Monthly Archives: January 2009

The political and economic autopsy of a nation. There’s this: Very few… are prepared to enter politics… This is not due to the lack of public spirit, but to the personal abuse to which candidates are subjected and to the … Continue reading →

Looks like the new hope-n-changey environment has deflated one artistic balloon: No theatrical event of 2008 captured the political mood of the country quite like the Public Theater’s hit revival of the Vietnam-era rock musical “Hair” in Central Park last … Continue reading →

Headline: “Biden to Attend Munich Security Conference”

Headline: “Biden Apologizes Over Roberts Joke”

This article in Sunday’s Washington Post illustrates just about every cliché among the Democrats Abroad crowd, from “I-have-to-pretend-I’m-Canadian” to “my-European-friends-ask-me-about” to getting hugged on the street by perfect strangers suddenly keen on America now that we’ve elected the kind of … Continue reading →

Barack Obama has been inaugurated at the 44th President of these United States. The last band in the parade has passed, the last dance spun. Workers are now cleaning up the mountains of trash (no doubt Green and eco-friendly) left … Continue reading →

No, we’re not really showing anyone right now. My lovely bride is shivering in Ohio and any showing would be limited to nearby events, of which there won’t be any until Indianapolis next month. On Saturday, I thought I’d go … Continue reading →

Samuel Barber’s haunting chamber opera A Hand of Bridge (libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti), performed by the Opera Theater of the Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

… if I ever catch up with the person who invented the screw-type-vending-machine-delivery-system-that-always-stops-one-erg-short-of-releasing-my-purchased-item I’m going to beat them to a blood-soaked pulp.

The great and good Derek Lowe is properly scathing about the attempts to make “alternative medicine” mainstream. Just think, 80 years ago it would have been considered a gross insult to call someone a “root-and-herb” doctor. Now it the next … Continue reading →

A. C. Douglas, in praising the recording of Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, conducted by the composer, makes a point I’ve frequently agreed with: We’ve never been much drawn to Leonard Bernstein’s “serious” compositions as despite their admirable … Continue reading →

It looks like New York Governor David Patterson is going to give in and make America’s Princess the next Senator of the state. Mrs. Schlossberg, whose résumé makes that of the present occupant of the Office of the President-Elect look … Continue reading →

A 40-year-old woman couldn’t buy beer because she looked too young: Despite her best efforts, youthful Karen Hamilton could not convince supermarket workers she was older than 18, the legal age for purchasing alcohol. Maintaining she was a teenager, staff … Continue reading →

… my former company seems to be in more than a little spot of trouble and, as one possible outcome, may declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In 2007, Lyondell Chemical Company, a publically-traded U.S.-based company, was purchased by Basell Industries, part … Continue reading →