Separated at birth
Both connected with the theater, although in different ways:
Continue reading →Category Archives: People of interest
The myths of history: Churchill’s defeat
There are a lot of myths that people accept as true about historical events. Some of these myths are relatively minor, such as the one I’m going to write about today. Some of these myths concern events/facts about which we’ve … Continue reading →
Muhammed Ali dies at 74
Muhammed Ali’s death is the sort of news that will be covered in the media for weeks, with tributes and reminiscences. He styled himself “The Greatest,” and boxing aficionados say that he certainly was one of the greatest, or maybe … Continue reading →
Churchill: Never never never…
Commenter “Sharon W” reminded me of this Churchill quote, and so I thought I’d remind you: Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never””in nothing, great or small, large or petty””never give in, except to convictions of honour … Continue reading →
Pavlov’s dogs were happy campers
Practically everybody knows about Pavlov’s dogs. But do many people know about their master, Pavlov himself? The other day I started to wonder—apropos of just about nothing—why dogs? And was Pavlov mean to his dogs, or were they treated well? … Continue reading →
Thomas Sowell on the grim prospects that face us
[Hat tip: commenter “Alan F.”] Thomas Sowell is probably the conservative writer I respect the most. I discovered him during my political change process, and his clarity of thought and economy of expression helped to give me a philosophical framework … Continue reading →
Charlotte Bronté« and the eccentricity of genius
The Bronté« family were all geniuses, probably including brother Branwell who dissipated himself with coke and booze. Why genius ran so rampant in the family has been the subject of countless books, one of which I’m currently reading: Charlotte Bronté«: … Continue reading →
Vladimir Bukovsky is almost certainly being framed
Famous Russian dissident Vladimir Bukovsky is in big trouble. It isn’t the first time. But what’s going on now is very disturbing, both in human terms and for what it says about the current Russian government (much of which we … Continue reading →
Chopin
I do believe that Chopin just might be my favorite composer. I fixed on him when I was still a very young child, because he was the most-played composer to accompany my ballet classes. I didn’t even know his name … Continue reading →
Fighting “stupidity”
The always-fascinating Richard Fernandez offers some quotes from anti-Nazi Dietrich Bonhoeffer that I want to call attention to: “Against stupidity we are defenseless,” [Bonhoeffer] wrote, because imbeciles never feel a qualm. Against the stupid “neither protests nor the use of … Continue reading →
More on the Ben Rhodes flap
On Thursday I wrote a very brief post linking to an article about Obama’s advisor Ben Rhodes and his influence on Obama’s foreign policy, particularly the Iran deal. The Rhodes article was so disturbing it’s been the talk of the … Continue reading →
Allan Bloom: on undermining the American vision
I’ve written in praise of Allan Bloom’s book The Closing of the American Mind several times before, but here I go again. It was published in 1987, which is now very close to 30 years ago. And yet its relevance … Continue reading →