by Richard Wilson | Jun 8, 2019 | Fashion
Ferpitzt. Yiddish for well-dressed. Turned out. Dolled up. Suited up. Dressed to the nines. In modern American culture, for much of the time, many of us dress down. The frayed T-shirt and crumpled baseball cap are so often the male uniform of choice. We drag this garb...
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | Diffusion Theory, Fashion, Prohibition, Prohibition fashion, The Shrub
Obsidian MacAdoo is a poetess, and she wrote the terrifying yet compelling Green Cackles at Dawn. Diffusion of Innovations research informs us that far more than half of humanity is afraid of standing out. Uppermost in the minds of so many of us is the...
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | Boston, Prohibition
Massimo Volpedo, as we saw in the last episode, loves life and people on a breathtaking scale. Let us see what he has to say about wine. The setup: It’s a bitter cold Boston evening in January, 1930. Pinky DeVroom, his best pal Unctual Natchez, Elfred Norcross...
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | Bespoke capitalism, Publishing
The only Episode thus far with a coda to its title. And why? Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Signore Massimo Volpedo: * Pinky entered, hat in hand, and nodded to Mrs. Dalton. He was vaguely conscious that he was throttling the windpipe of his hat again, and willed himself...
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | Bespoke capitalism, Prohibition, The Shrub
Somewhere in all his writings Seth Godin asserted that businesses–and I assume he meant local, bespoke, non-corporate ones–have only two pathways to success: (1) Delight people, and (2) Solve their problems. The more interesting the problem, the better. In...
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | Bespoke capitalism, Capitalism, Prohibition
Time now to turn from the realm of industrialists and corporate capitalism to the free market’s other branch, which doesn’t seem to have a name but which I shall call the bespoke branch of capitalism. This is an interesting question. Is capitalism one big...
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | General Motors, Industrialism, Leaded gasoline, United Fruit
One more post on industrialism and then we shall leave this oft-times dark subject and move into the light. And the lighter side of Swirled All the Way to the Shrub, this engaging and thought-provoking novel that Tom Bentley and I co-authored. What is an Externality,...
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | American politics, General Motors, Industrialism, United Fruit
In recent posts, we have been exploring the nature of industrialists. Our novel, Swirled All the Way to the Shrub, wrestles with the complex interplay between industrialism and the human beings who live in the world it shapes. Industrialist: “A person who owns...
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | American politics, Historical Figures, United Fruit
The story arc and the lives of our characters in Swirled All the Way to the Shrubare forcefully impacted by industrialists. Indirectly–we don’t (yet) actually meet any bona fide robber barons in the work. Their circle of influence effects everyone, though....
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | American politics, Historical Figures, Racial issues
Here, our enigmatic character the Gantseh Macher opens up old wounds in Unctual Natchez, our internally troubled but externally chipper friend of Pinky DeVroom’s: *** But the Gantseh Macher was unperturbed. “You, as your surname suggests, sir, are of Natchez...
