The Egg and I
This article by Gail Collins got me to thinking. Quick Aside: Gail Collins often gets me to thinking and chuckling and weeping upon occasion. Good stuff, that. Truth be told, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld frequently had the same effect upon me. But for significantly different reasons. Where was I? Oh...
“But I repeat myself . . .”
Sam Clemens said it best: Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself. Mark Twain, a Biography I don’t mean to give the impression that I think all members of Congress are feeble minded, greedy, conservative imbeciles with a slavering hunger for power and a criminally...
The Americon
I suggest we retire Uncle Sam to the annals of the 19th and 20th centuries, and adopt a new, 21st century-attuned, unofficial national symbol. Call it the Americon. You’ll note there’s a pistol pointed at the little guy’s head. (If I was any kind of artist, I could draw in an arm and hand...
Regarding A Mouse . . .
I learned something from a mouse the other day. No, not Mickey, Modest or Mighty. This was a real mouse — a baby, as a matter of fact — covered in grey fur and smaller than my thumb. When I tell you what I learned and how I learned it, some of you will...
Thinking The Unthinkable . . .
Wikipedia tells me that dark comedy, (a derivative term from black humor/black comedy/humour noir), is a form of comedy: . . . in which laughter arises from cynicism and skepticism. How droll! Thus, today’s topic is the atom bomb, which is without a doubt one of the funniest things on the planet. I think...
Becoming Quaint
Quaint Attractively unusual or old-fashioned. Oxford English Dictionary At some point in human history it was probably quite accurate to describe the buggy whip business as a thriving industry. And no doubt the savvy buggy whip factory owner would have expanded his offerings to include riding crops, glitter sticks and possibly even a...
Writing Good
George Orwell . . . Animal Farm . . . Politics. The Eton-honed author wrote some marvelously good books and essays, and if you enjoy reading but haven’t yet sampled any of his work, shame on you. Granted, his oeuvre (how’s that for a $5.00 word?) walks a rather dark path at times, but much...
Pass The Plunger …
We can’t say we weren’t warned. Many of us in The Village were outraged not once . . . not twice . . . but thrice. It began with Abu Ghraib. We learned that we were torturing prisoners. The shock to our “American” sense of decency and our understanding of the rule of law...
Vive La Révolution!
A number of decades ago, I was sitting in a church in Portland. The weather on that particular day was typical for the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers; overcast, drizzly and dreary. But the gloom outside wasn’t affecting attitudes inside the little church. The few dozen believers sitting in the pews were...
When No Hero Can Be Found
Note to Reader: This is an article from December 5, 2012. I want to begin this missive with a dictionary definition, if you don’t mind. Hero: A person . . . who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. In today’s America, that definition has, unfortunately, come to include anyone...
Somebody Else’s Bridge
. . . when he (Hans) started sharing what he had learned with other Mormons in Sweden, the stake president (who oversees a cluster of congregations) told him not to talk about it to any members, even his wife and children. He did not obey: “I said to them, why are you afraid...
Ship Happens
Have you forgotten? At four minutes past midnight on 24 March, (1989), a cold-water reef ripped the thin skin of the Exxon Valdez‘s single hull, releasing the equivalent of about 17 Olympic swimming pools of oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska. It was the worst ever oil spill in US waters until 2010, when the...
Something Completely Different!
Joshua Green posted an article in BloombergBusinessweek that briefly focused on a unique perspective following yesterday’s Voting Rights Act (VRA) decision by SCOTUS, (also known as the Supreme Court). For those who are not familiar with any of this, let me provide an abridged background: Congress passed the VRA in 1965. Until then, a considerable...
A Few Thoughts About Blogging
I have a few thoughts about blogging. (I promise I’ll be brief.) This article, from Prospect Magazine, is a brief interview with Leon Wieseltier. Nothing about any of that short article may mean a tinker’s dam to you, and truth be told, I share a pinch of your disinterest. (One need only spend a...
Guns, A Continuing Discussion Pt. 9
I just read an April 18th article by Bill Keller of The New York Times. I think the two of us see fairly eye to eye when it comes to guns, and his article got me to thinking about the issue again. He quotes some politicians who have been digging their proverbial heels into...
When Elvis Leaves The Building …
The subject was horses. Actually it was horseback riding, but that’s mostly all about horses, so the subject was horses. I was a young man, and I was hanging around with a small group of friends, and we were talking about going horseback riding. Since neither cowboy nor member of any royal family could...
Bootprints in the Sand
I had a dream. No doubt caused by a glass or two too much wine. Please . . . let that be the well-spring of my dream. I was at the beach. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and I was the only soul around as far as you could see. A gentle breeze...
Bang the Drum Slowly . . .
S’up? Okay, my attempts at sporting raffish airs and graces may come up more than a little short, but I mean well. Therefore, one will find “S’up?” and “Yo'” and “Hail Fellow, Well Met!” sprinkled all about my articles, tempering the moods and demonstrating my hipster swell-ness. That might be sweltering hip-ness, but it...
Guido
I was sitting in my living room the other day, watching The Godfather and sipping a yummy Cabernet, (both courtesy of the talented Coppola family, thank you very much), when my somewhat ponderous, Ponderosa-sized son-in-law, Guido, lumbered in. And speaking of lumber, a chunk of Pennsylvania’s finest hickory was clenched in his large, right...
No Regrets?
To the best of my knowledge, I’ve just entered the sixth decade of my existence. (I say it’s to the best of my knowledge because it’s all I recognize. Whether or not this is just one more episode of reincarnation, or my actual beginning, has no bearing on the topic of this article....
Tweetle Dee Dee
I sent an email to my eldest daughter a couple of years back, in which I made a short complaint about tweets and such. I treasure the skillful use of words, and fairly despise the notion of everyday correspondence becoming abbreviated to the point of bland and blathered meaninglessness. In this vein, a tweeted conversation...
Them That’s Got
Billie Holliday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. wrote a beautiful song in 1939: “God Bless the Child“. My first (and best) introduction to the piece was in 1969, when I first heard it played by Blood, Sweat & Tears. It still rocks. Them that’s got, shall get. Them that’s not, shall lose. The drift of...
War And My Remembrance
These days, everyone with a modicum of brains or a semi-operational moral compass seems to be contemplating their erstwhile support of or opposition to the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld Wars. Notable exceptions exist, most conspicuously Messrs. Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, (not to mention their inner circle of counselors, stooges and court jesters), but honestly, no one should...
Curious Minds Want To Know
I’m told the Universe is expanding. And accelerating. How they know that is quite intriguing. And who the hell are “They”? That’s pretty intriguing, too. But I lose my focus. Here’s the deal. It’s time for a serious invention. Something that will really help me sleep at night. Or, for that matter, whenever I...
In Case You Were Wondering
— March, 2013 – I stumbled across this post from October, 2008, as I was going through the archives. It provides a brief explanation, for anyone with interest, why I started writing about all this political stuff — A thought occurred to me this morning. It’s entirely plausible I’ve given some the...
The Prognosticator
This is a post from a while back, but I push it a bit to the forefront because it’s about something that remains with us, and is rather important. Some presidents have been more successful at positively influencing The Village than other presidents. By way of example, let me mention Washington, who got everything...
SCOTUS And The Second Amendment
In June, 2008, Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Supreme Court regarding its decision in DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ET AL., PETITIONERS v.DICK ANTHONY HELLER. As is my habit, I shall weigh in. In December, 1791, Congress adopted the Bill of Rights, (i.e. the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.) The second of...
Nothing Is Something
Quandary – A tough situation; a pickle; between a rock and … oh, you know what I mean. I need a word. Those who know me, know I’m a stickler for words. I know it’s why I enjoy reading stuff by Dick Cavett, W.F. Buckley, Maureen Dowd, Christopher Hitchins and a couple...
Toward A Better Understanding Of Music
Étude – A short, musical composition . . . often designed to demonstrate the skill of the player. Trees are amazing things. They represent the tallest and oldest and largest, individual living thing on the planet. And in case you didn’t know, the tallest, a Coast Redwood (just under 380 feet high); the largest,...
Time For A Change
“Hey Bob Howdy!” (That’s what cowboys yell to each other whilst riding on the lone prairie.) “Hail Fellow, well met!” (That’s how Eton alumni greet each other every time they meet.) “S’up?” (Tis I!) For the longest time, the recording industry, (i.e. the big record labels), determined the winners and losers in the Pop,...
