Lots of reading this past week, and lots of issues to think about! Let me first cover what I won’t be focusing on:

You won’t see any Donald Sterling here, for you can find plenty elsewhere and, frankly, the issue doesn’t interest me much. If you’re “shocked, shocked” that racism is alive and well, get out more!

You also won’t see anything about inequality, but that’s for a different reason. Lots of great writing on a really important subject, and much of it focused on Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty. Expect a full, long post on the issue in coming days. (Don’t expect me to have finished the book; I’m about 60 pages in, and as well written as it is, it’s still a slow slog!)

So here’s what I’ve read that I want to share:

I was disheartened when I read For Fitness Bands, Slick Marketing but Suspect Results by Nick Bilton in this past Sunday’s New York Times. I’ve been wearing my Nike Fuelband for almost 18 months, and Ms. J probably owns the Swiss Army watch—which I like plenty much, and which I wore before she bought me the band—by adverse possession. Alas, even if results are not complete and correct, I suspect the band has me moving more than I would without it. And that’s good!

Here, from Forbes—a new source, not in my usual mix—is an interesting piece, Here’s How Obama’s Russia Sanctions Will Destroy Vladimir Putin, by Greg Satell. I was struck by how we—the USA—influence, govern, and dominate international finance, and by the complexities that do not fit within 30 second sound bites that blast the Administration for not blasting the Russkies! Alas, life is far more complicated than it often seems, especially at first glance.

A Radical Approach to Adding Density in New York’s Outer Buroughs by Jenny Xie in The Atlantic on April 25 caught my eye. Really novel urban planning, and as a city boy at heart, I was wowed! I was also struck by the fact that at 56 I may be starting to see concepts that won’t be implemented while I’m around.

Our Cubicles, Ourselves: How the Modern Office Shapes American Life is another piece in The Atlantic—this one by Rebecca Rosen, appearing on April 14—about how we live in spaces. My piece, Spaces (posted on February 22), touches on some of these themes. I think spaces matter greatly! As the son of an interior designer, I guess that makes sense. Regardless, the pieces in The Atlantic have important messages about how we live.

For food, I’m taken with Fishing with Dynamite, a year-old seafood place in Manhattan Beach, California. Here are reviews from Darin Dines, GastronomyBlog, and Kevin Eats, my three favorite food blogs. Has anyone been? Pretty sure my next trip to San Diego will involve a car and a day trip … and departing with a very empty stomach!!!

That’s all for now; enjoy!