Feldman's Faves: July 14, 2025

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE

In the immortal words of Michael Scott, quoting the immortal words of Wayne Gretzky “ you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.  And to quote Hamilton, “I am not throwing away my shot”.  Finally, to quote our very own Max, “it was totally worth it.” It was these collective words of wisdom that inspired my to bite the bullet and go see Coldplay this weekend. And I have to say, this advice was bang on (thanks Max). As many who have seen the show have said, it was a life changing and almost religious experience. I feel very lucky to have had this opportunity. And the stadium did not fall apart (huge bonus). Oasis here we come!

Talking about great experiences, last Thursday, Neill and I had the privilege of attending the dinner that honoured some of the legends of Goodmans that included our very own Heather and Alex. Both of them are essential elements to the fabric of our firm who have been here at Goodmans since before anyone ever heard of Coldplay. Please join me in congratulating them both for all of their outstanding contributions to our firm, to our section and to our lives.

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to wish Megan and her soon to be expanded family all the very best, whose last day before going on leave is on Friday.

No theme this week – just topics of interest.

WHAT KIND OF PARADISE By: Janelle Brown –  If the Unabomber and Tara Westover (from the book Educated) collaborated on a novel then I think they would land on something very similar to Janelle Brown’s latest novel, What Kind of Paradise. Reading this book is a suspenseful tale of a father and his daughter that live alone, off the grid and in the woods of Montana.  How they got there and why they got there gets revealed bit by bit as the story unfolds. I won’t ruin the plot by saying more but needless to stay there is a lot of interesting background and drama.  As a period piece, this novel takes shape during the mid 1990’s when the internet was just becoming “a thing”.  The theme focuses on technology and asks the standard questions as to whether it is a friend or foe to humanity, the answer of course is that it is complicated.  This is another good summer read that does a good job with character development, pacing of the story and making the reader think (at least a little). As one reviewer notes, “A young woman is raised in an isolated cabin in the woods by her father who suffers from paranoia and delusions. I really enjoyed this story! I can’t believe it took me so long to pick up one of Janelle Brown’s books, but I’m excited to explore her other titles now. The complexities of Jane/Esme’s parents surprised and swayed my opinion from beginning to end, and that’s something I always enjoy. At first, detesting her dad and then feeling sorry for him, while having the opposite reaction to her mother. I found the corporate tech angle of her parents’ backgrounds intriguing, especially her father’s spiral into paranoid delusions based on the future of the internet. Jane/Esme had an unfortunate life which she was able to break free from, making her instantly likable. The book definitely gripped me from the start, the pace was fast, and the story held my interest. I loved the 90s timeframe and San Fran setting after Jane/Esme and her father became separated and she finally meets her mother. The shocking scene with the security guard getting shot still sticks in my mind. I found the end satisfying after she finally gained independence, but also sad considering what happened to her relationships with her parents. For readers who enjoy stories layered with suspense, about dysfunctional families, set in the 90s.

The first thing you have to understand is that my father was my entire world. Growing up in an isolated cabin in Montana in the mid-1990s, Jane knows only the world that she and her father live in: the woodstove that heats their home, the vegetable garden where they try to eke out a subsistence, the books of nineteenth-century philosophy that her father gives her to read in lieu of going to school. Her father is elusive about their pasts, giving Jane little beyond the facts that they once lived in the Bay Area and that her mother died in a car accident, the crash propelling him to move Jane off the grid to raise her in a Waldenesque utopia.  As Jane becomes a teenager she starts pushing against the boundaries of her restricted world. She begs to accompany her father on his occasional trips away from the cabin. But when Jane realizes that her devotion to her father has made her an accomplice to a horrific crime, she flees Montana to the only place she knows to look for answers about her mysterious past, and her mother’s death: San Francisco. It is a city in the midst of a seismic change, where her quest to understand herself will force her to reckon with both the possibilities and the perils of the fledgling internet, and where she will come to question everything she values.” What Kind of Paradise is both a suspenseful novel and a commentary on the pros and cons of technology in our lives. But for me, the best part was the way Brown was able to depict the birth of the dot com era and the ethos of the time. That part alone made this book worth reading. Here’s a good review from The Story Graph - https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/dfbbf03e-c856-4b92-b745-ddaf95759668

Acquired  - The Steve Ballmer Interview – As a huge basketball fan one of my bucket list items is to go to an LA  Clippers game (and not because of Kawhi and definitely not because of  James Harden).  Steve Ballmer has built the ultimate shrine to basketball  fans at Intuit Stadium, which is supposedly an other-worldly experience. Ballmer’s approach to basketball, to helping build Microsoft in the world’s most valuable company first as a chief lieutenant to Bill Gates and then as CEO is one of doing things differently and with excellence. That is why he is now worth over $120 billion dollars…. He is not everyone’s cup of tea and he rubs many people the wrong way, but love him or hate him it’s hard not to respect him for what he has done and how he is done it. Here’s an excerpt from the PODCAST itself, “We sit down with Steve Ballmer, the legendary former Microsoft CEO and owner of the LA Clippers, for an epic conversation covering his 34 years at Microsoft. Steve listened to our Microsoft episodes and had some thoughts to share — and boy, did he deliver. Steve takes us point-by-point through the original IBM DOS deal that started everything, how he built Microsoft's enterprise business from scratch, and offers his candid reflections on missing mobile and search. We also cover the story behind “developers, developers, developers”, the complexities of his relationship with Bill Gates (including a year where they didn't speak), and why he ultimately decided to step down as CEO. Plus, we learn why Steve has held onto his Microsoft stock through it all — giving him arguably the best investment track record in the world over the last 10 years with his net worth growing from $20B to $130B since leaving. And of course, we couldn't resist also talking about his other passion: the Clippers and Intuit Dome. Hit play and get ready to experience the patented Steve Ballmer energy and fun on full display! Sponsors:” https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/acquired/id1050462261?i=1000710802439

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and participation.

And remember to stay safe, stay healthy and to docket daily.

Jon