A friend of mine told me over the weekend that she missed my poetry posts. (If you are nostalgic, you can go back to any posts from April for the pedantry.) But that comment, and today’s news from Iraq made me think of one of my favorites: Horace’s Ode 3.2–the famous “Dulce et decorum est … Read more
After a time the beggars just sort of receded and became a peripheral blur in my daily routine, the traffic I had to navigate each day on my way to work. There were almost no cars in my part of town. A number of people had beat-up motor scooters or bicycles, but the narrow maze … Read more
–Illustration by James Dankert Fridays aren’t gonna work for me. I’m not a writer, dammit. I can’t be expected to drag my ass home from the day job (and I do mean drag my ass; some days it feels like I’m hauling a Volkswagon Beetle behind me), watch a baseball game, and then sit down … Read more
It’s probably something of a red flag when your barber has a Superman logo tattooed on his forearm. And this is probably not the sort of monologue you want to hear from some guy while he’s cutting your hair: I’m not shitting you, I’m at the end of my fucking rope here. I know damn … Read more
We’ve mentioned before the many, many awards that are minted each year for every little print publication under the sun. Some forms of industrial recognition are more credible than others, of course, but mostly they are an exercise in narcissism. We’re not sure anyone outside the industry cares that much, given that any publication that … Read more
There’s another article in today’s Miami Herald about Luis Posada Carriles. (Search their archives for a long list of more stories on this jerk.) Here’s the basic deal: Posada blew up a Cuban airliner that was on its way to Venezuela. He blew up some hotels in Havana. He tortured leftist prisoners in Venezuela. Even … Read more
“Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” would be an appropriate, if obnoxious, theme song for Ron Gardenhire’s Twins, for this or any season. The mantra in the Minnesota clubhouse during Gardenhire’s tenure has always been, “We’re just trying to win each series. The rest will take care of itself.” That’s a decent, ambitious goal for … Read more
When I login at home, I use the equvialent of the old wooden, crank-up party line—my dial-up America Online account. I have to admit that I always wait enthusiastically for the slow emergence of today’s headlines, like tea leaves swirling in the digital kettle. There are usually three main “news” headlines that rotate in a … Read more
Will wonders never cease? The conservative columnist of the NY Times, David Brooks, came to the defense of Newsweek today. Brooks takes note of the fact that radical Islamists hardly need a short item in an American magazine with an excellent reputation to incite them to senseless violence against almost everyone. He doesn’t actually put … Read more
CBS tinkers with the magic formula, and the youth of America burn in Hell: “Joan of Arcadia” is out; Jennifer Love Hewitt talking to dead people is in. “I think talking to ghosts may skew younger than talking to God,” Moonves said.