Everyone thinks of Leonardo da Vinci as the paragon of Renaissance virtue. He could paint, design, and use intuition as an aid to creativity, when he felt like doing so. But a closer look at the record paints a picture of a chronic procrastinator, a man of dubious reliability, and an idler who was more preoccupied with his daydreams than with perfecting his craft. He had genius, of course. But that is never enough. Harness, discipline, and application are far more important.
A reader needs some suggestions on how to handle a “friend” who he has known for a while. This person is fine with him when they are alone, but when girls are around, he seems to make jokes at his expense to ingratiate himself with the girls. What are some good ways to handle this situation?
The visage of Ernesto “Che” Guevara has graced countless t-shirts, posters, and other kitsch memorabilia. He has assumed the status almost of a secular saint, the supposed defender of the poor and marginalized. Few who concern themselves with such things, however, know much about the man himself, or about his murderous legacy.
Vo Nguyen Giap (1911-2013) was the architect of the Vietnamese victory in the “Second Indo-China War” (called in the United States the “Vietnam War”), which took place from 1960 to 1975. He must also be credited with winning the “First Indo-China War,” which was waged against the French from 1946 to 1954. He proved to be a master of both conventional and guerrilla tactics, and displayed an incredible single-mindedness and foresight in pursuing his objectives to ultimate victory.
The science fiction genre is filled–too filled–with stories about what might happen if extraterrestrials came into contact with human beings. It is a favorite subject of writers, who use the theme to explore deeper truths about man and his place in the universe. And this is all well and good.
A reader has a business in the United States but wants to begin traveling and living abroad. He eventually wants to split his time between the US and Colombia. What is the best way to do this? I offer some suggestions.
“All that will be left, eventually, will be the grin of the Cheshire cat.”
Nations that have been victorious in war like to talk about their triumphs, but less often their failures. It is for this reason that the Allied raid on the French port city of Dieppe remains an obscure incident of the Second World War. But it should not be. For it can be argued that in war, like much else in human endeavor, failures are far more instructive than successes.
A reader feels frustrated because it seems that he is not being rewarded for his ethical behavior. He thinks unethical people are being rewarded wrongly. He sees a conflict between what is ethical, and what is advantageous, and wants to know how to resolve it.
I recently saw again the film The Shawshank Redemption (1994), after not having seen it for a few years. It’s always interesting to revisit certain classics (book, film, or work of art) as the years go by, and observe how your perceptions change. I had a chance to read a little bit more about how the director, Frank Darabont, got the film made, and how it was not an immediate success.
The obvious failure of conventional infantry tactics in the early years of the First World War led to agonized soul-searching in the leadership elements of the belligerent nations. How could the stalemate be broken? How could ground forces move forward, and restore some sort of war of maneuver?
Quintus Curtius 
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