One of the great techniques of art in almost every genre — from music to movies to literature — is tension and release. It’s the
Hashtag Culture and the Death of Leadership
When Kit was alive I used to brag about her a lot. (I still do now, but more discretely.) For instance, I loved telling people
And Now For Some Good News
There’s a lot of bad news out there this week. The border’s being overwhelmed with immigrants, the French are mad at us over the Australian
5 Ways Gavin Newsom Can Fix California
Gavin Newsom, the swashbuckling governor of California, cruised to victory in a weird recall election this week. On the ballot was a simple question: “Shall
The Man Who Imagined the Internet
I’ve found myself drawn to science fiction lately, a genre I’ve ignored most of my life, except for movies. I’ve particularly enjoyed “The Three Body
CDC WARNS OF VIRULENT NEW POLITICAL STRAIN OF CORONAVIRUS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SEPT. 13, 2021 ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control today said it had identified a dangerous new variant of coronavirus that
The Memory of 9/11: A Tale of Two Presidents
Years ago, as a young city desk editor, I drew the Saturday shift, rolling into work about 10 a.m., likely a little fuzzy from that
Why Is the State Department Gaslighting Me?
Editor’s Note: This corrects an earlier version that incorrectly identified the antagonist in “Gaslight.” Hat tip to Doug Dykstra. ****** The new, enlightened Taliban —
Step Up Joe, the 21st Century is Waiting
Harry Truman once famously said, “Give me a one-handed economist. All my economists say ‘on one hand . . . ’ then ‘but on the
The 2021 Golf Season: Bombs and Hijinks
Let’s just say it: the PGA Tour season, which began in September 2020 and ended a year later when Patrick Cantlay won the FedEx Cup,
Alternate “Jeopardy!” Hosts
Editor’s Note: Mea culpa. This version corrects a glaring error in the original post. I know you’re not supposed to repeat the error, but I
Forever Wars and Forever Fires
“Dark Star is always playing somewhere. All we do is tap into it.” — Phil Lesh President Biden famously ended the “forever war” in Afghanistan
5 Legacy Models Rolex Should Release
Nobody asked, but the luxury watch market is doing just fine. Valued at nearly $24 billion globally in 2020, it’s expected to grow at a
The Speech We Need From Biden Now
My fellow Americans — and friends of America around the world — thank you for giving me your time today. I’m not sure I’ve earned
Field Notes: The Mystery of Memory
“The door to the past is open. He could push it shut, latch and lock it, but he doesn’t want to. Let the wind blow
Fly On the Wall: Billionaires in Space!
(Editor’s Note: We’ve come into possession of a transcript from a call between Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, made just hours after Branson returned to
The New Global Tax Deal: What Could Go Wrong?
In one of the great feats of global political engineering, Joe Biden and Janet Yellen, working through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Fly On the Wall: Joe Biden Hosts an SSS
(Editor’s Note: We’ve come into possession of a transcript from an Oval Office meeting on July 5, 2021. In attendance were the President; Bruce Reed,
My Fourth of July Resolutions
After my last post, a friend texted, “Are your serotonin levels running low?” I know him well enough to understand his meaning: why was I
Our American Farrago, Part 2
I recently declared my conversion from an optimist to an optimalist (a willingness to accept failure while remaining confident that success will follow). The downside
Our American Farrago
America is in a farrago right now. Don’t bother to look it up. From the Latin, “farrago” was adopted into the English language in the
The Future of Work
Physicist Neils Bohr once famously said, “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” Well, I’ll make a prediction anyway: the so-called post-pandemic
#FreeBritney!
“Ma’am, I’m not here to be anyone’s slave.” — Britney Spears to LA County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny After 13 years, Britney Spears has
My Summer Reading List
It’s going to be a free-range summer for me. After kicking it off here in Southport, I’ll be heading to the West Coast in mid-July
Field Notes: Slavery and Plein Air Art
There’s usually something cool going on in Southport if you look for it. This weekend was the Plein Air Art Festival — 50 artists scattered
The Things We Do For Love
The other day, I put my ClearAudio turntable in the trunk of the car and took off on a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Four Oaks, NC,
Eulogies for Kit: A Life Well-Lived
Kit passed away on May 21, 2020 but because of the pandemic, we couldn’t hold a formal memorial until June 2021. On June 12, more
Fly On the Wall: VP Harris Pushes for Full Immunization
“Offering free childcare and beer, Biden makes renewed push for July 4 vaccination goal” — Yahoo News, June 3 (JEP has come into possession of
Snowy Grouper
On a late Saturday morning my cousin and I went shopping for dinner, stopping first at a Publix for some vegetables and hummus, but passing
The $6 Trillion Man
So much for incrementalism. As our new $6 Trillion Man (think of Lee Majors’ $6 Million Man adjusted for inflation), Joe Biden wants to leap
America’s New Death Cult
America, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, is an enigma wrapped in a contradiction. In the 18th century, we created a framework for one of the most liberal,
The Genius of the “And”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Wells Fargo, after three long years, has seemingly emerged from the bottom of the barrel to a point where it is no longer
Hey Joe, Please Don’t Kill Our Mojo
I live in a small coastal town in North Carolina, which is quiet most of the year and then explodes in the summer with a
A Fly on the Wall: Joe and the Historians
(On March 2, President Biden hosted a private meeting with eight historians and biographers at the White House to discuss the historical context of his
50 Years Ago: The Top 10 Records of 1971
“Oh, I wish I had a riverI could skate away onI wish I had a river so longI would teach my feet to fly” —Joni
The Sovereign Voter
A little while ago, aided by the rise of new enabling platforms like WordPress and Substack, I declared myself a sovereign writer: I write what
Long Bets: A Vegas for Wonks
I would hazard to guess that most of us have experienced a change in how we perceive time during the Pandemic Year of 2020. Generally
A Fly On the Wall: Moving the All-Star Game
On April 2, Major League Baseball announced that it was moving this year’s All-Star game out of Atlanta to protest the passage of the state’s
How Rational Is Ignorance?
So, as is my custom, I start most days with a cup of coffee and the New York Times (followed by WSJ, Axios, WaPo, Watchville,
Adventures in Bogeyland, Pt. 2: Things We Say On the Golf Course
I’ve always said that hope springs eternal in the hearts of all dogs and golfers. No matter how bad it gets out there (and it
7 Things To Feel Good About
There’s always plenty of bad news to go around — can you believe that tanker in the Suez Canal that’s disrupted the global supply chain?
Random Thoughts and Other Mental Eruptions
It’s Hump Day, spring is in the air, and our thoughts turn to many things, in no particular order: Lana Del Rey Is the New
Fly On the Wall: A Conversation Between Presidents Xi and Putin
(Since Joe Biden’s election in November 2020, Russia and China have set aside political differences and reached a secret, opportunistic rapprochement as short-term allies to
The Atlanta Massacre: Will the Real Narrative Please Stand Up?
I have to get this off my chest. Others have too, including this note from Andrew Sullivan that dropped Friday, and I feel compelled to
Oil & Climate: Let the Markets Work
(Author’s Note: This post had an able assist from financial whiz Breton Birkhofer.) Wow, talk about an inflection point. The International Energy Agency reported this
The Media Landscape in 2025
The media-industrial complex went through a series of rapid and radical changes catalyzed by the Great Pandemic of 2020 that have yet to fully play
Why I Write
Back when I was in the newsroom, I had a managing editor who did a stint on the city desk at the Chicago Tribune. He
The Mash-Up: Putting the Pieces Together
OK kids, time for our weekly art lesson. Once in a while, a piece of art grabs the headlines. Usually when it’s found (an old
The New New Year
Who remembers Lincoln Chaffee? Of course you don’t. Chaffee, the former governor of Rhode Island, ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2015. His campaign
Royal Family Set to Launch IPO in Q4
For Immediate Release 11 March 2021 The Firm, the UK’s Oldest Enterprise, Plans IPO in Late 2021 LONDON, England, United Kingdom — The Firm, a
Saloon Songs
The saloon — or the tavern, bar, watering hole, poor man’s social club, honky-tonk, gin mill, cocktail lounge — is an under appreciated cranny of
We Need An OAR to Paddle Out of This Mess
Does it seem like the world is falling apart? Systemic failure seems to be everywhere: the Texas power grid, the vaccine rollout, third-party hacks of
Everything I Learned In Business School Is Wrong*
The Wall Street Journal noted this week that bitcoin’s market value passed the $1 trillion mark, which should make anyone pause and think for a
Adventures in Bogeyland
(The PGA Tour’s West Coast swing is well under way and marching toward Augusta, so thoughts turn to golf. This post kicks off a series
Let’s Get Quantum
Lance Morrow, one of the wise men of journalism and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, correctly notes that Americans are
#freeJamesBennet!
If you’re spending a lot of time at home because of Covid and the polar vortex covering nearly three-quarters of the country, you’re probably scouring
The Pothole Presidency
When Anthony Villaraigosa was mayor of Los Angeles — one of the biggest and most complex cities in the U.S. — he became famous for
California Lost
A friend and I like to joke that when one of the wags on the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page can’t come up with something
A Little Help From My Friends
Old habits die hard. I’m thinking of that cliché on my sixth day of post-op recovery from rotator cuff surgery. For some reason I’m reverting
Just Exactly Perfect Is Far From It
Enough about Trump, Biden and Buffalo Head Guy. I want to talk about me. Actually, I want to talk about this blog. I started this
“You Got This, Joe”
This is going to be about Joe Biden, but let’s put politics aside for the moment. This is about a man who was elected by
Every Picture Tells a Story
(Editor’s Note: Today, JEP features a guest post by Bob Wynne on the ineffable and enduring power of photography. Bob is an award-winning journalist, public
Mea Culpa: Boy, Did I Get It Wrong
I have a confession to make: I never saw this coming. Four years ago this month, Donald Trump stood at the West Front of the
The Social Media Mob: What’s Next?
Years ago, when social media was still in its early stages, Kit would tell interviewers that it was creating a profound disconnect. “Everybody has a
Winner and Losers
“Big protest in D.C. on January 6th! Be there, will be wild!” — Trump tweet Well, Trump got his wish. There was a big protest
A Fly On the Wall: Trump & Pence
Partial transcript of Trump’s meeting with Vice President Pence in the Oval Office early on Wednesday, Jan. 6. Trump: Mike, what’s your plan today? How
Perspective During the Plague Year
For as much joy as I experienced in 2020 — yes, there was some! — it was overwhelmed by tragedy, both at the personal level
New Year’s Resolutions
Hat tip to John Perry Barlow, RIP Be patient. No matter what. Don’t bad-mouth: Assign responsibility, not blame. Say nothing of another you wouldn’t say
2020’s Top Recipes
Food became a lot more important during the pandemic — not just for nutrition, but also for comfort and communing. Plus, we didn’t go out
Baker’s Dozen: 13 Predictions for 2021
Faithful readers of Just Exactly Perfect have come to expect an annual review capturing highlights of popular culture from the preceding year. Not this time,
Dear Joe, Please Don’t F*** Up the Economy
Mr. President-Elect, First of all, congratulations! Who would have ever thought after your long career, and two failed attempts at the presidency, you would be
Southport: A Love Story
Like a lot of us, I occasionally scan the Nextdoor website just to see what’s going on in the greater Southport neighborhood. The posts range
Covid Time: A Musical Appreciation
Everything changed in 2020. The coronavirus bomb exploded in January and the repercussions are still expanding. The objective metrics are numerous – transmission rates, business
America, You Can Breathe Out Again (Just Do It With a Mask On)
Kit used to pick up the New York Times in the morning and sometimes say, “Let’s see what they’re going to make us feel guilty
Keep It Simple, Joe
We’re going to spend the next few weeks going through wash-and-rinse cycles of the political machine as the Trump Administration wrestles with its loss. There’s
The Morning After
Wow, the election has been a wild ride and it ain’t over yet. But while all the attention is on the race for the White
The Trump Virus
“We are not enemies, but friends.” — Abraham Lincoln, 1861 In the aftermath of this great election, it suddenly becomes clear what the Trump presidency
We Are All Flexitarians Now!
Where I live, a small enclave of people who have migrated to coastal North Carolina to enjoy salt air, green grass, blue skies and white
Takeaways From the Biden-Trump Cage Match
Trump’s Mike Tyson Strategy Tyson famously said that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Trump’s strategy in the first debate
Back to the Future
“The past is never over; it’s not even past.“ — William Faulkner Peter Baker and Susan Glasser’s new book on the life of James Baker,
Kit Yarrow: A Life
Kit Yarrow passed away on May 21, 2020 after a long and brave struggle with ovarian cancer. A light has left the world, but her
The Pandemic Chronicles: 5 Paradigm Shifts
“Buddy, can you paradigm?” So, in our spare time (anybody finding that there’s more spare time out there these days?) it’s interesting to think about
After the Virus: How to Build a Safety Culture
As America begins its comeback — a tentative and lurching return to some kind of normalcy — one of the biggest challenges will be the
7 Lessons We Should Be Learning From the Pandemic
“It’s the end of the world as we know it”— REM It’s true that we should never let a crisis go to waste. One of
Coronavirus: A New Approach
(One in a series of suggested alternative communications for President Donald Trump.) My fellow citizens and friends, we are facing a test of our national
Our Broken Culture: Can Golf Fix It?
We have a civility problem in America; specifically, an increasing lack of it. Our country is devolving into a culture of conflict, disrespect and discord.
Best of 2019: A Baker’s Dozen
Well, I don’t want to start out as a buzzkill, but 2019 was in many ways a mean old year, or annus horribilis as the Queen
A New America
Here’s the speech Trump ought to give in Dayton and El Paso on Wednesday. Mr. President, please feel free to use at will, no remuneration
The New Wave of Smart Business
McDonalds’ founder Ray Kroc once famously said that it took him 30 years to become an overnight success. The same could be said about the
The Radical Center
Last night, I settled into one of the Dead’s great performances, the Veneta show from 8/27/72, aka the “Field Trip” or what Nick Meriwether called