I’ve never been one of those folks who seek out and soak up obsessive details about rock musicians—the minutiae of their lives and loves and drug habits and the like, although I realize it’s somewhat of a cottage industry. But … Continue reading →
The British poet (1795-1821) wrote: Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul? By the way, I highly recommend the film “Bright Star,” about Keats’ romance … Continue reading →
Both connected with the theater, although in different ways:
Continue reading →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’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 →
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 →
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 →
[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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →