Read more about the article Learning more about Mark Twain, the ‘voice’ we need in the 21st century
Mark Twain portrait, by J. Carrroll Beckwith (1890)

Learning more about Mark Twain, the ‘voice’ we need in the 21st century

He was a man of many tastes, opinions, and contradictions. He hated the invention called the telephone, despite a life devoted to the written and spoken word. Later in life he proudly wore an unusual, loud white suit he called the “dontcareadam” ensemble. One of America’s most gifted literary figures, he was never shy about expressing his strong opinion in a vigorous, articulate way. We need people like him more than ever today. Born as Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835 and known as author, humorist, speaker, essayist Mark Twain for most of…

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Read more about the article Op Ed: Starbucks backs its words with action
Starbucks in downtown Philadelphia

Op Ed: Starbucks backs its words with action

Direct response to crisis shows companies how best to react By Mark Marchand/For the Daily Gazette | April 27, 2018 Actions speak louder than words. Just ask Starbucks about the value of this old adage. The large coffee house company is driving home a lesson many of us learned when we were young. To learn about responsibility and accountability, teachers, mentors, parents, and others employed this old saying to help us understand what we needed to do when something went wrong. In situations ranging from merely uncomfortable circumstances with a friend or family member…

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Read more about the article Into the wild blue yonder …
Next to the Mooney 201 aircraft I flew for over 10 years as part of the Scotia Flyers club in Schenectady, N.Y. I had just landed in Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Into the wild blue yonder …

This is the first time I post about flying airplanes: one of my passions. I flew for over 20 years after earning my private pilot's license in 1996. I'm including the first chapter of a book I'm writing about my experience learning to fly, and the adventures I had aloft over the next 20 years.

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The creative link between science writing and art: The ‘Story’

Whether communicating about the complex world of science or using art to illustrate life in America, the “story” is what matters. The connection between two vastly different worlds struck me a few weeks ago as award-winning science journalist  Ed Yong stood before a University at Albany audience. As he shared with listeners his approach to selecting topics and then writing articles about 21st century science, the slide he projected behind him spoke volumes: “Stories Matter.” In a world bursting at the seams with scientific data and research results, The Atlantic magazine writer argued, any journalist attempting to gain…

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