TODAY'S RAMBLINGS Some (OK, none) were curious as to my new, rather strident attitude, re: the virus. Well, I can tell you exactly what did it. It was the first of these two podcasts, on The New York Times "The Daily". I listened to the first last Friday on my last beach walk in Ormond By The Sea. The second came out on Monday, which i...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS Today's post will be mercifully short (you're welcome), but the subject thankfully was not. As some of you know, Julie and I had what can only be described as a crazy-town travel year in '21. We decided we were going to take full advantage of Julie's ability to work remotely and my retirement, and we went nuts. 10 sec...

OVERVIEW You may be asking yourself, "Why?" Or, "Really?" You're wondering if my ego is so large that I'm actually going to trumpet a week in a Mafia stronghold just north of Daytona Beach in Florida? Yes, and while I have no idea about Ormond By The Sea (or Ormond Beach, or Daytona Beach, or Daytona Beach Shores, or New Smyrna Beach) ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS Let me begin by poking at the hypocrite police out there. I'd love for you to read and then fall all over yourself about my LinkedIn post yesterday. Commercial over. For a few minutes, at least. It's been a nicely chill week here, in more ways than one. The weather, except for a glorious Sunday and Monday, has been co...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS It's been interesting to participate, albeit in a tiny, tiny way, in a Gold Rush in the Wild West. It is 1849 all over again here in early 2022 in the NFT world. Based on what I've observed thus far, it's the same, but different. It's not decentralized. At the core of the blockchain concept is a decentralized, permiss...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS Our flight was only 2.5 hours late, and Julie and I both made it safely to our respective destinations. Julie sounds very happy at her recently refreshed room at Disney's Contemporary Resort, and my Airbnb is ideal. There will be some kind of brief Travel Guide of my escapades on the Atlantic Coast published upon my r...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS A Clufff & KLUF update: we've concluded week one of our 6 week media campaign related to the launch of my cousin Charlie's first NFTs. In fact, the campaign bore a tiny, itsy-bitsy piece of fruit just today - but I'm not jinxing anything. Going in to the weekend, it would be a big help to us if you'd friend him or lik...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS I love to read almost as much as I like to write and also talk. So yes, I like to read. I occasionally highlight books here, and I'm kind of doing that, but not really. I can't really recommend the book, because the author spends most his time citing statistics. It gets dull at times. I am talking about the recent boo...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS The artist Charles Clough is a smart ass. But a correct smart ass. He sent this to me last Thursday night. “"The scale of my audience has, until now, been of the 'bespoke' dimension. Frankly, I’m ready for Beeple’s 40 million eyes to behold my treasure."” MIC DROP, beeyatches! Because today, we're launching Charlie's ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS . . . would still stink to high heaven. I'm very much in a business state of mind this week, and that leads me to go off on shitty - or even not that shitty - companies that try to change the conversation by going nuclear. They opt to dump a well-established (but perhaps tarnished) corporate brand and come up with . ....

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS Just when you thought I'd hit peak pretension! I will now take it to the next level - shocker. Because I am now an art dealer! I am proud to announce a partnership I am calling Clufff & KLUF. You may have noticed references I've made to my first cousin, the artist Charles Clough, in the past, here in this newsletter (...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS When did we stop believing in America? I would like to have faith when the cheerleaders say "Anyone's that ever bet against America has lost!" But really? Bin Laden bet against us and while he himself is dead, his attack on the US in 2001 worked to a degree he couldn't have dreamed. And while 9/11 and its aftermath ar...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS After seemingly months of overblown hype, the gala 2021 Darwin Awards are TOMORROW! Ask yourself: what's stopping you? Walk, bike, taxi, BART, drive, or fly: it will be worth it. Well, this gala event may not justify flying to town, but still . . . be sure to watch the video clip attached to this to see what you'll be...

I find the events of January 6, 2021, an insurrection and coup attempt predicated upon Trump's Big Lie, more disturbing than those of September 11, 2001. Because it was/is a deep, deep self-inflicted wound. So I must remind you today of another time when the majority ignored the warning signs. I learned of it at the single most impactf...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS Today, I will be lazy. Just a few random notes, although I do have a Special Edition coming tomorrow. 2021 Darwin Awards Are This Saturday, January 8! The countdown has begun and the energy is palpable. If you are reading this, you are invited, as are your friends and other assorted hangers-on. I'll be there early, bu...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS . . . with SF. You see, as earlier, I continue to struggle in my love affair with San Francisco, even at the dawn of this new year. Despite some glorious rain, and with now over a full year without wildfire smoke fouling our pristine coastal air, I am still pissed off. Yeah, I know: shocker. But seriously, and now it'...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS I've always liked live albums, from the earliest days. I have vivid memories of Frankie Huttner (that's his real, non-newsletter name) bringing over his new copy of Frampton Comes Alive. We were 12 - gosh, am I dating myself? I prefer the energy of a live album and they often give one a more exciting greatest hits col...

OVERVIEW Although we're not (despite being in SF for 30 years), we like to consider ourselves nearly natives. As such, or at least so the schtick goes, we're supposed to hate LA. But we don't, and as evidence I give you the fact that this Travel Guide is based upon our 5th visit, completed over Christmas in 2021. LODGING For our visits...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS If you think I've written dark and foreboding newsletters in the past, this will top them all. That's because today, I am declaring baseball dead. Sure, there may be some sort of agreement hammered out to settle the current lock-out by the team owners, and there may be games for a few more years. But the days of baseb...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS No doubt you've been worried, but rest assured we've been luxuriating and dedicating ourselves to decadence. There will be a full Travel Guide published soon, but for now, here is a tidbit from our Christmas holiday in Los Angeles. This was after lunch yesterday at The Getty Center. There is nothing beyond Diamond Cer...

Without further ado and in response to the clamoring from so very many, here's who will be taking home a Portico on January 8th. A reminder that the winner must be present to claim their award - if a winner is not present, I will arbitrarily assign their Portico elsewhere. But who wouldn't show? Airbnb, Etc. Of The Year Nominees • Cove...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS I know: two newsletters on audio gear within just a week or two is a bit much. Of course, you could always go outside or volunteer to help sick children. But we leave for LA later today for 3 nights, so I had to keep it easy. In fact, I am being responsible, and recycling. Because a recent outing with the esteemed bre...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS You can file this under "Portico Darwin is doing his Jerry Seinfeld thing again". Or, "What a Scrooge!". Because today, I will rant about people being too nice and too friendly. In other words, they're on my lawn again. Specifically: enough with every TV chat show implying that everyone on it are real PALS, and just h...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS It's Monday, and I am recovering nicely from a wonderful holiday party at the home of Emery and Nib Riddle. Thanks, guys - great job - it was very festive and oh, those gin fizzes. Today will be a touch on the serious side, but not in a dark way. If you're reading this, it's probably obvious by now that I enjoy writin...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS Happy Friday. In what could be my single most useless newsletter ever (and that's definitely saying something), today I take the time to note a troubling trend. The trend is that every commercial now seems to feature someone wearing a shirt or shoes that match the color of the sponsor's logo. I will start with the com...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS My predilection for lists knows no bounds, and that doesn't change during the holidays. Here are the Christmas movies we watch each year, in roughly my order of preference. Nightmare Before Christmas Although it's more of a Halloween movie, we still like to kick off the season with this one, especially Julie. Has anyo...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS Last Friday's epic post on music streaming and music hardware took a lot out of me. Probably you, too. So Happy Monday and Happy Mostly No Portico Darwin Writing Day. I will say that I'm not sure I've ever seen a more exciting finish to a sporting event than yesterday's conclusion to the Formula 1 race in Abu Dhabi. W...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS . . . but didn't think you'd ever be bored enough to ask. Warning: this is one of my insanely long (but very informative!) newsletters. Like "Julie, is he OK?" long. Not to worry: it is on a subject that was once a hobby, then a profession, and now a hobby again. If you're not a music person, you can safely skip this ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS Today, I give you the brilliant Heather Cox Richardson. Dr. Richardson is an acknowledged expert on American history; I am not. “Senate Republicans will not issue any sort of a platform before next year’s midterm elections. At a meeting of donors and lawmakers in mid-November, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS Happy Monday. Should we all be dusting off our copies of the ultimate Stephen King novel "The Stand"? Sadly, "It's not over until it's over" never felt more real? On that note, I just got a booster vaccine dose last Wednesday, Julie gets hers this Wednesday, and I sure hope you're getting yours. Here is the CDC's guid...