I’ve read Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four many times, but I haven’t opened it for a long long time. I recall a great many of his Newspeak terms—and I think his explanation of Newspeak’s nomenclature and aims is one of the most … Continue reading →
[NOTE: This story brought me out of my usual Sunday blog-hibernation.] The news story of the Catholic high school students in MAGA hats who were captured on video supposedly harassing a Native American Vietnam vet was a tale I ignored … Continue reading →
This is a Thing, I guess: In the [Netflix] show, Kondo acts as a tiny garbage fairy for messy people, alighting on their houses and the piles of stuff therein to share the wisdom of the “KonMari” method. This method, … Continue reading →
Did you ever notice that young people sometimes write and/or perform as though they’re old? Some do it very successfully; the best example that comes to mind is T. S. Eliot—who perhaps was born old—who began writing his masterpiece “The … Continue reading →
Child singers are an interesting phenomenon. Some people like them; some don’t. Child singers can’t bring the depth of feeling to a song that someone with greater life experience can. Or can they? At least, a few of them? At … Continue reading →
Sometimes when I need some relaxing down time, I surf YouTube. A while back in my YouTube explorations, I came across what are known as “reaction videos.” They’re a strange genre in which people often rack up biggish view counts … Continue reading →
The lyrics were written in Scots dialect by the poet Robert Burns in 1788. That’s a lot of auld lang syne ago. But the song—set to a traditional folk tune—has endured, particularly at New Year’s to be sung right after … Continue reading →
For those of you who read my recent post about the Yiddish “Fiddler on the Roof” currently playing in New York and were curious to get a taste of what it’s like, here’s a clip of very short excerpts. Unfortunately, … Continue reading →
So-called “internet poetry” is a phenomenon I knew nothing about till I saw this critique of it by Rebecca Watts. Although the author finds the genre completely abominable, nevertheless her piece contains within itself some answers to the question of … Continue reading →
I’m in New York for Christmas, and the other evening I went to see a production of “Fiddler on the Roof”—in Yiddish. No, I don’t speak Yiddish, except for the usual 100 words of insult that have somehow crept into … Continue reading →
[NOTE: This is a redux of a post I wrote a year ago. Apparently they’re still making a big fuss about this song, so I thought I’d revisit it.] The song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” was written in 1944 by … Continue reading →
Commenter “CatoRenasci” writes: Consider that urban areas have been more ‘liberal’ or ‘progressive’ or ‘radical’ (pick an adjective) since time immemorial – at least as far as we have any sort of reliable history: classical writers, both Greek and (especially) … Continue reading →