Neil Sedaka
Yes, Neil Sedaka. Why not? As for the why, I was listening to the song “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” the other day. I hadn’t heard it in a gazillion years, and I got curious about him. So I … Continue reading →
Category Archives: People of interest
Fidel Castro is dead at 90
The news comes as something of a shock—not because Castro has died, but because he was still alive till now and only 90 years old. After all, this was a man who came to power during the Eisenhower presidency, and … Continue reading →
More on Steve Bannon
I confess that I haven’t had time to read this presentation from 2014 by Steve Bannon, which was sent me by a reader. But I thought it might be good to mention it, since it at least gives us some … Continue reading →
Rothbard and the alt-right
[NOTE: This is a post in which I continue to explore the more extremist wing of the alt-right, because I think it bears watching and comprehending. That doesn’t mean I think it’s an enormous group. Nor do I think Donald … Continue reading →
Trump and Priebus and Bannon
By now you’ve probably heard that president-elect Trump has announced some appointments: The president-elect announced Sunday that he has selected Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to serve as chief of staff in his incoming administration. In the same announcement, … Continue reading →
Et tu, Oprah?
Almost as soon as the Trump win had occurred, I began noticing that, among former Trump opposers left and right, it was shaking down into two camps: the optimists and the pessimists. The optimists were saying some version of “wait … Continue reading →
Leonard Cohen: he was ready
After giving us the gift of his music for nearly fifty years, Leonard Cohen has finally gone home: His son issued this statement on his father’s death: “My father passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles with the … Continue reading →
Did you ever wonder how Vietnamese immigrants to the US got into the nail salon business?
Appraently it was due to Tippi Hedren, the actress who starred in Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” and the mother of Melanie Griffith. Yes, that Tippi Hedren: “The Vietnamese just happened to be the immigrant group that was willing to do anything, … Continue reading →
An indomitable spirit
That describes Aimee Copeland, a beautiful young woman who lost both hands, two feet, and one leg as a result of an attack of so-called flesh-eating bacteria (necrotizing fasciitis) after a zipline accident: Copeland looks forward to her career of … Continue reading →
Sad news: Steven den Beste has died
Unless you were around in the early days of the blogsophere, you may not have heard of Steven den Beste, and the news that he has died may not mean much to you. But to those of us who remember … Continue reading →
Another great Frost quote
This one: ”We go to college,” [Frost] wrote, ”to be given one more chance to learn to read in case we haven’t learned in high school.” He dropped out of both Harvard and Dartmouth, and married his high-school sweetheart with … Continue reading →
C.S. Lewis: about Christianity and its importance
First, the obligatory opening caveat: I’m not a Christian. Nor am I an expert on Christianity. But I have read more than a superficial bit about it, and I know and deeply respect Christians generally. But one person who has … Continue reading →