Social Primer

And the Oscar Goes to…. Oh, who knows? This is really just an excuse to beg you to watch Food, Inc. The most important film of the year, decade, maybe ever. I will be back on Monday with SP’s  highly-anticipated and most-viewed post of the year (Best Dressed Men at the Oscars!! So important!)  but thought we needed a little gravitas to balance those imminent exclamations. High and low. You know the routine. As for this documentary, I can't say enough and won't ... Read More

It should come as no great surprise to anyone when I state that my reading and writing tend to be pretty old-fashioned. Hell, it took the Great Recession to make me tolerate The New York Times online. (I had to give up the luxury of doorstep delivery because it is rather pricey). I live for the crinkle of a newspaper, the tearing out of articles and the underlining of striking passages. I attempt to bring that sensibility to the writing here ... Read More

As you know we like to debunk the myths here on SP and now the institution of classical music has landed in our sight. The myth being that classical music is an exclusive enclave for the rich or the gray-haired country club set and therefore inaccessible to Average Joe. This is not to imply that a night at the philharmonic  or chamber music recital will compare to swilling Budweiser center field at the Talledega 500. Or for that matter staving off ... Read More

Now that the season is upon us, get out there and enjoy the culture. If you are invited to the philharmonic or a chamber music performance, don't be intimidated if you've never been. Herewith a simple list of what to expect and how to prepare. Rules Familiarize before you go - Find the music or video of the performance on the internet and listen to the work ahead of time to familiarize yourself with the music. You know, just like you would do if ... Read More

If there were any question SP loves the emailer machine and the joys it can bring to our modern life, here is one more piece of proof. Harvard University is offering its very popular class Justice on the Internet for free. Since it's September and the back-to-school scent is pungent in the air, let's take a trip back to campus, shall we? And not just any campus, the campus. Run, don't walk to catch these weekly webisodes on morals presented in a ... Read More

SP has found two new favorite things. Eliot Gregory and Bibliolife:  Mr. Gregory for his witty and astute social observations at the turn of the Twentieth century and Bibliolife for their mantra “Old Books Deserve a New Life.” Among the interesting insights found in this book, I stumbled upon some wise words that are a great balm in these difficult days. Perhaps aimed at those who rose too fast on the path of success but most applicable to those of us still in ... Read More

The old dignity code has not survived modern life. The costs of its demise are there for all to see. Every week there are new scandals featuring people who simply do not know how to act. For example, during the first few weeks of summer, three stories have dominated public conversation, and each one exemplifies another branch of indignity. Excellent column by David Brooks  in The New York Times. Read More

Introducing one of SP's favorite things: classic, quality correspondence cards. Visit the SP Shop for details. Read More

[caption id="attachment_17" align="alignnone" width="296" caption="Ernest Hemingway Wrote it Down"][/caption] There are many ways to keep track of the pieces of information careening in and out of your life. There is your iPhone or Blackberry, your blog, the napkin at your lunch table, even the gum wrapper in your pocket. All will do for jotting down a phone number, a grocery list, the next great idea that will change the world or what have you. But where will you consolidate this meandering mess? Thoughts come to you ... Read More

Many men look back fondly on their halcyon school days as a time when life was easier and filled with the luxury of reading and learning and discussing that new knowledge with a panel of his peers. Of course, the nights were filled with booze-soaked parties and the mornings weighed down with banging hangovers, but the days! It is the days of learning I seek to recall here, stay with me. I am simply trying to say this: A man never stops learning. He ... Read More