Monthly Archives: November 2013

Blow, Wind, And Crack Your Cheeks

Another of our steeples drench’d, I’m afraid. More here. We are dying, dying…

Brood 3301

Here’s something that’s apparently been going on for a while now that I’m just hearing about: Cicada 3301. “The world is so full of a number of things; I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.”  

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanks to all of you, readers, for all your time and attention these past eight years. Thanks especially to those of you who have joined the conversation here. It’s why I started this blog in the first place.

Forward!

From the blogger known as ‘educationrealist’, here’s a penetrating look at Common Core, and some of the reasons why it is such a bad idea. One of the reasons it’s a bad idea: it fails to acknowledge an essential and utterly self-evident truth, namely that the ability to learn and master complex topics is not […]

Solitude

It’s a long day at work for me today — 11:35 p.m. and I’m still at it. All I have to offer is this little item from XKCD, which I happened on earlier today, in an idle moment. Back soon.

Ready For Prime Time?

There’s a bosky little corner of the blogosphere that is home to an intellectual movement to which I am ideologically sympathetic, and with which I am loosely associated. It is known variously as the Dissident Right, the Dark Enlightenment, or Neoreaction. This seditious cabal been around for years, but only lately has begun to attract […]

King Of The Hill

Well, Carlsen did it. He defeated Anand 6.5-3.5, with three wins and not a single loss, and is now the world champion. You can go over all the games here.

Diversity vs. Reality

Our e-pal ‘hbd* chick’ (a scholar of human reproductive patterns and variation whose outstanding blog should be on your regular reading list, if it isn’t already) posted an excellent item yesterday on the increasing difficulties confronting adherents of the ideological cult of Diversity in the face of damning and discrediting evidence. (At this point the […]

Story Of O

My God, is there no limit to this man’s narcissism? (No need to reply, we already know the answer.) Can he not honor anything or anyone without placing himself in the frame?

Harry Reid vs. Harry Reid

The Democrats today decided to grab a little more power — for now at least — by changing the Senate rules so as to prevent filibustering of executive nominees. This enables them to bypass the Republican minority in order to get some left-wing judges onto the D.C. circuit court. The rule they changed has been […]

Turn Out The Li-i-ights, The Party’s O-o-over…

Magnus Carlsen has done it again, defeating Anand in Game 9 to take a near-insuperable 6:3 lead. If he can manage a single draw in the remaining three games, he’s the new champ. You can look at the game (a Nimzo-Indian, with Carlsen playing Black) here.

Lingo Links

Here are a few language-related links I’ve collected over the past few days: — The Webster’s that wasn’t. — Lost in translation. — More of the above. — Some old-school cussin’. — OK, this last one isn’t about language, but here it is anyway: break-dancing Turks. No need to thank me.

Race, Race, Race, Race, Race, Race, Race, Race, Race

It seems to me that race is more in the news today than ever — and I’m old enough to remember the 1960s. For something that, according to all goodthinkful people, doesn’t even exist, it sure does get a lot of attention. Or not, depending on the context. For example, the media seem just now […]

Sing, O Muse! … …Muse?

I apologize for the lack of substantial content here these past several weeks. There has been so much to comment on — if nothing else, I’ve been missing out on one of the great Schadenfreudefests of modern political history — yet somehow I’ve found it difficult to lift the pen. Of course this has been […]

Who’s Counting?

Interesting item in the New York Post today, especially in light of this item from a few years back. Wonder if we’ll be hearing any more about this.

‘Orgasm Wars’

I pass this along without comment: an actual television show, from Japan.

Pwned!

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a world chess championship match underway in Chennai, India (that’s ‘Madras’, to those of you of a certain age). The reigning champ, 43-year-old Viswanathan Anand, is attempting to defend his crown against the Norwegian enfant terrible Magnus Carlsen, 22. It isn’t going very well. After four draws, Carlsen, the […]

Service Notice

I’m back home in New York, but I’m completely exhausted. These past few weeks have really taken it out of me, and it may be a days or two before I’ll get back to posting here. Thanks again to everyone who has written, posted, and Tweeted their condolences. I really appreciate it.

A Life, In Brief

My father’s obituary is in today’s New York Times. You can read it here.

Kansas City, Here I Come

I’ll be there all week, on business. The days will be long, and there will be scant time for the blog, I’m afraid. I’ll do what I can, but it’s likely that political outrages will go unremarked, scientific breakthroughs will transpire in silence, amusing links will go unposted, and fatuous comments will even go unrebutted. […]

Hizzoner The ?

My old friend Dave, aware of my gloomy presentiments about our incoming Mayor, sent along an item from Commentary that he thought might cheer me up. The article suggests that things might not go as badly for Gotham as it seems reasonable to expect. After all, argues the author, nobody‘s crazy enough to govern the […]

Pic Of The Day

Saved myself a thousand words here:  

Haiyan

Spare a thought tonight, all of you, in the comfort of your homes, for the poor people of the Philippines who are suffering the horror of Nature’s awful wrath. Many will not see tomorrow.

The Toothpaste Has Left The Tube

Here’s a 3D-printed 1911. In metal.

SmartLight

This is brilliant. Investors take note.

Links

— Hovercrafts. No eels. — Safety first! — Thomas Sowell on race war in America. — From Isegoria: the original Peabody & Sherman! — Hayek rips Keynes a new one. — Gordon Ramsay explains how to cook a perfect steak. — A mendacious montage. — Jowls a-flappin. — It’s always in the last place you […]

Democracy In Action

Today was Election Day, and at the top of the ballot here in New York City were the candidates for our next mayor. For the fifteen or twenty of us here in Gotham who would prefer a relatively conservative hand upon the helm, there was a fellow by the name of Joe Lhota — while […]

Home Again

I flew home today, and will be glad to put this awful week, and Southern California, behind me. Thanks so very much to all of you who wrote to offer support and sympathy. It was a great comfort to me at a very difficult time. We’ll be getting back to normal here soon. So much […]

Curtain

My father, Dr. William Pollack, died at about 8:25 this morning, after having slipped into a coma last night. He was a remarkable man. I will have more to say when the words come.

Service Notice

I’m still in California, where my father is slowly sinking, and is now almost completely unresponsive. I have put everything else aside — in particular writing, and work — but will try to get back to both in the next few days, as he lingers on. If nothing else it will be a distraction. Thanks […]