December 24, 2014 – 11:41 pm
To you all. Thank you, as always, for reading and commenting.
December 21, 2014 – 11:40 pm
A reader writes to make an interesting point: not long ago the Black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan made an inflammatory speech in Baltimore (to see just how inflammatory — indeed, quite literally so — have a look here). The NYPD shooter, Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley, who was certainly black, and apparently a Muslim, was, perhaps, in […]
December 15, 2014 – 10:48 pm
It might be a little quieter than usual here for the next couple of days. I’m recovering tonight from a fairly substantial round of reconstructive oral surgery, and the next few days will be as busy as my capacities, which are likely to be somewhat diminished by powerful medicaments, will allow. My thanks as always […]
November 29, 2014 – 11:54 pm
In a post the other day I wrote: The universal acid of radical skepticism having nearly completed its work, all transcendent values have now been dissolved — and if all that once was sacred is now remembered at all, is only to be mocked and scorned. Nietzsche saw this coming: “the total eclipse of all […]
November 27, 2014 – 2:09 pm
To all of you. Although dark clouds gather, we still have a great deal to be thankful for — and here’s a little historical reminder that much of what we have to be thankful for is still worth preserving and defending.
November 17, 2014 – 10:01 pm
The nation waits with bated breath for the Ferguson grand jury to return its verdict. The expectation is that there will be no indictment, as it appears that Michael Brown had attacked Officer Darren Wilson, badly injuring him, and was trying to take the officer’s pistol when he was shot. The expectation is also that […]
November 12, 2014 – 12:57 am
I’ve been too busy, again, to discharge my duties around here for a few days — and I’m working late again tonight. Here are a few links that have been piling up: ‣ Nine horror films under 9 minutes. ‣ The Life of R’lyeh. ‣ What to get me for Christmas. ‣ […]
November 3, 2014 – 10:24 pm
More sad news today: Tom Magliozzi, who with his younger brother Ray hosted the weekly radio program Car Talk, has died of Alzheimers at age 77. I’m really, really sad to hear this. I loved this show, and I loved these guys. (Yeesh — first Jack Bruce, and now Tom Magliozzi, in a just over […]
November 1, 2014 – 8:38 pm
The other day a group calling itself ‘Hollaback’ posted a video on YouTube called 10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman. Its apparent purpose was to call attention to the oppressive conditions that women, even in these relatively enlightened times, must endure in a culture still in the grip of a malevolent and […]
October 19, 2014 – 11:39 pm
I’ve been neglectful of the blog this past week — it’s been five days since the last post. I’ve been busy, but that’s not all of it; there are times when the well just runs dry, and this has been one of them. It certainly isn’t as if there isn’t a lot going on that’s […]
October 11, 2014 – 10:05 pm
I’m sorry to see this: Paul Revere, of the 60’s band Paul Revere and the Raiders, has died. Geoffrey Holder, too. Man, I’m starting to feel old.
October 9, 2014 – 7:32 pm
If the U.S. is going to be involved at all in the Mideast snake-pit — and it appears that it is — then there is one party that stands out as being worthy of our trust and support, namely the Kurds. They are currently being exterminated, while we shift from foot to foot, inspect our […]
October 7, 2014 – 11:05 pm
I’m working late tonight — so for now, here’s some Q&A about that “impossible” spaceship drive I mentioned a while back. Also, here’s one person’s attempt to model the cultural manifold that will provide the context for the next civil war. I’ll say also, just in passing, how surprised I am that the Supreme Court […]
September 27, 2014 – 11:30 pm
Sorry — not much to say here the past few days. I’ve been distracted, and the muse is silent. Even the biggish stories — the Holder resignation, for example — have left me flat. (I do hope, however, that somebody is backing up that man’s hard-drive.) Also, there’s only so much of this vox clamanti […]
September 23, 2014 – 10:35 pm
‣ A volcanic blast. ‣ Cyberattacks, worldwide, in real time. ‣ Twitter trends, likewise. ‣ “97%”? Hogwash. ‣ Coming soon to a pizza near you. ‣ The iPhone 6: sexist. ‣ How good are you at recognizing faces? ‣ Fantastic rides. ‣ A disturbing trend in scientific […]
September 11, 2014 – 9:16 pm
What’s up with Takimag? The site’s been down all day. It’s worrisome.
September 4, 2014 – 9:38 pm
Here’s a real find: what purports to be the only extant recording of the Sage of Baltimore. It’s a long interview, with good audio quality.
September 4, 2014 – 9:33 pm
We note with sadness the deaths of Joan Rivers and Glenn Cornick. Gather those rosebuds, folks…
September 2, 2014 – 11:18 pm
It’s been a refreshing break, beginning with a splendid mountaintop wedding in New Hampshire back in late July. I don’t often post such things, but here is a shot of your humble correspondent at that happy occasion: After that it was just a lot of this sort of thing: Anyway, that’s done: […]
September 2, 2014 – 1:25 pm
All right, then. August is over. Did I miss anything? Just kidding. Back soon, with a spleenful.
August 15, 2014 – 1:28 pm
It’s August once again, and things will be quieter than usual here for the next couple of weeks — maybe a post or two here and there, but nothing much, probably, till after Labor Day. As always, please feel free to browse our ever-expanding archives, and to try the “Random Post’ link at upper right.
August 10, 2014 – 8:47 pm
In a recent column, Thomas Sowell asked: Is thinking now obsolete? Perhaps it is. Read this label: This is the sort of blithe and cheery obliviousness that carries me to the brink of despair.
The lovely Nina and I are off to a wedding this weekend up in New Hampshire. There will be much feasting and merriment, but likely very little blogging. Back next week.
It was 45 years ago today that the philandering, corpulent drunkard Teddy Kennedy drove his car off a bridge in Chappaquiddick, got himself to safety, and abandoned the young Mary Jo Kopechne to drown in the wreckage. The affair likely cost him the Presidency, but little else. If there is any justice in the hereafter, […]
Here’s a handy guide from the firearms experts at Rolling Stone: The 5 Most Dangerous Guns in America We read: Contrary to what those who defend the right to own high-powered assault rifles believe, not all guns are created equal. Due to a combination of availability, portability and criminal usage the following five types of […]
Sorry, no post tonight. Too humid.
It’s been jam-packed week or so: a family getaway with both our kids (a rarity these days, now that both are grown and our daughter lives in Guangzhou), and plenty to do today upon getting back to New York. (Apologies to those of you who’ve emailed me over the past few days…) Solitude has been […]
Happy July Fourth, everybody! Although we generally celebrate Independence Day with carefree and bibulous abandon, it’s important to remember that this is a solemn occasion, and a day to honor America’s timeless founding principles. So it’s good to see that some Independence Day rituals still embody this ennobling tradition. Foremost among these, of course, is […]
The UK is now importing sperm. I am not making this up. (HT: Kevin Kim.)
I haven’t said much lately about current political events — not because there isn’t plenty to comment on (the situation at our Mexican border being, perhaps, foremost at the moment), but because it’s all just so fatiguing. This in itself is worth commenting on, because I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling this way; it […]
If you prefer reality to Cathedral orthodoxy, you’re evil, and will someday roast in Hell. Meanwhile, you should be reading the Unz Review.
I’m a little woozy tonight after some periodontal surgery earlier today, so for now, just a few links that have been gathering dust in the bin: — On topic: Comfortably Numb. — On legacies and dynasties. — The wages of sin. — The Walter Duranty prize: to David Kirkpatrick, for his Benghazi whitewash in the […]
Here’s a shot of the sky above Brooklyn a few minutes ago, from my stoop.
Things are finally getting back to normal around here, and I apologize to all for the long absence. (I realize that my not writing anything here for a week doesn’t exactly deprive anyone of oxygen, but I do know that many people stop by here regularly — my thanks to all of you as always! […]
In this engaging post, science-fiction writer John C. Wright responds, with brio and in fine style, to accusations of political heterodoxy and tainted allegiances.
There are a great many things I’d like to be commenting on just now, but I’m working very long hours this week and have no time for anything else. Thanks very much as always for checking in. Back soon I hope.
Just discovered a terrific online resource. Have a look.
April 28, 2014 – 10:37 pm
One more from the UK: the Daily Mail reports that modern humans are weaklings compared to our early ancestors. They might be on to something.
April 24, 2014 – 11:00 am
This morning I dropped a post I had written late last night, something I rarely do. When I got up and reread it, it just seemed too morose. As news unfolded later in the morning, I was glad I had done it for another reason: it would have led to more bickering than I have […]
April 14, 2014 – 11:16 pm
It’s just spring here in Wellfleet, and suddenly there are daffodils everywhere. I love daffodils; they seem perfect to me. They sing of warm spring sunlight, and cool clear air, and dark fertile soil, and of beauty unvanquished. I’ve always thought that daffodils are pure joy. I’ve written in these pages, from time to time, […]
I just took an online survey called “How Stereotypically White Are You?” It offers a hundred criteria, and asks the respondent to check all that apply. Most of them were things like “Have you ever listened to John Mayer while hooking up with someone?” (The sort of questions I might have asked — “Have you […]
April 11, 2014 – 11:50 am
We’ve been hacked, it seems. Perhaps it’s that ‘Heartbleed’ business, although my understanding was that Bluehost, my hosting service, had not been affected. Thanks to Matt Walker for leaving a comment on one of the (now deleted) spam posts to tell us that our RSS feed is corrupted also. Our in-house team of cyberterrorism experts […]
Too much social/political stuff lately. Will lay off for a while.
— Zoomable panorama of the Milky Way. — “Wrong again, dear.” — What women want. — :-( — Privilege!. — How the blow-fly flies. — Biohazard. — Now that’s a rat. — Mate In 10! — Warning: major time-sink. — WWI as bar-fight. — How is this man alive? — Aesop updated. — Good clean […]
I’ve written before (see here, here and here) about my mother-in-law, Lily Renée Willheim Phillips, who was born in Vienna, fled the Nazis in the Kindertransport, and made her way first to England and then to New York. Once she got here, she took up a job drawing comic books, working at a company called […]
March 23, 2014 – 11:43 pm
— Learn a card trick from Penn and Teller. — Credit where credit’s due. — A survey of meteorologists on “climate change”. — Where the wild things are. — Unintended consequences of Britain’s welfare state. — Bead chains in action. — Why Intelligent Design retains its broad appeal. — Height and IQ. — The Museum […]
Boy, what a week. Not being a man of independent means, I still must toil for my daily crust, and this week that included a 24-hour-long workday spanning Tuesday and Wednesday (a software crisis in the Antipodes, now resolved). I used to do a lot of those as a youthful studio rat, but for a […]