Author of "The Mortgage Game"
Why President Obama Went to Cuba At the beginning of the 20th Century, Havana, Cuba was a place where Americans would go to have a good time. The last time a US President visited Cuba, prior to President Obama and his family’s trip there last Sunday, was in January 1928, when Calvin Coolidge attended the … Continue reading “Why President Obama Went to Cuba”
“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.“–Dorothea Lange When I came closer to the small farmhouse, a little dog with a heavy chain ran toward me loudly barking. We were exploring different areas about an hour drive from Havana, and stopped for lunch in an off the road … Continue reading “What a Photo Story in Cuba Has in Common with The Mortgage Game”
“The slower you drive, the farther you get.”–Russian Proverb Last week, I wrote about life in Cuba, which as I’ve noted, is “complicated”, as well as how getting loan approval in the U.S. can be complicated as well. By law, Cubans cannot buy a new car, or have a mortgage. There is a shortage of … Continue reading “Cuba, Cars, and Mortgages”
“I am not a has-been. I am a will be.”–Lauren Becall I am writing this newsletter at the airport in Havana, Cuba. We spent one week here on the “People to People cultural exchange trip” organized by The Santa Fe Photographic Workshops. I’ve taken classes with them before, but this was a different experience. A group … Continue reading “What Cuba and The Mortgage Business Have in Common”
To Ask or Not To Ask I am writing this story in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The purpose of our visit here was not a vacation; but rather, to participate in a workshop organized by the Santa Fe Photographic workshops. It is my fourth workshop with this incredible organization. We went with them to … Continue reading “To Ask or Not To Ask”
How To Be Happy On Thursday, March 15, 2018 the San Francisco Chronicle published an article by Jari Tanner titled, “Nation tops 2018 global happiness index; U.S. 18th“. Turns out that the happiest people in the world live in Finland. And not only Finns. “Relatively homogenous Finland has about 300,000 foreigners and residents with foreign … Continue reading “How To Be Happy”
How I Produced 42 Encounters What does it take to publish a photography book? Where does one start? Today, many photographers use the services of a number of web-based companies, like Blurb. This is how I put together my first photography book, “Soy Cubano” in 2013 after my first trip to Cuba, to honor the … Continue reading “How I Produced 42 Encounters”
Berlin in March I’ve visited Berlin many times. My wife’s brother and his family live there, and our first visit was in 1987. At that time The Berlin Wall, which was completed on August 13th, 1961, was still standing. (This period is very well portrayed in the movie “Bridge of Spies” with Tom Hanks and … Continue reading “Berlin in March”
Happy New Year! 42 ENCOUNTERS in SAN FRANCISCO It is astounding that my first story in 2016 starts on the first day of the year, Friday, January 1st. The first day of the year signifies both the ending of the old and the beginning of the new. For some, it is a tradition to write … Continue reading “HAPPY NEW YEAR!”
Why Do We Need Children? The Wall Street Journal, (among other newspapers), recently published a story titled, “China’s Leadership Scrap One-Child Policy”. Now some families in China can have two children. China has the largest population in the world – 1.37 billion. In the past, families in China had many children (in 1950 … Continue reading “Why Do We Need Children?”