Trying times
It keeps hitting me that this coming election is the last one that matters. Actually, I felt that way last time. But this time the hour has gotten even later. But maybe it was always too late. When we play … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Literature and writing
Canned goods
I love this Greg Brown song about visiting his grandmother and eating her canned food. The patter in the middle of the song is very funny; Brown could be a stand-up comic. But the song’s poetry, too, particularly these lines: … Continue reading →
After apple picking
I went apple-picking this weekend. It’s easy to do—just drive about 15 minutes, go to the pick-your-own orchard, buy one of their little bags, walk out on a lovely fall day to where the trees are, and begin. The trees … Continue reading →
“Improving” the King James Bible
[NOTE: This is a post that originally appeared in 2008. I came across it today while responding to a comment, and I thought it worth repeating.] As a child who loved poetry, I memorized it almost without intending to. Just … Continue reading →
More From F. L. Lucas: on style in writing
[NOTE: I wrote previously about Lucas here and here.] Here’s a quote from F. L. Lucas that remains all too true. In fact, I believe it’s only become more true since he wrote it. Although I’m not sure when that … Continue reading →
On being prolix
I like that word, “prolix.” I first learned it in high school, probably on some vocabulary list meant to prepare me for the SATs. Or maybe it was in studying The Scarlet Letter during my sophomore year. That book had … Continue reading →
Sex, drugs, and rock and roll
I’m a little late to this party, but I wanted to say a few words about the Chrissie Hynde brouhaha: …Chrissie Hynde has waded into another contentious area ”“ the overly sexualised nature of modern pop music. In an obvious … Continue reading →
“Truth”: the press, the movies, and the present-day Minitrue
The title of this post is taken from George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece Nineteen Eighty-Four. The book’s genius is in part its nomenclature, and most definitely its insight into the political propaganda process. Thus, the Ministry of Truth, or “Minitrue” for … Continue reading →
The real life case of Beauty and the Beast
This is a case of deception, love, and sex (not an unusual trio) that has caused a lot of startled and skeptical reactions. You may have to concentrate a bit to follow it at first: A woman accused of pretending … Continue reading →
Camp of the Saints author interview
[Hat tip: commenter “Beverly.”] Here’s a 1994 interview with Camp of the Saints author Jean Raspail. He’s the Frenchman who wrote an extraordinarily prescient and disturbing work of fiction, published in 1973, about a future takeover of the West through … Continue reading →
Europe reacts…
…to its own immigration (“migrant”) crisis. It seems that some of the countries with more lenient policies are trying to pressure the others into being more like them: Interior ministers from all 28 EU states will meet in Luxembourg on … Continue reading →
Denali’s not just a river in Egypt
It’s a mountain in Alaska that’s been known as McKinley for about 100 years. Obama has decided to rename it with its native American name. This has made Alaskans happy and Ohioans furious, and although I don’t have a dog … Continue reading →