Jonathan Miller's Blog, page 33

Lauren Mayer: ElevatorGate

There are fewer & fewer of us who actually remember the first scandal whose name ended in ‘gate,’ thus inspiring every other controversy to adopt a similar suffix, whether somewhat comparable (“BridgeGate,” about Chris Christie & the GW Bridge closure), unwieldy (the Mark Sanford “AppalachainTrailGate” sex scandal) or downright silly (criticism of the President’s summer wardrobe became “TanSuitGate”). But part of why the -gate naming continues to this day is that the original Watergate scanda...

John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Diet Update

Weighing in. One last time.

8 months and 4 days ago I weighed 205.4 lbs and set goal for myself to get down to 178.5 lbs.

Today I weighed in at 177.1 lbs.

I did it.

But only for today. The point of this post isn’t to declare victory but to recommit to maintain this new way of eating and exercising. Daily.

Somehow posting about my diet on Facebook and providing updates helped keep me accountable and the encouragement I received from so many Facebook friends was a wonderful motivator.

Thank you. Very...

Erica and Matt Chua: He Said/She Said: Best Wine Regions in the World

After a few bottles of wine it’s hard to determine, which wine and region are the best. But we do our best in a sober moment to discern the best wine regions we have visited and where we are most looking forward to imbibing.

HE SAID…

Why is the sun so bright today? Why does my head hurt so much? Why is my mouth so dry? Man, I need water… Groggily opening my eyes to the noonday sun must mean one thing: I’ve enjoyed a wine region a little too much. As the staunch environmentalist I am, I just can...

John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Circling the Drain

That feeling you are “circling the drain.”

For some it signifies the end. For others it signifies being on the brink of a new beginning. And for others still it means the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning or, for extreme pessimists, the end of the end.

For me, though, it feels more like an extreme sport. Hangin’ 10. From near the drain. At least some days. Like today.

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Some days I feel like I am hitting on all cyclinders and am a masterfully mindful multi-tasking maniac.

Other da...

John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Sunday Morning

Get up!

If you are like me and plan on doing nothing at all this Sunday, you ought to at least have enough pride to get up early and start right away!

Anything worth doing –even doing nothing –is worth doing well.

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Sunday morning vanity conversation leading to disappointment

This morning I was admiring my recent weight loss in the bathroom mirror as my wife and I were getting ready to go out for coffee. After my proud moment of self-satisfaction, I threw on a pair of jeans and wet my hair befor...

John Y’s Musings from the Middle: September 12th

I know this is probably not politically correct to say but I personally believe Sept 12th is a more significant date for our country to commemorate than Sept 11th.

Because it signifies that no matter how horrifically shocking the terrorist attack was 13 years ago, that it lasted only one day, and on Sept 12th, we began picking up the pieces and moving ahead, chastened and somber, to be sure, but also united and wiser and unbowed.

And that, to me, is important for us to remember and celebrate to...

Julie Rath: How to Choose a Tuxedo

Dressing for a formal event is like ice climbing: one misstep, and it’s all downhill. The reason there are so many rules to follow is that the point of formal dressing originally was that at formal engagements, men could blend into the crowd while their female companions could stand out in their finery. For this reason, if you’re having a formal wedding, it’s particularly important that you nail the details. With so many options out there, here’s your cheat sheet:

Renting vs Buying:Buy if at a...

Will Meyerhofer: Evil Middle Management

When I launched The People’s Therapist, my intent was to get stuff off my chest – process a smidgen of psychic trauma. I’d write a column or two, exorcise the odd demon, piss off Sullivan & Cromwell and call it a day.

It never occurred to me I’d be deluged with lawyers as clients.

It never, ever occurred to me I’d be deluged with partners as clients.

It never so much as crossed my mind they’d be so unhappy.

It turns out being a partner can be…not all that. For many of my clients, the job boils do...

John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Rewards

I got excited to see a late night email from American Express that I was receiving an “update” on my recent increase in Rewards points including a link to use them to shop for something right now.

My excitment grew when pictured under the notice was a picture of a brand new iPad and next to that JetBlue airlines and mention of round trip ticket to any of a long list of resorts.

So I click the link.

And find out my new “updated” Rewards point total is worth just under $28 and that the only purcha...

Josh Bowen: Find Your Why

A couple of days ago, I was sent a youtube video that made a ton of sense to me. You can watch it here

From a business perspective, this gentleman starts by going through what separates the top companies from everyone else. In particular, he uses Apple as an example. In his example he states that most companies will market in this order; what we do, how we do it and finally why we do it. He later explains that the most successful companies use the “golden circle” and start with why they do it...