I’ve long been a fan of John Updike’s short stories, although his novels—which are probably much more widely read—don’t do all that much for me. He was one of the most prolific writers of the last century, so there’s plenty … Continue reading →
I doubt the practice is very popular. I certainly hope it’s not very popular. But it seems that some women are actually having their pinkie toes amputated, or having other toes shortened, in order to fit more easily and painlessly … Continue reading →
…is described here. There are many reasons for the success of the coverup. One is the nicely coordinated set of messages from the administration and the MSM. Another is the complexity of the story; people have to be motivated enough … Continue reading →
Have you ever noticed the books in the photograph that makes up my blog header? The one on top is the collected works of Robert Frost, and the one below is the second volume of William Manchester’s biography of Winston … Continue reading →
I’ve been thinking about this poem lately. It’s really a bleak work (and very modern, despite the year it was written, which was probably around 1851). The subject is the loss of faith. Not a personal loss of faith, but … Continue reading →
[NOTE: Some of the comments on today’s earlier post about Noonan, Obama, and narcissism made me remember the following piece. I wrote it back in June of 2008 to explain the phenomenon of why so many wordsmiths were so taken … Continue reading →
I don’t remember exactly where I saw it, but I hadn’t known before that there’s another name for Nemesis: In Greek mythology, Nemesis (Greek, ÎÎμεσις), also called Rhamnousia/Rhamnusia (“the goddess of Rhamnous”) at her sanctuary at Rhamnous, north of Marathon, … Continue reading →
This is in some sense a companion piece to the post below it, continuing the theme of “how could they have ever thought this?” Ann Althouse writes about a Camille Paglia interview in which Paglia says she’s not voting for … Continue reading →
Joe Klein—yes, that Joe Klein—had this to say in Time’s Swampland about last night’s debate: Well, I’m with all the other talking heads: Mitt Romney won this debate. Barack Obama lost it. I mean, he got his butt kicked. It … Continue reading →
There’s a new way to break up with a significant other. It’s called “ghosting,” and essentially it involves disappearing from the person’s life suddenly and without explanation.
Continue reading →If you are a denizen of the blogosphere, you’ve probably already encountered the Obamaphone lady: I already knew about the program she’s referring to—which actually wasn’t started under Obama, by the way—so she didn’t seem quite as crazy as she … Continue reading →
An interesting bit of trivia: While at Eton, Eric Blair (future pen name, George Orwell) “was briefly taught French by Aldous Huxley.” England’s a small place, isn’t it? That wasn’t Orwell and Huxley’s only exchange. Huxley wrote to Orwell on … Continue reading →