Synch-ron-ate”: recording a show, then watching it — without commercials — so as to finish at the same time as the live telecast. –Proposed new word; Ross Kaplan. Want to watch the Oscars tonight, but not all the commercials? (inordinately bunched at the end — or at least, so it seems). If you have a...Read More
Spoiler Alert * * * Spoiler Alert * * * Spoiler Alert * * * I have a dark theory about why Amazon Prime’s super hero send-up, “The Boys,” is such a smash hit: its indelible imagery is so shocking — either violent, carnal . . . or simultaneously both(!) — that it supplants,** if...Read More
Is That Democrats’ Sense of Patriotism Talking? Or Their Self-Interest? [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] Since Starbucks’ Howard Schultz announced on 60 Minutes last Sunday that he may run...Read More
Goring BOTH Parties’ Oxes: Why 2016 May Be the Year Americans Use “Ranked Choice Voting”** to Elect the President There were no computers (and ranked choice voting) when Woodrow Wilson was elected in 1912, but if there had been, runner-up Teddy Roosevelt would likely have been chosen President instead. After all, a majority of voters...Read More
Dayton – Emmer Recount Twice in two years, Minnesota is mired in what could be a messy, protracted statewide election recount. It didn’t have to be this way. “Instant run-off voting” — also known as “ranked-choice voting” — would have resolved the gubernatorial race by Wednesday morning. No expensive legal challenges. No cross-allegations of balloting...Read More
