I came across a video that was touted as amazing, featuring a 75-year-old man who still teaches ballet. My first thought was, “That’s not the least bit amazing.” Quite a few of the ballet teachers of my youth reached that … Continue reading →
An interesting bit of trivia: While at Eton, Eric Blair (future pen name, George Orwell) “was briefly taught French by Aldous Huxley.” England’s a small place, isn’t it? That wasn’t Orwell and Huxley’s only exchange. Huxley wrote to Orwell on … Continue reading →
I was searching for something or other, and I happened across an article on a different subject that caught my eye—this 1996 article by Jonathan Chait (he of BDS pride) about his fallen buddy Stephen Glass, the serial liar whose … Continue reading →
Although I didn’t plan to watch the Democratic Convention, I ended up overhearing a large portion of Bill Clinton’s speech last night. I was at the home of some Democrats; the TV was on in the background, and of course … Continue reading →
Here’s a great reminiscence from Victor Davis Hanson about military historian John Keegan, who died on August 2. Hanson had a unique encounter with him, and his piece reflects on the greatness of the man not only in his professional … Continue reading →
[NOTE: Last night I wrote a draft of a post on how Barack Obama’s latest remarks on SCOTUS precedent are an attempt to emulate Franklin Roosevelt in the 30s. I was going to polish it up and submit it to … Continue reading →
As soon as Dick Cheney’s heart transplant was announced, the predictable unfunny jokes began to proliferate: Have they put Bush on the brain transplant list? Don’t they mean an implant, since he didn’t have a heart to begin with? Too … Continue reading →
The time has come to debunk once and for all the myth that Marilyn Monroe was fat, or even somewhat heavy. I’m not the first one to have tried (see this, for example). And yet the notion persists that she … Continue reading →
You may notice I haven’t yet written anything about Rush Limbaugh’s comments about Sandra Fluke’s sex life and the issue of compensation to pay for contraception, and the furor they’ve caused. Why? Because I don’t write much about Rush Limbaugh, … Continue reading →
…reminiscence about that unique, funny, effervescent wild man Andrew Breitbart. It’s written by Matt Labash of the Weekly Standard, who does a good job of showing why so very many people couldn’t help but like Breitbart—including Bill Ayers. Yep, that … Continue reading →
No one can be replaced, but some people seem more irreplaceable than others, and Andrew Breitbart was one of them. He was also one of the last people whose death announcement I expected to read today. He was young. He … Continue reading →
Edward Villella’s position at the helm of the Miami Ballet appears to be in trouble. You might ask: Who? What? If you read the piece, you’ll see that the issue seems to be one that pervades the arts these days, … Continue reading →