Touch of Evil (1958)
An interesting film from Orson Welles. The film contrasts two approaches to law and order along the U.S.–Mexico border. On one side, the Mexican authorities are represented by Charlton Heston’s character, an idealistic, procedure-bound official committed to doing things by the book. On the other side, the American side is run by Welles himself, playing…
IRS Loses Case on Intra-Family Loans vs. Gifts
The Tax Court’s recent decision in Estate of Galli v. Commissioner, issued March 5, 2025, addresses the treatment of intra-family loans and gift tax. The case involved a $2.3 million transfer from a mother to her son, documented with a promissory note at the applicable federal rate (AFR). The IRS argued that the loan lacked…
Sapiens
Despite hearing about this book for years, I am finally getting around to reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. Sapiens is interesting so far, but it has not yet changed how I previously thought about these topics. That said, I can see why it has been influential—Harari presents a broad,…
Is the Hot Hand Real?
Ben Cohen’s book The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks revisits the long debated question of whether momentum exists in performance. Amos Tversky and his coauthors famously argued in the 1980s that the hot hand in basketball is a cognitive illusion. Past success does not influence future outcomes. Yet, more recent studies suggest…
Who owns what?
Just finished reading Mine! How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives by Michael Heller and James Salzman. The book argues that six core rules shape our subconscious beliefs about ownership—like First Possession (whoever claims something first owns it) and Labor Creates Ownership (if you transform something, you own it). Interesting read, but I’m…
