Facing old age
Glenn Reynolds observes: “Ozempic face” isn’t really a thing, it’s just the consequence of losing a lot of bodyfat. I’ve had a number of friends — and my dad — who lost a lot of weight post-40 and they all … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Me, myself, and I
Unreachable humans
I don’t mean in the psychological sense, I mean in the practical sense. Over time, answering machines have made it nearly impossible to call a medical office and reach a human being. I’ve just spent a fair amount of time … Continue reading →
VDH on Mark Moyar’s latest book on the Vietnam War
[NOTE: My previous post on Moyar’s earlier work, and on the battle among historians about the history of the Vietnam War, is here. For those of you who are unaware of my own history with the Vietnam War – which … Continue reading →
Snow day
It’s snowing softly and gently. Because there’s not a ton of wind, I doubt I’ll lose power (knock wood because it’s always possible). But right now it’s one of those rather pleasant snows that merely serve to remind you that … Continue reading →
The kingdom where nobody dies
I am grieving, and I assume I’ll be doing that for a long time, probably to some extent for the rest of my life. I often get the urge to write and write and write about losing Gerard, but I … Continue reading →
Angela Davis, Pilgrim
Angela Davis recently made an appearance on Louis Gates’ “Finding Your Roots” program. She got a bit of a surprise: Angela Davis bought the guns used in a courthouse raid that murdered a judge, and she later served as Gus … Continue reading →
Gerard Vanderleun’s obituary: on loss and memory
Here’s the link to Gerard’s obituary. It’s not particularly long, considering how much he did in his life. And of course, like most obituaries, it doesn’t really convey the person himself in all his complexity and energy and vitality. Gerard’s … Continue reading →
Why I don’t read novels anymore
This article claims that giving up novel-reading can be a sign of senility: Fiction, on the other hand, requires you to exercise your memory, as you proceed from beginning to end and retain a variety of details, characters and plots. … Continue reading →
Home again
I got home very late last night. The flight was good and even got in early, weather here was unseasonably mild, and I’m not too jet-lagged. Things still seem rather surreal. Here’s my question, though. For the last five years … Continue reading →
Valentine’s Day: some thoughts and a poem
Today is Valentine’s Day and I’m feeling somewhat raw, for obvious reasons. And yet I’ve never been really big on Valentine’s Day celebrations. After all, for the last thirty years or so I haven’t been able to eat chocolate without … Continue reading →
The return of the lost
The other day I thought I’d lost my favorite earrings. That is, one of the pair of my favorite earrings, which are these. I’ve had those earrings for at least twenty years, maybe thirty or forty years. Hard to say … Continue reading →
Ivan Illych and history
[NOTE: Here’s a repeat of one of my earliest posts, written in my very first year of blogging: May, 2005. Back then I didn’t have all that many readers, so I thought I’d bring it out for another go-round.] I … Continue reading →