I took this test of political orientation (hat tip: Althouse) and the results were no surprise: somewhat to the right, somewhat libertarian. Here were my actual figures, and where I stand on the grid: Economic Left/Right: 1.75 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.92 … Continue reading →
Ronald Brownstein thinks that the recent ten-year stretch—the one that’s been going on since 9/11—is the worst America’s been through since the Civil War and then the Great Depression. I disagree. I think that the decade beginning some time in … Continue reading →
On body perception and the brain: This phenomenon doesn’t surprise me in the least. After my arm surgery, when my right elbow was frozen for a long time, I lost some of the sense that the arm belonged to me. … Continue reading →
The storm hasn’t really been all it was cracked up to be here. But tis enough, twill serve—in other words, there’s a power outage where I live. I’m sitting in a coffee shop right now, plugged into one of the … Continue reading →
This time the heavy hand of improvement falls on Yahoo email. Oh, excuse me—Yahoo! email; we musn’t forget that enthusiastic exclamation point. Yipee, yahoo! This is what we users get for our stalwart loyalty, and not just from Yahoo. Have … Continue reading →
Nowadays nearly every large rest stop and every restaurant, every airport and every theater, features automated bathrooms. It’s all very magical—or at least it seems so, at first. The toilet is timed to flush right after you finish what you’re … Continue reading →
Gerard Vanderleun offers some memories of London, then and now. I’ve got my own memories—although, unlike Vanderleun, I never lived in London. The only time I’ve ever been there was a one-week stay in 1978, accompanied by my then-husband. It … Continue reading →
…and hope for the best. The latest suggestion is that nothing much that you can do matters—although of course it’s best not to off yourself prematurely if you want to reach three figures. One thing that might help would be … Continue reading →
Ann Althouse wonders how those Mafioso managed to get that horse’s head into the bed with Jack Woltz: In that scene in “The Godfather”… we just see the guy slowly waking up and finally noticing there’s a bleeding horse head … Continue reading →
There’s Armageddon, and then there’s Carmageddon. No, it’s not the time when all your past deeds come back to haunt you in a karmic tsunami. It’s the temporary closing this weekend (to make repairs) of that part of LA Freeway … Continue reading →
As a friend of mine learned to his dismay the other day, “security” at the security checkpoint isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’d already read about a growing problem with TSA agents stealing from luggage. But, as my … Continue reading →
Last week I visited two elderly relatives who’ve recently moved to an assisted living facility not too far from me. They’re in their mid-eighties, and although they’ve been married for more than 50 years they live in separate wings of … Continue reading →