History (like life) must be lived forwards, but can only be understood backwards, if at all. That adage came to mind as I was reading this piece by the inimitable Mark Steyn. Assignment, class: compare and contrast the clarity of … Continue reading →
I see a trend here, although it’s not one I claim to understand: the Italian election is another cliff-hanger, too close to form a clear majority and give a clear mandate: Final results showed Prodi’s alliance taking control of the … Continue reading →
Seymour Hersh, who’s hardly ever met a source he was willing to name, has written an article about Iran, the nuclear threat it represents, and what Hersh alleges are the Bush Administration’s plans to bomb it with nuclear weapons. The … Continue reading →
Light blogging today. It’s Sunday, beautiful weather, and–among other things–I need to do a bunch of work on my mother’s taxes. But I just wanted to point out that, overnight, something seems to have eaten my tulip leaves (“Eats, Shoots … Continue reading →
[CORRECTION: It’s been pointed out by several commenters that the linked article appears to be by one Amit Ghate, not Wafa Sultan, although it appeared on the latter’s blog. The link was originally sent to me and identified as being … Continue reading →
Sorry to inconvenience everyone, but the spambots came back–rather, that is, one spambot came back. But one was enough for me; like mice or ants or other pests, where there’s one, more ordinarily follow. I’m actually surprised it took this … Continue reading →
Part of an interesting piece by Dr. Horsefeathers on the subject of Kipling, posted some time ago (ignore the spambot dump that the comments section of that post has managed to become) , is the following observation on Kipling and … Continue reading →
A reader emailed me the link to this video, and I enjoyed it so much I thought I’d put it out here for public consumption. I won’t describe it and ruin the fun; just watch, and enjoy!
Continue reading →Rudyard Kipling’s name has come up in the comments section twice recently. The first time was in the context of this comment, in which Richard Aubrey mentions that: Kipling, in his “Kim” has a retired officer of Indian cavalry talking … Continue reading →
After writing today’s post about toothbrushes and bacteria, I somehow thought of the poem “Crazy Jane Talks With the Bishop,” by William Butler Yeats, which says the same thing. Or, sort of the same thing. Or a related thing. So, … Continue reading →
I find it’s about that time again: another “A mind is a difficult thing to change” post is in the works–at least in my head. I’ve found in the past that it’s best if I make a public announcement of … Continue reading →
I was watching TV the other night right before bed. I usually do a bunch of stretching exercises then, and I often turn on a cable news station to accompany the action (although, come to think of it, that may … Continue reading →