There are certain authors I keep coming back to. One of them is Milan Kundera, whom I first read and loved about twenty-five years ago, but whose works, on rereading, seem even more loaded with political and philosophical insight than … Continue reading →
OK, it’s book meme time. I figured it would get around to me sooner or later, like the flu–and, sure enough, it has. The gracious and sagacious Dymphna of Gates of Vienna has passed me the baton, and who am … Continue reading →
I wrote the following on Memorial Day, but I thought I’d post it again today, since it seems even more appropriate for Flag Day. Flag Day is one of those lost holidays. It was easy to ignore even when I … Continue reading →
This news is a shock–Anne Bancroft is dead at age 73. I realize now that in the list of my ten favorite movie stars, she should have had a place. But maybe I forgot to list her because she wasn’t … Continue reading →
I know it’s not a real cheerer-upper, but I recently read Tolstoi’s The Death of Ivan Illych. Actually, you could say that I re-read it, since my first encounter with the novella was in a Russian literature course I took … Continue reading →
George Orwell was certainly one for the pithy saying with a lot of punch, short and to the point. I came across a web page specializing in Orwelliana, and was struck by the number of comments that seemed to be … Continue reading →
There are few things more satisfying than finding something thought to be irretrievably lost. In my own life, this usually ends up being something as mundane as an earring or a glove. I seem to specialize in losing a singleton … Continue reading →
Well, here it is, the invention I’ve been waiting my whole life for: Clocky, a clock that rolls away after you hit the snooze alarm, forcing you to get out of bed to turn it off when the alarm sounds … Continue reading →
I think it may be a lost pedagogical device, but when I was in grade school, we were forced by our teachers (mostly elderly women, as it happens) to memorize poetry. Lots of poetry. Most of it doggeral, but not … Continue reading →
Ann Althouse’s speculates here about the influence of the show “American Idol” on the current style of singing in Broadway musicals. I agree with Ann that “American Idol” really isn’t the culprit, but I have a different one in mind: … Continue reading →
We here at neo-neocon (that’s me!) wish to officially welcome the first day of spring. It’s today, in case you didn’t know–I didn’t, myself, till I heard it on the radio this morning. I’ve lived in New England for over … Continue reading →
I’m getting very tired of the Ward Churchill story, but it retains a certain mesmerizing slow-motion train wreck fascination as his modus operendi becomes more clear. This isn’t about academic freedom anymore; it’s about an academic con artist, as I … Continue reading →