April 16, 2019 Shatter the Illusion of Integrity (part 2) Not to pile on, but doesn’t it seem like we just can’t seem to get this integrity thing right here in Baltimore? I guess this must happen in other municipalities, no? But jeez Louise, really, more tawdry scandal again? And we can’t even claim a scandal of the salacious variety (think Anthony Weiner); ours is embarrassingly petty: not particularly large sums of money acquired in dishonest and/or questionable ways by Baltimoreans whom we are supposed to trust. Dixon with her gift cards. DeSousa avoiding income taxes. And now Healthy Holly. As longtime Baltimore chronicler and conscience Dan Rodricks reminds us,…
February 8, 2019 Let a Sparkling Smile be Your Superpower There is a superpower that we all have easy access to every waking moment. Your shining smile. No, really, I mean it. People who smile more often really do rule the world. Smiling improves your health by lowering your stress, releasing endorphins, lowering your blood pressure, and gives a boost to your productivity. Researchers have even found a link between smiling and longevity. And who wouldn’t want to live a long life if you’re going to be so darned happy! I have a concrete example of how smiling may actually enhance your employment opportunities. Recently, we were interviewing for a…
January 11, 2019 Is There Anything Else I Can Help You With? Anything At All? Pet peeve time. You buy something. Or travel somewhere. Or make plans. And something goes awry. What you ordered came in wrong. Or late. Or not at all. Your hotel room was not what you expected. Or too loud. Or dirty. Your restaurant reservations were lost. Or the food was bad. Or the service was rude. You know what I mean. What do you do? You could email, or post to social media, or go straight to skewering on Yelp. Or you could call customer service and try to get a resolution. After spending an hour online trying in vain…
