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 →
Remember that bipartisan “date night” seating for the SOTU address? I hear it cut down on the applause, although that surely wasn’t the intent. It seems that some people became confused as to what were the applause lines. Being in … Continue reading →
If you’re ever seen “West Side Story,” this might hit the spot:
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 →
…literal video. The best ones seem to take off from originals made in the 80s, the Golden Age of ridiculous rock videos:
Continue reading →Here’s the proof (as if we needed any) that death comes to all: Jack Lalanne, pioneering fitness guru, has died at 96 of pneumonia. Jack in his youth, at the age of 94: “The good old days are this second.”
Continue reading →Yes, Olbermann’s leaving MSNBC, and the announcement was precipitous. And no, I’ve never watched his show, except for a couple of YouTube excerpts. I have written very few posts that even mention his name. So in honor of his going … Continue reading →
…even try to explain this: Nothing much has changed, except that Jay is old enough to not be a prodigy any more.
Continue reading →It’s not just that David Nelson has died. It’s that he was the last surviving member of the original TV family foursome, his brother Ricky having died twenty-five years ago. And that David was already 74. The Fifties are now … 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 →
Oh boy, speaking of depressing news, we now have this: The words “mother” and “father” will be removed from U.S. passport applications and replaced with gender neutral terminology, the State Department says. “The words in the old form were ”˜mother’ … Continue reading →