Author Archives: Greg Swann

What will save commercial real estate? Residential real estate. “Let’s go to the mall! Today!”

Robin Sparkles wasn’t wrong, just early:“Let’s go to the mall! Today!”Retail is dying. Movie theaters are dying. Schools and churches are dying. The world outside the home, especially the world of sociability among strangers, is shrinking, shriveling, vanishing. It’s not … Continue reading

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“News School.” An, edgy inspirational #MyKindOfBenedy peopled with gorgeous people.

The Iron Law of Television: There is no better television than television-about-television. Program accordingly.Illustration by: Diego Albero RománThis is not something I’ve written, just a treatment I wrote a few months ago to get the story out of my head. … Continue reading

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America’s Most Educated: “We know you only want what’s best for your kids. And you can’t have it.”

Worse than uninformed adulation is informed contempt. But never fear, for there is a fate in America that is far worse than education. Re-education.A Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Willie story October 19, 1996 Little Tommy Carruthers wasn’t looking for trouble. In fact … Continue reading

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#MyKindOfBenedy from my own catalog: Gambling on a hundred “Rocky” stories in Las Vegas.

Pulling a hundred “Rocky” stories out of one broke gambler.The Willie stories are full of movies. Not all of them are benedies, of course – I’ve only been thinking this way for four years, and I’ve only had the terms benedy and maledy … Continue reading

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Dear binge-TV-programmers: A series like “Thriving through Harvey” would hold my attention.

“You and what army, Harvey?”I hate serial fiction – franchise movies, series TV, multi-book sagas. That’s funny, considering that I’ve written at least a hundred stories about a serial character – Brother Willie. Even so, serial fiction bores me pretty … Continue reading

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Splendor on – and in spite of – Labor Day.

Labor Day is a holiday established by people who hate human productivity, who hate the human mind. It is a day set aside on the calendar to celebrate and sanctify indolence – and violence.Photo by: Karen HortonThis is me looking … Continue reading

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Sympathy for the underfathered: How the right art will cultivate better lives for our children.

I have good news: The world outside your mind is a a glorious paradise of infinite possibilities. The right kind of art will show you – and your children, and everyone’s children – how to see it that way from … Continue reading

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What to do with the end of an endless Summer: Smile, study me and thrive!

Driven-sociability. It’s not just worth reading about: It’s how we survive.The curse of long holiday weekends is that time can hang heavy on your hands. Still worse, every source of new online content goes off for it’s own bar-be-que. Apparently, … Continue reading

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Wealth is invested capital? Intellectual capital? Humanity’s sole wealth is the drive to survive.

Leadership beckons: When no one knows what to do, humanity’s sole benefactor is the man who does.Watched any news this week? A good week for Trump, a bad one for KimFatty, total devastation for every-other-day media whores like Elon Musk … Continue reading

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Leadership beckons – and it’s looking right at you!

Leadership beckons. You split yourself from the herd and you turn and you beckon and you lead love toward love for love. That’s the only reason to lead, and, accordingly, it’s the only reason anyone ever actually does lead.Photo by: … Continue reading

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Shyly’s delight: Manifesting the secondary consequences of splendor.

Man Alive elucidates the ontology of human social relationships, but it’s dense, tough sledding. Appended below is a easier-reading summary of some of these ideas. I wrote this as a speech for my Toastmaster’s Club in August of 2001. In … Continue reading

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Want to put the eclipse in the shade? Shine with your own light instead.

And do you know what it means when the white ball rolls in front of the yellow ball? That’s right. Nothing.Photo by: Paulo GuedesNot to alienate myself – even further – from the rest of humanity, but I think this eclipse … Continue reading

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How do you live happily among people at war with all joy? Cultivate indifference and press on regardless.

If you can learn to think of your ego as something you must always love and honor and revere and burnish until it seems to glow of its own light, you can make yourself immune from other people’s ugly behavior.Photo … Continue reading

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No Nork nukes yet: Is James “Kill ’em all” Mattis an amiable spy in the house of malice?

Donald Trump is an Id pretending to be a Di. Because he is pretending, he is beyond easy to manipulate, and he insulates himself from that risk by being capricious: You can have Trump’s ear until you either bore or upstage … Continue reading

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Do you believe in magic? Love is made from its own shared and mutual propitiation!

Love is shaling.You don’t get it, you earn it.You don’t give it, you produce it.You don’t share it, you make it – but only together.The product IS the process, so without that, there is nothing.Photo by: Hamza Butt What are … Continue reading

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