The first strong number is 92
One of the main reasons for less CNI production recently is a founding member of our team has left this mortal coil, so this is in part a message of love and gratitude for my proud Scottish 92 year-old step-father and editor Clifford Quentin Brodie. With a degree in mathematics, he obviously loved numbers, which is how he and CNI numbers are tied together.
Several weeks ago Clifford had a “small heart attack” but didn’t notice it for three days. That was so Clifford. He would just power through most illnesses, issues, warning signs, obstacles and sometimes common sense because he was never a fan of anyone putting any limits on him, so likely thought he could power through yet another obstacle. We gave him every fighting chance but sadly this was one obstacle he could not overcome.
Thanks to Mom keeping him on-track health-wise (married men statistically live longer than single men), he had a good, long, healthy life and almost 50 years of a good marriage. If you read Navigating in the Age of the Narcissist, you may remember him as the one who requested a (very time-intensive) Modi of India psychological profile, and that I definitely owe him at least one due to all the editing, support and encouragement he gave me over the years, but he also understood that Modi is not currently a CNI high priority unless someone wants to fund a study.
It was of course very nice to know that like my Mom and Dad, he was a big fan of the work and the righteous cause of fighting narcissists, minus the often low pay for the writing part. In other words, every time one of you was kind enough to gift CNI with a new paid subscription on Substack, I would share it with him and it made him very happy, so thank you all who have been able to help the cause, because you also pleased a tough old Scotsman’s heart.
As Mom and I, along with the wonderful hospice people took care of him in his last weeks at home (I didn’t initially know that “hospice care” meant he was not expected to recover), it became an honor to be his primary attendant and help ensure he and Mom could be the most comfortable they could be under the most challenging of circumstances. Thankfully, he seemed to suffer little pain and left this terrestrial plane of existence watching and listening to things he loved.
That happened in part because one thing I have thought hard about over the years is what I would want to see and/or hear if I were confined to a bed and/or incapacitated. For future reference, if I cannot relay it, the current off the top of my head short-list would be something like a combination of everything Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and the best ambient and trip-hop music on a loop.
With this in mind, before he lost the ability to speak, I kept asking Clifford what he wanted to see and/or hear. He wanted a little Bosch detective show, a little Reuters news (he kept asking if Israeli hostages were freed), but most of all he said he enjoyed seeing and hearing Khatia Buniatishvili of Tbilisi, Georgia play the piano. Here were three of his favorites where he would conduct along in his bed as Khatia rocked the house.
I was able to find several great concerts including his favorites from all around Europe on YouTube, and that soothed and pleased him all the way through to the other side. Certainly one valuable lesson here for all should be to make it clear to those who will decide your environment if you are ever incapacitated, who and what you would like to see and hear, so you can also be as pleased and soothed by the sights and sounds of your choosing in similar circumstances.
So the four simple pleasures he loved most at the end were apricot nectar, having me wipe his face with a wet towel, use text-to-speech so he could listen to the latest CNI piece with Mom, and listening to Khatia totally rock Rachmaninoff #1 & #2 on piano with full orchestras.
Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of most classical music and my Pasadena grandparents often regretted trying to culture me by taking me to the Hollywood Bowl for classical music, because Grandpa always ended up having to carry me out asleep. However, I can say without reservation that Clifford’s Khatia rocks classical music. She is also quite lovely and bodacious so Mom and I would tease him that we knew why he really liked her. 92 good years on planet Earth and still loving the immensely talented hotties is definitely a strong number almost all of us would take.
CNI being read in 46 countries is a strong number
As a well-traveled global thinker, Clifford loved the fact that CNI is read in so many countries. A nice memory Mom and I will have is when I informed him CNI was read in 45 countries, the rarely overly complementary Scotsman said with a smile, “You must be doing something right.” In fact, he said it a few times which was very nice.
However, as a mostly guileless person of a particular terrestrial seniority, it was also often difficult for him to conceptualize the completely shameless nature of malignant narcissists, dark triad/tetrad predators et al, but he was quite complementary of most pieces and also never had a shortage of suggestions for me to analyze like Modi, and in typical Clifford fashion, every other new issue that caught his eye.
Anyway, there are a few new pieces close to being finished but just wanted to let the CNI community know the main reason why production has been down recently, and that we greatly honor a dearly departed member who highly contributed to any past, present and future success CNI may have in working to make America and the world a more psychologically safer, stronger and healthier place.
800+ subscribers in 9 months is a strong number
Another number Clifford and all of us at CNI are humbled by are the 800+ subscribers in 9 months on Substack. While CNI is not much about milestones, we are heartened and hope our subscribers will be heartened by our steadily growing numbers because there is both strength in numbers, and growing numbers also help bring more think tank funding. As they grow much bigger, those numbers along with funding will also help us lobby for Counter-Narcissism policies, measures and laws. Every rich narcissist has their own lobbyist and they need to be countered from compulsively and greedily trying to take over everyone and everything, until nothing is left.
197 subscriptions generated in 9 months by Thom Hartmann is a strong number
A large chunk of CNI’s steady growth is thanks to Thom Hartmann, Cintra Wilson and 12 other kind, thoughtful and amazing people validating the work with recommendations. Being recognized while building is in progress says we are on the right path and makes the whole endeavor worthwhile. Thank you one and all for recommending how CNI philosophy can help answer most unanswered questions with common sense and in purely logical ways, based on shrouded yet empirical psychological science.
As often noted, empirical psychology is why CNI profiles, thought pieces and analysis have continued to stay mostly current and timely, as exhibited by years of on-going psychological relevance regarding each subject. For those who extrapolate out psychological intelligence for personal use in situations and issues closer to their hearts, have faith that most psychological relevance and utility remains timeless until the empirical science itself changes.
While every situation is personal and unique, there are many common lessons, themes, logical fallacies and mistakes made that can often be avoided or reversed when handled in customized variations of the (arbitrary) “best possible” way. Indeed, nearly every analysis piece CNI puts out should contain at least a few important facts, lessons learned and/or concepts that should bring more clarity about nefarious forces hiding behind complexity, psychology and illusion.
41% connection with Heather Cox Richardson is a strong number
Obviously it is mostly a popularity function of the amazing amount of high-quality, high-volume analysis Heather Cox Richardson puts out, that explains why 41% of CNI subscribers are her subscribers. What a strong sign that people who like her great work think well enough of CNI to subscribe here too. Thank you Heather for all you do and to all her subscribers who recognize our mission crossover with the same end goals.
20 inductees for the CNI Hall of Fame is a strong number
I was going to make Clifford the first inductee into the CNI Hall of Fame but the truth is I have a lot of family to credit. From this day forth, Clifford along with Mom Vicki, Dad Ted, Grandparents Nina, Charlie, Ad, Elaine and Ann, Uncle Frank, Aunt Martha, Cousin Char, Cousin Van, Cousin Jose, Uncle Mike, Aunt Renata, Cousin Jon, Brother-in-law Luis, niece Jessie, nephew Josh, and my little sister Edy who has her own demons to fight, will be known as the first inductees into the CNI Hall of Fame. We will certainly have other batches of friends and psychological Hall of Famers in the future, but as this is one of those rare opportunities for a CNI piece to be rooted in love instead of exploring the dark side, this one is for the family.
Alive or not, each of these family members have been and still are major positive influencers on the CNI mission to fight for good in the world, because in their own way, they all fight/fought for good and brought so much good into my life, so I am pleased and required to pay it forward when I can.
Regarding numbers, one of my all-time favorite sayings is, “There are lies, damn lies and statistics.” This quote is often credited to one of my heroes, Mark Twain. However, quote investigators usually say he credited it to Benjamin Disraeli, but the phrase is not found in Disraeli's works and its earliest known appearances occurred years after his death.
How ironic it is that one of the most highly respected quotes about how numbers lie is usually wrongly credited no matter who wrote it. At CNI, our strength in numbers comes from our growing community and the fact that we are committed to always revealing truths, damn truths and honest statistics, with gratitude and appreciation for those who help in the past, present or future. Sail on dear Clifford and all others throughout human history who made the world a better place because they were in it.
Finally, CNI loves interesting and strong numbers and analytics so if you have any you find fascinating, please share in the comments in honor of Clifford. Cheers and thanks for everyone being so supportive in how they are able these first nine months.
Although I’m relatively new to Substack I sensed Sam was less visible but speculated that he might have some periods of high output and then retreat to dive into research so this memorial was quite unexpected and very moving. I got a good “sense” of Clifford which really is what one wants to convey to a reader and it was done in a concise essay. You don’t meet many Cliffords in one’s life and I’m always grateful when I do. It somehow restores my faith in humanity.
✨What a wonderful, moving story about your passed step-father, my Friend ! He and I have many things in common !
Kindly receive my deepest condolences, dear Sam !
I am very proud of CNI's well-deserved success and I hope those encouraging figures keep rising. ✨
Warmest Regards,
Harry