Yobs
England and the United States are nations separated by a common language and this is nowhere more evident than in differing slang words. That, and I guess the Sun isn’t exactly the Times when it comes to enforcement of staid… Continue Reading
Month: November 2010
Picking Painful Policies
From a macro-level perspective, it’s not that difficult to balance the budget in both the short and mid-range terms. Using an online toy at the New York Times, I was able to get not a balanced budget but modest surpluses.… Continue Reading
Precautionary Fondling
I’m not fond of the idea of a TSA agent feeling me up the next time I try to board a plane. Not that I think that the agent is really looking forward to it, either. But is the threat… Continue Reading
Raising A Red Flag About Heckler’s Vetoes
What is it with all the stories about hecklers’ vetoes? After I felt moved enough by Pat Condell yesterday to praise a culture of free speech, I turn around and see this — someone’s offended by a kid putting an… Continue Reading
Constitutional Convention: The Board Game
I am enough of a history geek that this game sounds like a whole lot of fun. “Boom! I’ve got Franklin on this one!” I don’t think I could get The Wife to play it very often, though.
Ca’ di Gladiatori Crumbles
A sad day in Pompeii, as the House of the Gladiators collapses. Italy has been suffering heavy autumn rains, and the unearthed ancient ruins of the world’s most unique and miraculous archeological site are not up to it. Italy, like… Continue Reading
Fainting In A Movie?
Last weekend, I saw 127 Hours at what I suppose must have been one of the only four screens in America showing it. It’s in wider release this weekend. Apparently, the rumors going around are that the “arm scene” is… Continue Reading
Somehow I Don’t See This In My Crystal Ball
President Lyndon Johnson famously responded to overwhelming public criticism of his handling of Vietnam by announcing that he would not serve as President for a second full term — he channeled the long-dead General William Tecumseh Sherman, who said “If… Continue Reading
There Is No Part Of This Story That Is Not Surreal
Dick Van Dyke, yes that Dick Van Dyke, is 84 years old and still surfing. Except he maybe ought to not be surfing because paddling out past the breakers apparently exhausts him so much that while surfing he falls asleep.… Continue Reading
The Real Villains
Sometimes I wonder why exactly I can’t find it in my heart to condemn Islam so starkly, clearly, and powerfully as Pat Condell: Then I remember the answer: what Condell is describing here isn’t congruent with my own personal experience… Continue Reading