Category: College Admissions

Would you like to play poker on Tuesday? Do you have twenty dollars? Answer the second question first. Because if you don’t have twenty dollars, it doesn’t matter whether you would like to join our friendly game. One of my running buddies taught me this important paradigm when discussing the

What the hell you talkin’ about? I got a han’bill says they got good wages, an’ little while ago I seen a thing in the paper says they need folks to pick fruit. Is understated irony among the greatest of Steinbeck’s gifts? Readers of the Grapes of Wrath from 1939

Thomas was shy, didn’t want to give a valedictory speech. So, he deliberately enrolled in “only” five advanced placement courses as a senior, allowing some of his peers to get “ahead” of him by taking six APs. Tommy was graduated fourth in his class thereby, mission accomplished. Somebody else got

Warning: the newsletter this week contains material that may be triggering to some, offensive to others. This essay contains references to eating disorders which, as someone for whom weight issues are professional rather than personal, may be seen as insensitive. No offense is intended. Feel free to delete if this

The Marshall Plan didn’t kick in until April, 1948. The war in Europe ended in May of 1945, giving people who had plenty of practice being hungry since 1939 a chance to perfect their ability to starve. Supply chain issues—defined today as a failure to acquire a toy with the

How much is that doggie in the window, the one with the waggly tale? How much is that doggie in the window? I do hope that doggie’s for sale. Patti Page’s concern for protecting her absent boyfriend by buying him a doggie may have been the primary issue in 1952.

The inequality also means many players lack the resources to improve. “The players ranked 150 to 250 are on the cusp of breaking through, but they need to be able to invest in themselves,” Gaby Dabrowski, another player, said. “You need a coach to guide you, to have a vision

Let’s play a game? It’s simple. We’ll flip a fair coin. If the coin comes up heads, I’ll give you two dollars. If the coin comes up tails, you only have to give me one dollar. Cool? This is a great game. For you. For me, not so much. Because

Is it just me? Or are you also annoyed with pretty much everything? “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” is how the the protagonist of the 1976 film expressed it. There’s this guy. He’s driving a station wagon. (That’s how old this joke is.

The Varsity Blues Scandal is the humiliation that keeps on giving. More headlines this week. More wealthy people headed to the hoosegow. Another herd of gazillionaires in handcuffs. Schadenfreude seems to be the most popular response: Schadenfreude from the German, “schaden” meaning “damage” and “freude” translated as “nanny, nanny, boo,