Merry Christmas!

Especially to those currently serving overseas and unable to celebrate Christmas with their families. Here are just a few ways to support and thank them for their selfless sacrifice – the reason most of us sleep through the night with few worries. Thank you!

Support Our Troops

Yellow Ribbon America

Soldier’s Angels

The Wounded Warrior Project

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 Essayons!

Lesson 1: Supply and Demand

Several years ago I was on the north coast (Cabarete area) of the island hanging out with a friend. My friend was a heavy smoker and had just returned from the colmado (i.e. bodega, typical convenient store). He was shaking his head as he recounted his experience. He wanted to buy cigarettes but all they had were the little packs with 10 cigarettes. He wanted the packs of 20 so he asked the owner if they had any.

Store Owner: “No. I don’t stock those any more because they sell out too quickly.”

Lesson 2: Economies of Scale

Another friend decided to hire a local craftsman to make him a chair for his office. So he pulled over to visit the roadside workshop and worked out the details with the little old man he found sitting there. 2,000 pesos for one chair – come back in a week.

My friend picked up the chair a week later and brought it to his office where several of his employees expressed interest. He decided to buy 6 more for the office. So he returned to the old man’s workshop and indicated that he would like to order 6 more chairs. It was 2,000 for one, how much would it be to buy six? The old man thought for a minute…

Old Man: “3,000 pesos each.”
My Friend: “But it was 2,000 for one chair. Why would it be 3,000 each for six chairs?”
Old Man: “Because it will take a lot more material and time. It’s just a lot more work for me.”

Conclusion

Some people are in business just to survive. Not everybody is out to take their business public or start the next Microsoft.

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A few months ago I read historian Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire and it knocked me on my ass. After reading the last page I closed the book, set it down on my desk, and wondered how a human being could have created such an awe-inspiring work of art. It’s about the Battle of Thermopylae (AKA “300“) and I can’t help but think Pressfield’s version is exactly how things played out – word for word – straight down to King Leonidas’ rousing speeches.

Then I decided to surf through the reviews on Amazon. They are overwhelmingly positive, but also contain the following (words in parentheses are mine):

“…not at all well written.”

(Compared to what?)

“The style is earnestly striving for verisimilitude, but manages to leave us only with a sort of quirkiness.”

(Verisimilitude? How long have you been dying to use that word?)

“The author should provied the reader with developed atmosphere as well as telling a story and delivering a historical perspective. Steven pressfiled fails this misreably. I finally stopped reading the book one third of the way into it because of the anachronisms and other writing blunders.”

(You had me at “provied”, “pressfiled”, and “misreably.”)

“Incredibly unreadable, the ‘translation’ of the language into disgusting modern adjectives leaves me bewildered who could possibly want to read it.”

(Were you under the impression that 5th Century B.C. Spartans did not have “potty mouths?”)

“Scariest of all is the blurb on the back cover by an American Colonel who recommends this book as an example of the beauty of the military mindset.”

(You’re right, enough of these warriors! We should strive to create a more level battlefield where each side has an equal chance of winning.)

Mercifully, the last of these critiques was answered with the following:

“Go hug a tree, Hippie.”

The moral of the story

People suck.

Okay, not all people.

Just too many.

The solution

Accept the fact that too many people are fueled by negativity. They thrive on it and, deep down in parts of themselves they dare not confront, they are jealous. They wish they would have written the book, given the presentation, asked for the promotion, sung the song or painted the portrait. And it absolutely kills them to see that you did it.

Your dream is a knife in their side.

Twist it.

Practical Exercise: Recall a fantastic book that you’ve read (or movie that you’ve seen). Not just a “good book” (or movie), but something that moved you, made you laugh, cry or buy a treadmill – whatever. Now go to Amazon and read the 1 star reviews.

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Below Picture Added on  3/11/11 – A nice note from author Steven Pressfield

Molon labe (mo-lone lah-veh) is Greek for “Come and take them.” This was Spartan King Leonidas’ reply when Xerxes demanded that the “300″ submit to Persia and give up their weapons.

Click here for a sneak peak at Pressfield’s newest book “The Profession.”

You can visit Pressfield’s Amazon page by clicking any of the images below.

He blogs regularly at StevenPressfield.com

The expat community and perennial visitors to the Dominican Republic typically know quite a bit about Dominican history and culture. The best way to learn about a culture is to immerse yourself in it like them. If that is not possible the second best option is to read.

Here are ten good books about the Dominican Republic (actually 7 books, 2 movies, and a website) in no particular order.

Note to Dominican Experts: Which books or resources would you add to the list?

DR1.com
Comment: Daily news, articles, an online guide, and a message forum filled with treasure covering just about any Dominican topic you can think of. Appropriate for newbies and Jedis alike.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Comment: The first Dominican writer to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Lots of funky footnoting but this book is a huge hit.

The Unfinished Experiment: Democracy in the Dominican Republic by Juan Bosch
Comment: Juan Bosch was no communist.

The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa
Comment: The assassination of the Dictator Trujillo. General Antonio Imbert Barrera (from my wife’s family on her father’s side) is one of the only living assassins. Hollywood made a movie out of this but it wasn’t very good.

The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat
Comment: All about the Haitian Massacre of 1937 that you’ve never heard of.

The Dictator Next Door: The Good Neighbor Policy and the Trujillo Regime by Eric Paul Roorda
Comment: A thrilling account of Trujillo’s rise to power and the iron grasp he had on all things Dominican.

Sugar
Comment: An awesome movie for baseball fans. It’s about the reality of baseball training camps in the DR as well as U.S. immigration.

Sanky Panky the Movie
Comment: A Dominican made comedy about the legendary “Sanky Panky” (Dominican men who seduce foreign women out of their senses and eventually out of their money).

Aunt Clara’s Dominican Cookbook by Clara Gonzalez and Ilana Benady
Comment: The only book about Dominican cooking you will ever need.

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Comment: The tragic story of the Maribal sisters. You have to be able to say that you read at least one Alvarez book. It’s mandatory. Hollywood made a movie out of this one too but it wasn’t very good.

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Other book lists:
Recommended reading for Political Candidates