Kirk Douglas was a unique thespian that possessed an incredible screen presence. Even in his early days of The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, you could see that he had a knack for acting, whether it was in a supporting role or a featured part.

He was as fierce in the pictures as his good buddy, Burt Lancaster, and as memorable as James Cagney. But there was only one Kirk Douglas; nobody could replicate him.

It’s sad to think that there are only a few people left from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Olivia De Havilland will probably be the next one to go.

Most young people today will only know Douglas from Spartacus, but he has an extensive body of work.

These are my five favorite films that featured Kirk Douglas (in no particular order):

• “Ace in the Hole”
• “The Detective Story”
• “The Paths of Glory”
• “A Town Without Pity”
• “Bad and the Beautiful”

Champion was an underrated boxing film and definitely a superb film.

Here is a clip of just how great he was:

 

 

I recently spoke with Mike Manwell of Rethinking the Dollar and Silver Doctors to talk about a whole host of economic issues, including negative interest rates, the global economy, the Federal Reserve, repo markets, and a lot more.

The last time I spoke with Manwell was a few years ago to talk about the war on cash. It was a pleasant discussion.

Here is the 37-minute interview:

The other day, a content manager reached out to me after reading a listicle I wrote a few years ago on my personal blog: “41 Tips to be a Successful Freelancer.”

I am inundated with these emails every day, marketers asking me to link to something of theirs on some of the websites I contribute to. I typically ignore them, but this email was clever in both the subject line and the body. I decided to give it a thorough read, and I responded.

What was great about the email was its honesty. Many of the digital marketers who compose these emails are obsequious and disingenuous and it is obvious what they are after. Plus, these professionals usually just demand something and offer nothing in return.

Just check out the opening:

Hi Andrew,

This is a cold outreach, which gives you 3 options:

1. Ignore me, and continue working (most popular)

2. Send me an angry reply with lots of profanity.

3. Find out what I want to give you in exchange for you linking to our amazing blog post.

It doesn’t take itself so seriously and it injects a little bit of humor. The offer wasn’t cash either, but useful information: ebook, webinar, and audiobook. I rejected this remuneration because of a paucity of time and lack of need, but I’m still sharing it because I respected a unique take on the 25-year-old email marketing strategy. Great stuff.

Here is the article, which is also a superb and helpful read for the millions of people worldwide who are starting out freelancing:

How to Move from Being a Solo-Freelancer to Starting a Digital Agency

What a year it has been.

New home. Twins are already 18 months. A lot of work. Boston Red Sox missed the postseason. Quite the year.

I was also recently named Best Beat Correspondent for Liberty Nation. My boss, Leesa Donner, is simply the best. The best one I’ve ever had.

This year was really focused entirely on economics, thanks to the trade war, monetary policy, and the booming U.S. economy and sluggish global economy.

So, here are my favourite Liberty Nation articles from 2019 (I know, I know. I’m a bit late on this one):

Paul Krugman’s Ping-Pong Polemics

LN In-Depth: The Real Cost Of Reparations

On The Cusp Of The One-World Currency?

Vanilla Prices Prove Karl Marx Was Wrong

A Reasoned And Historic Argument Against Tariffs

Economic Zombie Virus Coming To A Superpower Near You

Are 100-Year Bonds The Greatest Swindle In ZIRP World?

China: A Paper Tiger In A Fragile Economy

The Berlin Wall — Doomed By Simple Economics

• Career Addict: The Hidden Job Market
• LN GenZ: America’s Middle Class is Among the Richest in the World

I was listening to the 96.3 Classical FM this morning when I heard that French film legend Anna Karina passed away from cancer. This was surprising because I had not seen the news anywhere on the web either the day before or in the morning.

She will be missed. But she will not be forgotten.

Karina was a talented actress and had the look for cinema. I have only seen a handful of her pictures, but I can say with confidence that her greatest movie of all time was “My Life to Live.”

Her performance was compelling, poignant, and deep. She was a lost soul, a philosopher itching to break free from from the poor decisions she made. While it was superbly directed, written, and photographed, Karina made that film for what it was.

Here is my favorite scene from the picture. It was simple but riveting.