…it may be between DeSantis and Youngkin. I know it’s way early to even talk about it. And I also know that Trump may end up dominating again. But it’s a pleasant prospect to contemplate – in the middle of … Continue reading →
Here’s another death of a celebrity in the arts, the actor and singer who adopted the memorable moniker Meat Loaf. He was 74 and no cause of death was given, and although COVID is rumored, I don’t know whether or … Continue reading →
And he certainly doesn’t go out with a whimper: I recently resigned from my position as full tenured professor at the University of Toronto. I am now professor emeritus, and before I turned sixty. Emeritus is generally a designation reserved … Continue reading →
The subject of the Tolstoy marriage came up in this thread, in the context of a discussion about Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina. In that book, Tolstoy presents a thinly-disguised more idealized version of his own marriage to his wife Sonya, … Continue reading →
RIP. Two very different figures who would not ordinarily be mentioned together have died in tandem. I’ll say little about Harry Reid, except that when he retired from public life I celebrated his exit. As for Madden, I can’t say … Continue reading →
In the Joan Didion thread yesterday, commenter “Mac” wrote: I believe it’s The White Album that includes a memorable and very sharp put down of feminist writing. I’m sure there was a lot of resentment about that. To which commenter … Continue reading →
RIP. Didion specialized in the non-fiction essay, one of my favorite genres. I read her 1968 work Slouching Towards Bethlehem (title taken from Yeats’ wonderful poem “The Second Coming”) a couple of years after it came out and admired it … Continue reading →
You may recall Christopher Hitchens, who died in 2011. His slightly younger brother Peter Hitchens – equally sardonic and intelligent – appears in this video. Both brothers were leftists in their youth and both became more conservative later on, but … Continue reading →
Condi Rice spoke about CRT during an appearance on the TV show “The View”: “My parents never thought I was going to grow up in a world without prejudice, but they also told me, ‘That’s somebody else’s problem, not yours. … Continue reading →
You may have noticed I don’t write much about Kamala Harris. Early on, though – August 2019 – I pointed out that she is remarkably unlikable: Have you ever noticed how voters can forgive a candidate almost anything if they … Continue reading →
Not that Brandon. I mean Brandon Straka, the political-changer founder of the WalkAway movement, who was arrested and charged for some of his actions on January 6th in Washington DC. Well, here’s the latest (hat tip: commenter “AesopFan”): On January … Continue reading →
The name of Jan Morris came up in yesterdays trans thread. For example, commenter “PA Cat” wrote this: Jan Morris (born James Morris; served in the British Army in the last years of WWII, and was the journalist who accompanied … Continue reading →