Sunday Reads...

An irregular roundup of thought-provoking reads. Most made me go “hmm…” — none should be mistaken for endorsement.

Quote of the Day:

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - Mark Twain

• Can universities cultivate civic friendships?  If they can’t, their role in liberalism is DOA.

• Recalling, 70 years later, Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues.

• Adult Summer Camp?  Hey, build community anyway you can!

• Good news!  Divorce rates are decelerating.  When one extracts the divorce boom amongst early boomers, the rate seems to settle in at 40% - still too high, but improving!

• America is at a tipping point.  We don’t trust our government.  We are concerned about our future and are more disconnected from one another than ever before.  However, this report suggests that people are aware of their need for more social connection and community and are seeking it out. 

• It’s not too late!  Have an offline summer.

• History:  Did you know the world’s first “mutual fund” was created by an avowed Marxist?  It was.  Learn more.

• The history of the “shelterbelt” planning project.

• Unpacking the history of narrative or story-driven wrestling, a.k.a., Pro-Wrestling.

• Roller coasters as the new mental health medication – likely better than what the “experts” have been peddling for the past three decades.

• IKEA’s business model explained.

• The top-most anticipated fiction releases are upcoming.

• You can vote to bring back your favorite USPC stamp.

• The best movies about Wall Street?  Check them out.

• Unpacking the all too human, real-life story of a book editor.

• Diving into the reality of “tick bite” danger.

• Six movies, critics claim, are better than the books they’re based upon.

• How the Ice Cream classic “sundae” got its spelling.

• The incredible statistics and staying power behind “country” music.

• The man behind the history of karaoke!

• The anti-cancel PR crisis super talent.

• Rather nerdy, but an unusual defense of the unelected “Senate referee” as the  (r)epublican virtue of it all.

• How the Amish are more immune to allergies.

• The science behind airplane ear pops.

• An interactive database of the most assigned textbooks by area of study.  Sociology, for instance, is “Marx,” which tells us volumes.

• Check out what Dan read!  From 1962 to 2025, this gent read nearly 4,000 books and kept a list.

• How does J.P. Morgan’s Jamie Dimon spend his free time? Reading, family and BBQ.

• Yet another study reveals the devastating impact of government-mandated minimum wage laws.

• Definitions matter here – but this is another example of “experts” being nothing more than overeducated whackadoos.

• If you have the same obsession as Martin Luther and John Adams did about their poop, at least learn its health signaling here.

• Unpacking the history of “vanilla”, the flavor.

• TRAVEL:

  • The top 5 most fit cities in America.

  • The top 31 most beautiful towns in the U.S.

  • National flags made from key culinary dishes.

  • The “best” comfort food from every state listed here.

  • The 10 most expensive U.S. cities.

  • A French town fines visitors for wearing swimsuits away from the beach.

  • A brief history of summer travel vacations.

  • The history of the “road trip.”

  • 50 roadside attractions.

• AI:

  • Yelp + AI is kicking out auto-generated restaurant videos.  Slop for your plate and screen!

  • China pitches its AI agenda.

  • An English teacher experiments with AI as a replacement.

  • The jobs most “moated” against AI are noted.

• Watch a perfect game of Tetris!

• Some indications suggest that major medical research journals have been more focused on advancing Marxist ideologies than on patient care or disease cures.

• The history of "pink and blue" as sex correlated color preferences unpacked.

• The average house price in state is noted.