“You can’t yell ‘wolf’ in a crowded theater”…
…says Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi’s faux pas immediately reminded me of this:
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The ancient history of math: Plimpton 322
Today is one of those days I look at the news and sigh. I don’t want to see lists of the most recent statements by people who think Trump is unstable. I don’t want to hear how the president is … Continue reading →
I’m going to whine about something
And it’s the overuse of the word “whine.” I’ve noticed that whine is employed a great deal in political discourse, both on this blog and elsewhere. It’s ordinarily used to describe—and trivialize—a complaint by people with whom you don’t agree. … Continue reading →
Reversals
William Jacobson of Legal Insurrection has this to say (the whole post is worth reading): That truth that both sides [in Charlottesville] were violent doesn’t mean both sides were equal. But the denial of the truth that both sides were … Continue reading →
RIP Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis has died at 91. You can read tributes to him here and here. That first article calls him a “nonpareil genius of comedy.” I guess so, but his shtick—and slapstick in general—didn’t appeal to me. I do recall … Continue reading →
Eclipse, August 21: to feel the always coming on…
On Monday, August 21, 2017, America will witness one of nature’s grandest spectacles. The “Great American Eclipse,” as it is being called, will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the continental United States since 1979, when a massive … Continue reading →
It just might be a good time to revisit this quote from Milan Kundera on circle dancing
I think you’ll see why. It’s from the Czech author Milan Kundera’s The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, which he wrote in the late 1970s: Circle dancing is magic. It speaks to us through the millennia from the depths of … Continue reading →
He put his “Bach hat” on…
…and lit that fire. Who’s the “he” who described himself as having put on his Bach hat? Ray Manzarek, who was the inspired and superlative keyboardist for The Doors, and co-founder of the group with Jim Morrison. Recently it was … Continue reading →
Dickinson on the Mass Pike
I stopped to eat my sandwich at a rest stop on the western Massachusetts Turnpike one recent weekend. It was a lovely day and the Berkshires a fine place for my little picnic, although I didn’t have time to leave … Continue reading →
The White House reality show
It occurs to me that Trump has brought “The Apprentice” to the White House. I’m a bit handicapped in making the analogy because I never watched the show, but I’ve seen small clips from it, and the description fits, too: … Continue reading →
Cosmos mariners
Commenter “Stan McQueen” wrote on the Conrad Aiken thread: I was especially touched by the inscription of “Cosmos Mariner-Destination Unknown” on his tombstone, which is in the shape of a bench.. He saw a ship by that name and looked … Continue reading →
When trout swim down…
Sometimes random associations lead to a post. Earlier today I wrote about a story that’s big in the news: the legal, medical, ethical, and human issues involved in the case of Charlie Gard. While writing it, I noticed that the … Continue reading →