I was raised on The Weavers, the folk-singing singing group of which Seeger was an important member – that, plus Tom Lehrer, Flanders and Swann, Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Mikado” and “HMS Pinafore”, and every Broadway musical from the mid-1940s to … Continue reading →
…had actually already happened when I was there, around 2008. The docents were already droning on and on about slaves and Sally Hemmings, almost as though those were the main points of Jefferson’s life. This NY Post article describes what’s … Continue reading →
[NOTE: The following is a somewhat revised version of a post that has appeared previously on this blog.] Unbelievable that it’s been thirteen years since commenter FredHJr died suddenly and tragically. As time passes, the number of readers here who … Continue reading →
I distinctly remember watching a moment or two of her coronation on TV when I was very small. What I recall is her back as she walked down the aisle, and the incredibly long train: Young, pretty, happy: The Queen … Continue reading →
Roger Angell, noted baseball writer for The New Yorker, has died at the age of 101. I had no idea he was still alive, but I used to read him regularly during the thirty or so years when I had … Continue reading →
Otto von Bismarck certainly had a way with words. For example: “Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.” “God has a special providence for fools, drunkards, and the United States of America.” (I’d heard that one … Continue reading →
[NOTE: Here’s a slightly-edited version of a post I first published in 2014. I thought it might be good to put it up again, because it still seems appropriate.] The time was 1956, over 65 years ago. The place was … Continue reading →
When I read that Robert Morse had died at the age of 90, my first thought was “Drat!” My second thought was, “How could he be 90? Impossible!” Because to me Robert Morse always looked like a kid. Morse rose … Continue reading →
Now that Musk has become the largest shareholder in Twitter, it seems he has plans to change some things: Elon Musk filed a new disclosure on his Twitter Inc. stake with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, admitting that … Continue reading →
Commenter John Tyler reminds us of this famous saying by Beria, the notorious head of Stalin’s secret police: “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.” As with some of our current political prosecutors, the idea is that … Continue reading →
Yesterday my attention was called to this article, the translation of which (thanks, Google translate) is as follows: Russian journalist and well-known propagandist Vladimir Solovyov said that the Russian Federation will not stop at the war in Ukraine. He said … Continue reading →
My favorite classical composers are as follows: Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Dvorak. Note the order; Chopin leads the way. Is that because I was heavily exposed to Chopin from the age of four in ballet class? I don’t think it’s just … Continue reading →