On the previous thread on COVID hope and fear, David Foster offered this quote from Arthur Koestler, as related by Koestler’s friend Richard Hillary: K has a theory for this. He believes there are two planes of existence which he … Continue reading →
Commenter “Rufus T. Firefly” writes: I’ll admit I had a bias. My bias was hoping that COVID-19 would not be as terminal as predicted. I followed any reasonable, valid sign that gave credence to that hope. And, most all of … Continue reading →
I’ve long been pretty cynical about politics and politicians, and I’ve gotten much more so over the years. Unfortunately, I think that increasing cynicism is justified. But despite that, I’m not the most cynical person in the world about politics. … Continue reading →
Here’s a companion piece to the video in yesterday’s open thread: Hey, why not sneak in a Bee Gees tune, who with 1000+ songs have one for everything? Originally released in 1975, this is a slightly later live version (and … Continue reading →
[NOTE I wrote about the James Webb Telescope previously here.] I’ve grown so used to assuming government incompetence (or worse) as the default position that I’m gobsmacked by this news: The James Webb Space Telescope team has fully deployed the … Continue reading →
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting was the first book I ever read by Milan Kundera back when it was first published in 1980, and it probably is still my favorite work of his. It’s a very strange but wonderful … Continue reading →
One of the hallmarks of the character Iago in Shakespeare’s “Othello” is that his evil is left somewhat unexplained. Unlike most people who do evil, he seems to have no clear motive for his actions other than to do evil … Continue reading →
I’ve often thought that, for most people, political belief is a strong edifice made of hundreds of thousands of bricks. Note I didn’t wrote “political affiliation,” because a lot of people merely have a kneejerk affiliation that doesn’t amount to … Continue reading →
Commenter “Zaphod” offers this quote: “Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to pour a drink for myself and my wife, and we are going to watch The Magnificent Ambersons. One wonders what Tarkington would have thought of … Continue reading →
No more, though [hat tip: Gerard Vanderleun at American Digest]. This video is about 20 minutes long, but if you’re pressed for time you can pretty much get the gist of it in the first five minutes: The accompanying article … Continue reading →
Yesterday the Court heard arguments on a Mississippi abortion law in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, but the decision won’t be handed down till this spring. I don’t often write about SCOTUS oral arguments and make … Continue reading →
There are countless songs about broken hearts. It’s a natural subject, because the phenomenon of hearbreak is so common, and people undergoing the pain of the experience often turn to music to release their emotions, universalize them, and even for … Continue reading →