There’s something about 2013 that doesn’t fall trippingly off the tongue. A friend pointed out that it’s the first year since 1987 that doesn’t have a double digit in it. Perhaps that’s it. Or perhaps it’s that 13. Whatever. Let’s … Continue reading →
Forgive me my regional boosterism, but it’s highly unusual for a girl from Rhode Island who goes to Boston University to win Miss USA, let alone Miss Universe. And yet Olivia Culpo has done both—and she’s a classical cellist as … Continue reading →
[NOTE: I’ve decided to every now and then republish an old post, especially one involving the arts rather than politics. Here’s one that first appeared in August of 2008.] You may recall my disastrous efforts to learn to tango, chronicled … Continue reading →
I pretty much stopped going to the movies in theaters quite some time ago, and I don’t even watch many at home any more. I don’t remember when the turning point was, but I do know that at some point … Continue reading →
There might just be something to this. Commenter “Bob from Virginia” writes: Bernard Goldberg just pointed [out that] the normal conditions of “you fail you get fired” don’t apply to this President, because his appeal is emotional. Which ties in … Continue reading →
[NOTE: We need a little relaxation today, don’t we? Here’s a repost of something I wrote in January of 2010. Enjoy.] See the way he walks down the street Watch the way he shuffles his feet— “He’s a Rebel” was … Continue reading →
I’ve been one of many people who have long said that in an Obama second term, unconstrained by the need for re-election, Obama would be free to undertake the more radical parts of his agenda. And it won’t really matter … Continue reading →
This is a clever idea, and it appeals to both my inordinate love for Mark Knopfler and my interest in watching performers then and now (see this, this, this, this, and this): All hail YouTube and virtual time travel!
Continue reading →This article describes several theories which seek to explain why music is a human universal. All of them focus on group cohesion of some sort, and the fact that music seems to foster it, whether it be in work, play, … Continue reading →
Tamae Watanabe, 73, has become the oldest woman to climb Mt. Everest. According to the article, this should be an inspiration to us all. My hat is off to Watanabe, but it makes me a bit weary. Now it’s not … Continue reading →
Sometimes I wonder what makes me pick a topic to write about. Some days there’s a story du jour that cries out for treatment, even if only to provide a forum for commenters to talk amongst themselves about it. Sometimes … Continue reading →
I got some spam email in my mailbox that began this way: Who I am? Shiny green eyes, twenty two years… It went on to catalogue her other enticing body parts—“C cup,” for example, which I would have thought was … Continue reading →