Remember those tests of perception known as figure/ground drawings? As a child I was fascinated by their magical “now you see it, now you see something else” mutability. Here are two of the most popular—the vase/profiles one and the young … Continue reading →
…no. But it may have peaked and even be on the decline—for the moment. This Newsweek article on the subject reads as though it were written by a committee—and, as it turns out, perhaps it was. No less than seven … Continue reading →
This seems encouraging: Germany’s largest synagogue—one that somehow managed to survive both WWII and the Soviet-contolled aftermath in East Berlin—was restored and reopened in a moving ceremony on Friday that featured, among the thousand people who gathered to celebrate, elderly … Continue reading →
Actually, it was early in the morning. The night before the closing I was up till 6:30 AM doing all the last-minute clearing away of the detritus of my life, getting things ready for the walk-through at 8:30 AM. I … Continue reading →
A while back I wrote about my plans to move. I put my house on the market in late spring, thinking—the current housing market being what it is (I seem to specialize in buying in a seller’s market and selling … Continue reading →
The rather Byzantine story of Senator Larry Craig of Idaho, who was arrested for lewd behavior in a Minnesota airport restroom staked out by an undercover cop in a sting operation, and who copped a plea for disorderly conduct instead, … Continue reading →
To continue with the theme of the last few days, this article that appeared in The American Prospect back in February is edifying in describing exactly how an increasingly antiwar Congress pressured Nixon back in the late 60s and early-to-mid-70s … Continue reading →
I’ve got an essay up at PJ today entitled “Finessing the Surge,” about politicians staking out a position on the current situation in Iraq. In my essay, I mention that they keep referencing that tragic image of helicopters attempting to … Continue reading →
Headline spotted in this AP article from CNN news: “Castro Signs Essay, Keeps Mum on Death Rumors.” If he’s actually dead, of course, that might go a long way towards explaining Castro’s conversational failings. On the other hand, while it’s … Continue reading →
Sissy Willis, she who finds beauty in unexpected places, has taken some wonderful photos of a Daddy longlegs netting a lacewing. For Sissy, whose background is in art and design, this conjures up some dance images, which she has posted … Continue reading →
Jules Crittenden is on vacation, lucky guy, while the rest of us sweat it out with the return of summer’s humid swelter to New England this weekend. I’m one of a host of guest bloggers cross-posting at his place in … Continue reading →
Michael Hirsh has a column in Newsweek that must be read to be believed. Channeling Alfred (“What, me worry?) E. Neuman, Hirsh takes the loooong view of history, arguing that our withdrawal from Vietnam “worked.” After all, Vietnam isn’t doing … Continue reading →