The zeitgeist has passed me by
Actually, I’m not sure I ever was fully with the program, even when I was young. But in the last couple of years, as I watch the world from my perch here at a computer in New England, I’ve become … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Me, myself, and I
Heavy lies the formerly royal head that will never wear the crown
I haven’t watched the Harry and Meghan interview, but I’ve read about it. Apparently, Meghan and Harry see racism even in a question about the possible skin color of her baby. Perhaps the person asking was merely curious? Maybe even … Continue reading →
Decisions, decisions
I’ve been an Amazon Associate for many years, which means I’ve gotten a small commission on every Amazon order that comes through a link on this blog. Years ago I used to make around $6K a year from those links, … Continue reading →
Reaction videos: the Bee Gees “Too Much Heaven” through young ears
If you’re unfamiliar with the genre of the reaction video, it involves a song – usually one popular between the 1950s through the 1980s, but it can be any song – which a person listens to for the first time … Continue reading →
In the car with mom
Those who grew up before cars had seat belts, please raise your hands. I certainly did, and what I remember was this: when I was a toddler, I stood on the seat to the right of my mother while she … Continue reading →
Close harmony: Part IIB (the Bee Gees – how do they make that sound?)
[NOTE: Part I can be found here and Part IIA here.] As I’ve written before, until recently all I knew about the Bee Gees were a few of their disco-era songs and a vague recollection of longish hair, and I … Continue reading →
And now to answer that burning question you’ve all been asking: is it vibrato or is it tremolo?
In my recent explorations in the field of popular music, I was reading an article in which a certain person’s singing voice was described as having vibrato, and I immediately thought, “No, it was tremolo.” Then I suddenly realized that, … Continue reading →
Presidential poetry for Presidents’ Day: education in my youth
I’m not that old, but pedagogical practices in my youth seem absolutely archaic compared to whatever passes for education these days. For starters, we had Washington’s Birthday and Lincoln’s Birthday, and they were on their actual real birthdays: Lincoln on … Continue reading →
Acquainted With the White
[NOTE: This is a slightly edited version of a previous post.] No, this isn’t a white supremacist ode. It’s about snow – something we’re experiencing here in New England today. And many other days. The inspiration for this poem of … Continue reading →
Today’s Animal Farm
Victor David Hanson: The point of the 1960s, again we were taught, was to tear down the rules, the traditions and customs, the hierarchies of the old guys. The targets were supposedly the uptight, short-hair, square-tie, adult generation who grew … Continue reading →
Journalists, friends, history, and farce
It was Karl Marx who wrote this oft-quoted remark: “Hegel remarks somewhere that all great, world-historical facts and personages occur, as it were, twice. He has forgotten to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.” There’s certainly … Continue reading →
The unraveling
Long long ago I often used to travel by Greyhound bus. I was in college, and it was a lot cheaper than other forms of transportation. Some of those bus trips were very long, and I’d pass the time by … Continue reading →