…and former NY Mayor Ed Koch is dead of heart failure at 88. He was mayor from ’78 to ’89. The adjectives that quickly come to my mind—and probably to everybody’s mind—when thinking of him are colorful, flamboyant, outspoken. He … Continue reading →
I was introduced to Gregory Corso’s poem “Marriage” by a boyfriend long ago, and it stuck in my mind because it was one of the few poems I’ve ever read that is genuinely funny; more a comedy monologue than a … Continue reading →
…Michele Bachmann? Bachmann, like Palin, has been relentlessly attacked and has become somewhat of a laughingstock. She does have a certain tendency to go off in ways that seem overblown and even absurd, but that doesn’t mean she’s stupid, and … Continue reading →
Though you might say, “well, why are you writing a post about it, then?” I never followed Armstrong’s career, although I certainly knew who he was and about the controversy that whirled around him; how could you follow the news … Continue reading →
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity … Continue reading →
Speaking of Burton (and we were), here’s Burton speaking. I defy you to not find this story fascinating (the part I’m talking about begins where I’ve cued the tape up, at 12:29, and ends around 16:15):
Continue reading →Actor and world celebrity, twice husband of Liz Taylor, Richard Burton was also a prolific diarist. His diaries were published this past fall, and I recently got the book out of the library. It makes for interesting intermittent (or intermittently … Continue reading →
In my mental image of poet Emily Dickinson, dog ownership was never part of the picture. I imagined her dressed all in flowing white, flitting about the upstairs rooms of her family’s spacious Amherst home, sitting down to write amazing … Continue reading →
In yesterday’s comments about Obama’s nomination of John Kerry as Secretary of State, Geoffrey Britain referred to Kerry as a “loathsome type.” That reminded me that it was that very quality of John Kerry’s that helped drive me to become … Continue reading →
Former federal judge Robert Bork has died today of heart disease. His name was made into a verb, “to bork,” as in this: Following Bork’s nomination to the [Supreme] Court [by Reagan in 1987], Sen. Ted Kennedy took to the … Continue reading →
Okay, I’ll get this Hillary Clinton thing over with. I don’t usually go out on a limb with predictions this way, but I believe she will run in 2016, and that she has an excellent chance of winning. Here’s why … Continue reading →
Many of you probably remember FredHjr very well. But for those of you who weren’t around this blog in his heyday, you should know that he was one of the most brilliant and prolific commenters here. Tragically, he died in … Continue reading →