Dependent on the Kindness of (Foreign) Strangers One of the more disturbing images in “American War,” Omar El Akkad’s debut novel about a dystopian U.S. 50 years hence, is the presence of the Red Crescent on American soil. Of course, to early 21st century Americans, it’s the Red Cross that gets dispatched to war zones abroad to...Read More
Best Ideas: Bryn Mawr, Longfellow, Saint Anthony Park, Brookside “East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” –Rudyard Kipling “North is North and South is South, and never the twain shall meet.” –corollary, Ross Kaplan As a Twin Cities Buyer’s agent, when you’re working with a client whose job is...Read More
Food Snobs Manage to Become Even More Obnoxious It had to happen: once everything became “craft” this and “artisanal” that, what do you do for an encore? Start “pairing” things. “Artisanal” and “craft” things. The list includes food, wine, beer, and interestingly, even cannabis where it’s been legalized. Of course, trend-setting gourmand that I am,...Read More
The Case For — and Against In a microcosm, the considerations for doing an open house on Easter Sunday are the same as for deciding whether to list a home during a traditionally slow time of the year (like around the holidays). Here’s how the arguments shape up: Pros: –Not much competition from other open...Read More
Value is in the Land (Duh!) As both a Realtor and a self-confessed number cruncher, I couldn’t resist asking two questions after seeing the headline (above) in USA Today: One. What kind of annual return does that represent? To answer that, you (also) need to know that the actress Eve Plumb bought the 850 square...Read More
From Flailing to Flourishing, With No Pain or Sacrifice “GE Capital Chief to Retire After Pivoting GE’s Finance Arm” –headline, The Wall Street Journal (8/30/2016) Once upon a time, corporations, sports teams, and election campaigns(!) that were flailing underperforming got restructured, overhauled, or otherwise remade (presumably, into something more focused, efficient, and — hopefully —...Read More
