On Friday, many of us awoke to the news that Anthony Bourdain, the rock star of the culinary world, had died by suicide. It was devastating news for millions of people from around the world and I must admit it made me tear-up. I was a fan of Bourdain, and referred to him on my…
If you follow the news at all, you know that Hispanics are dealing with discrimination and other problems to a greater degree than in previous years. Yet despite the heartbreaking stories about families being separated, and the idiots who denigrate our contributions to the American condition (which all will pass someday soon), there has never…
Is Lebron James the greatest basketball player of all time? Are the Warriors the best team ever? Who knows? The Warriors clinched their third NBA championship in the last four years and that puts them in a very small class of great teams. Lebron on the other hand, seemed to elevate his already brilliant game…
Some of you may have heard about Mamoudou Gassama, an undocumented immigrant from Africa who saved a little boy that was dangling from the balcony of an apartment building outside of Paris. For those who haven’t seen the video, Gassama, with Spiderman-like speed and strength, fearlessly scaled four stories up the side of the building…
This week I had the privilege of spending two days in L.A. with the Latino Donor Collaborative. I have written about the organization many times and one of the things they do is host intimate convenings where the highest ranking people in entertainment and business get together with the LDC board and discuss the primary…
Less than 3% of high school basketball players go on to play at a four-year college — less than 1% play division one. The numbers are slightly better for other sports. With odds like that it is shocking to some people that the business of youth sports is now a 12 billion dollar industry. Critics…
Anybody interested in seeing a great movie on the mortgage meltdown should watch the 2011 film, Margin Call, written and directed by J.C. Chandor. The film is a fictional characterization of a boutique Wall Street firm that figures out that the trading algorithms most of Wall Street was depending on to gauge the risk of…
Most of you probably heard that the NFL ruled this week that beginning next season players who don’t stand for the national anthem could be penalized and fined. I’ve already written about how I feel about the subject; I think the players should be allowed to protest peacefully. However, while it’s no surprise that Whites…
A few years ago, my family rented an apartment in New York City for a month during the summer. My kids were very active in theater at the time and were looking for workshops in the city to hone their skills. My daughter, Marisa was specifically looking for something comedy related. We found a company…
My two youngest kids are moving on to major milestones. Marisa graduated from college this weekend and Aaron is graduating from high school next month. This Summer may be my last chance to provide them with some useful wisdom that will help prepare them for life. You might be surprised, but my intent is to…