Mark Shields had Ivy League fatigue — and he had a point
The late pundit prized civic trust and the common good. With his death, I wonder: Do America’s elite schools even teach those ideals anymore?
Friendship Recession For Men? Friendships formed since Yale?
Friendship Recession A new survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life finds that the social landscape is far less favorable than it once was. Over the past three decades, the number of close friends Americans have has plummeted. This friendship recession is particularly bad for men. The percentage of men with at least six close friends fell by half since 1990, from 55 percent to 27 percent. The study also found the percentage…
QQ: High School Curriculum
“They oughta teach that in school.” You’ve heard it. You’ve said it. You’ve said it about practical life hacks, or lessons “every high school student should know,” even at the expense of some topics taught currently. This month’s Quick Question: “What should be taught in HS that’s not currently taught?” Scale doesn’t matter: It might be a lesson (“The non-intuitiveness of exponential growth”) or a course (“Relationships and Networking” or “Personal Financial. Use the new…
Class Notes, Jul-Aug 2022
Ned Culver reports sad news: “Classmate, roommate, and old friend Scott Herstin died of a heart attack April 14th in Naples Florida, following a period of declining health, including a failed kidney for which he had received a transplant. He is survived by two daughters and five grandchildren. He is also survived by his former wife and close friend Marilynn Core, of Fort Myers. At Yale, he was an American Studies major, a resident of…
Living Eulogies
I recently got a notice that a high school classmate had died. I’m 76. We’re getting old. Such announcements are likely to become frequent, until there are few of us left. ,,,
Eulogies are the reverse of that. They summarize a life, emphasizing the best. But they are only written and delivered when someone dies. That’s a shame, and it’s unnecessary.
I’d like to start a new tradition of living eulogies.
Milwaukee Jihad
Editor’s Note: This is Matt Flynn’s third novel in the series of spy thrillers starring a brilliant mathematician and lots of Yale connections. (See our reviews of the prior two books here.)
This one skewers the Wisconsin political elite, which Matt knows well from his stint as Chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party and his unsuccessful runs for Governor and Congress. Matt would appreciate your support by buying the book.
Gun violence, neoliberalism and Citizens United: We can’t change things without facing the truth
Note: Jim’s Op Ed in Salon argues that it isn’t just the Second Amendment that is the problem. There is a broader problem with neoliberalism, commercial speech and social media.
Yale awards Myron Thompson (JE ’69) an honorary degree
Yale awarded our very own Myron Thompson with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for his extraordinary service to the country as a District Court judge for the Middle District of Alabama these past 42 years.
James Stanford Nippes, May 16, 2022
Editor’s Note: The Hopkins School in New Haven was Jim’s high school, and here are some remembrances from his HS friends, as well as some pix from their 50th reunion in 2015.
James (Jim) Stanford Nippes died unexpectedly Monday evening, May 16, 2022, at his home in Madison, Mississippi. Jim was born on July 10, 1947, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the Hopkins School in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1965; from Yale University in 1969 with a double major in Physics and History; and from the University of Mississippi Law School in 1973. After receiving an LLM Degree in …
Dan Yergin: Recording, chat and transcript from Class Colloquium 14
About 200 Yalies assembled for an hour to listen to, and interrogate, Dan Yergin (’68) on the current state of geopolitics, markets and climate-motivated transitions of the oil and gas markets.
Good genes are nice, but joy is better
Note: What leads to happiness? At a session exploring this question at our 45th reunion (2014), we explored a longitudinal study of 268 Ivy grads from the Class of ’38. This article recapitulates and updates those findings. Spoiler alert: it’s all about relationships.
Charles P. Resor, April 24, 2022
Chuck Resor, longtime valley resident, conservationist, co-founder of Jackson Youth Skating and inventor of the Flashmaster, died April 24 at his home in Jackson. He was 75. The following was provided by his family.
Class Colloquium#14, Energy Expert Daniel Yergin on Energy, Climate, and Geopolitics (May 19th)
Gas prices spiking at the pump, war in Ukraine, Russia versus the U.S., new threats of nuclear weapons. Once again the world is on edge with a global energy crisis. (Remember OPEC and long gas lines in the ’70s?)
These dangerous developments come on top of transformative changes in energy markets – fracking and the shale revolution, cost-effective renewables, China and India becoming big-time players, a new race for critical minerals used in new technologies.
Dan Yergin ’68, energy expert (yes, the one you’ve seen on TV), will brief us on what is actually going on – and what it means for us – and answer your questions. Be sure to register now for the May 19th zoominar.
Class Notes, May-Jun 2022
The good news: the mailbag is empty, so no bad news to report. The bad news: there is no good news to report. Your scribe has therefore raided the class website to report on the activities of Bruce Bolnick, who has written about his “second act” in tax preparation. A worthy undertaking, Bruce! Quoting Bruce: “Want an excellent mental challenge to hold off cerebral atrophy? Here’s one you might want to consider. First, a bit of…
Rejecting The Nature/Culture Dichotomy – An interview with Robert Horvitz
Robert Horvitz is an Exhibitor at a new show sponsored by Lisbon’s Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology. This is a published interview with him, with lots of pictures from his days as art director of The Whole Earth Catalog. Click through for pix of geodesic domes, inflatable houses, pasted-up pages of Whole Earth, a young Stewart Brand, and an even younger Robert Hovitz — along with some thoughtful comments on the role of art.
Eliot Norman and Friends in Concert
[Update 5/4/2022: Recording of the concert available.]
Eliot will play solo favorites from Bach/Marcello to Chopin and Brahms, livestreamed on the library’s YouTube channel. Harry Wise on trumpet, too!
