not a good time to tell them, but you used to have to be a property owner to vote.” And the National Review Online published a piece by A.J. Delgado on Monday, Crying Rape, which asks the

Graduation! Truly a special time, when all around us are young (mostly) people who are ready to make their way in the world. (Even as I write these words I get verklempt, which is Yiddish for excited, overjoyed, and full of emotion.)

I was walking to Brueggers for a bagel on Thursday for lunch and ran into a line of cars the likes of which we only see downtown on Friday evenings, Second Saturdays, and the day in May when some of the colleges at the University of Arizona hold graduation ceremonies at the Tucson Convention Center arena. Verklempt.

Every time I checked Facebook today, there was another picture of a graduate, usually with proud parents. Verklempt.

And then

Many years ago I read a terrific book, A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, by John Allen Paulos. It calls out and destroys myths about math in a very readable manner. Alas, in and amongst the books—one reader referred to my being inundated with books earlier in the day—I cannot find my copy of Mr. Paulos’ book. I do, however, have some pet peeves of my own when it comes to numbers and the news. Here are three:

Late afternoon drive time radio reports tell me “the markets were mixed today.” In stock-speak that means less than all of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ, and the S&P (Standard & Poors) 500 are up or down at the market

Bom·bard:  attack (a place or person) continuously with bombs, shells, or other missiles. Yes, I get all that, but books? Can a person be bombarded with books?

I just did a quick, rough walk-around survey of our house. Eight hardcovers on my night table. 25 or so books in the study that are recently purchased and not yet finished. (Some don’t have their spines cracked yet!) The new John Paul Stevens book, Six Amendments:  How and Why We Should Change the Constitution, arrived yesterday, and is sitting on the counter in the kitchen. I only opened the box tonight.

That’s the books in their traditional, physical incarnations. The Kindle has more than 15 books that I have

My Mama spent lots of time drilling into me the notion that “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything.” For sure, calling someone a jerk is not nice, but you all are not privy to prior versions of the headline for this post. “Jerk” is way kinder than where I started.

George Will and I go back many years, albeit in a totally one-sided way. He doesn’t know me from Adam’s off ox. (That’s a more detailed way of saying “he doesn’t know me from Adam,” and was brought into modern parlance by President Bill Clinton in June 1993.) I was a fan for many, many years. The man can turn a phrase, even now, and

Carol Richelson works for a local nursing home—a nursing home that is owned by an out-of-state corporation—as its Resident Assessment Coordinator. She’s a registered nurse who has been a nurse for almost 40 years. The nursing home she works for provides rehab programs for patients recovering from surgeries and illnesses, and also has some long term care residents.

When she responded to my inquiry from several days ago, Carol said she could say “yes” to every question I had posed about jobs generally. Seemed like a job worth finding out about.

Some of what I learned I knew, intuitively but not in any detail:  nursing homes are, effectively, regulated by Medicare through CMS, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid

So it’s that one day in the year, once again, when we honor the moms. As it happens, and giving due consideration to the English, Greek, and Roman roots of a day that celebrates mothers, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day as an American holiday this year. President Woodrow Wilson signed a Congressional resolution on Saturday, May 9, 1914, proclaiming the second Sunday in May as a day to honor moms. (Interestingly, the resolution focuses on displaying flags “as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” As a blogger who’s always learning, the flag will be out all day, something I don’t think I’ve ever done on Mother’s Day.)

Joyce

So here’s my list of places to see in DC and New York. Some are walk-bys, and in a total of six days we won’t cover but a fraction of the list in any meaningful way; but if there’s a “can’t miss” place I haven’t listed, please share. (I’ve been to NYC many times, but mostly not for a long time, and lived in DC when I was in law school. New experiences for my daughter, though.)

No food and drink on the list yet. Suggestions welcomed. (We’re definitely facing the choice paradox, for their are too many options for the limited number of days.) In particular, we will be doing sushi once in each city, so if you’ve got

Blog Business!

Thanks so much for following Mark Rubin Writes! No regular post today, but I’ll be back on Sunday, and mostly regular again thereafter. (This is my first weekend since early March without trial/seminar prep or travel; lots to catch up on at home.)

A few things:

I met with someone about her work yesterday, and she asked me about sharing my blog with her friends. “YES,” I said!!! I’m writing for an audience, and this is definitely one of those—more is better—situations.

Recall that the work inquiry—posted about a week ago—asked you all to be my subjects about how you spend your work day. Two interviews down, and both have been very interesting and lots of fun. I’d

My mind wanders! Especially when I’m trying to figure out what to write about, but also when I’m sitting at a stoplight, on the treadmill, watering plants, making dinner, brushing my teeth, going to bed, etc.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about talent. I’ve already written a bit about what it takes to be a success, sharing Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour thesis and other related writings. Today, though, I’m focused on two-fer talent, a few extraordinary individuals who have achieved at very high levels in completely unrelated fields. Not looking for the athlete who competes in two sports. Or the actor who also sings. Or the attorney who can handle a trial and a substantial transaction. (In an increasingly “specialty-centric” world,