The story “The Man Without a Country” used to be standard reading matter for seventh graders. In fact, it was the first “real” book—as opposed to those tedious Dick and Jane readers—that I ever was assigned to read in school. … Continue reading →
Today the WSJ‘s Bari Weiss tackles playwright David Mamet’s political conversion from left to right . It’s an old story to readers of this blog, not just because such political conversions are a theme here, but because I’ve written before … Continue reading →
[NOTE: This is a repeat of a post from February of 2007. At the time I first wrote it, I didn’t know how to upload YouTube videos here. Since then, I’ve certainly mastered that skill. So I’m now able to … Continue reading →
The lottery. “The Lottery.” “The Babylon Lottery.”
Continue reading →The short answer is: no, he’s making a joke. Jack Cashill, whose book Deconstructing Obama has come out recently, believes that the joke (or, as he puts it, the final “retreat into irony”) hides the preceeding truthful admission: With his … Continue reading →
It seems that Hillary is tired of playing Ophelia to Obama’s Hamlet. At least, that’s the story. I’m even inclined to believe it’s at least partially true. I’ve always felt that Hillary had more on the ball (and has more … Continue reading →
Jack Cashill has recently published a book called Deconstructing Obama, in which he advances his theory that Bill Ayers ghost-wrote Obama’s well-known memoir Dreams From My Father. Cashill has been called a racist for his pains. This accusation was as … Continue reading →
A couple of weeks ago I had some fun with poetic voices of the past, and in the comments section “Beverly” alerted me to the fact that a recording exists of Alfred Lord Tennyson reading his poem “Charge of the … Continue reading →
I recently read Savage Beauty, a biography of American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. There are several passages in the book that describe the power of Millay’s voice and its remarkable ability to transfix and even seduce (in Millay’s case, … Continue reading →
The news that Vladimir Nabokov, illustrious author and respected lepidopterist, came up with a theory of butterfly evolution that was poo-pooed in his time but which has now been vindicated by DNA research has made me unaccountably happy. Nabokov speculated … Continue reading →
Perhaps you’ve heard of Edna St. Vincent Millay. She was a lyric poet of great renown during the 1920s and until her death in 1950, known mostly for her sonnets. Her fame as a poet was of a magnitude difficult … Continue reading →
Query for this spambot: ah, but can fun actually ever be captured and possessed? Does it not evaporate at the slightest effort to cage it? Took me awhile to learn all the comments, but make enjoyed the article. It turned … Continue reading →