The New York City subway
I was going to make the following video an open thread. But then I realized that I had so much to say about it that it seemed to merit a regular post instead. First, the video: Boy, did that bring … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Me, myself, and I
Unhappy Bastille Day, but hooray for nougat
France has got its troubles: The western Paris suburb of Nanterre, where 17-year-old Nahel M. was killed by police, is one of many municipalities to call off their annual Bastille Day fireworks displays for fear of further unrest. “We can’t … Continue reading →
Internalized misogyny
I’m not sure that “internalized misogyny” is the correct term for the self-hatred of her own womanhood that Elliot Page, the former Ellen Page, reveals in her memoir. But whatever you call it, it’s something very toxic, and I think … Continue reading →
Progress report on Gerard’s book
I’ve finally done some actual work on Gerard’s book – using the Amazon self-publishing platform, which my research points to as the most user-friendly. However, there’s still a steep and rather tedious learning curve there, and so I’m nowhere near … Continue reading →
For the Fourth: on liberty
[NOTE: This is a repeat of a previous post from many many years ago. It was written in the springtime during a visit to New York City. Reading it now, it seems almost archaic in certain ways.] I’ve been visiting … Continue reading →
Was life better in the 70s?
Ari Kaufman of The Lid says no, and that those who think so are just being nostalgic: Americans have always longed for the “good old days.” The problem is that most can’t define when or what constitutes those good old … Continue reading →
Mr. Rogers has a message from 52 years ago about boys and girls
I’m too old to have watched Mr. Rogers as a child. But as I watched him forty years ago with my own child, I found some of his messages a little obscure. For example, there was the song that follows, … Continue reading →
Waivers and risk: the Titan submersible
Commenter “sailorcurt” makes a interesting point concerning the Titan submersible when he writes: Freedom also comes with the responsibility to accept the consequences for those choices and actions. “Did the waiver that had to be signed by the clients/tourists actually … Continue reading →
Sadness
Commenter “stan” writes: I got a real bad case of the sads this morning. Oh, I’m angry. I’m ready to fight. But for a few moments I felt grief. America is dead. It’s been dying since 1993 and the finishing … Continue reading →
Mark Judge ponders what happened to Bill Kristol – and so do I
Here’s the piece on Kristol by Judge. It’s interesting, although Judge doesn’t really come up with an answer to the question. But I didn’t expect him to. I’ve long pondered what happened to Kristol, and haven’t really come up with … Continue reading →
Some questions about self-publishing
As many of you may know, I’m trying to publish a book of Gerard’s essays and also one of his poetry. The only avenue seems to be self-publishing; I’ve explored various conventional publishers and there aren’t any takers. So I’ve … Continue reading →
The Little Mermaid
Disney has just released a live action version of “The Little Mermaid.” Some people have panned it, in particular compared to the 1989 animated film of the same story that was very popular and highly praised. But I’ve never seen … Continue reading →