- Here’s To Dad (6/13/2007) - I mulled over an all-encompassing Theory of Everything as I was squeezing a lemon over my filet of flounder for dinner tonight. First I pondered why seafood and lemons go so well together. I figure it has something to do with sailors (I was in New Orleans during Fleet Week, so don't blame that spectacle for inspiring my theory). As every schoolboy learns, when sailors of yore discovered that the terrible illness they tended to… …
- Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans? (5/28/2007) - I saw a street car crawl down Canal Street today. It was the first operational street car I've seen in the streets of New Orleans since I've been here. I also saw a garbage truck collecting trash in the French Quarter late last night. These are the signs of progress in post-K NOLA. Only a Bourbon Street tourist, or someone (like me) who has been away for nine months, could appreciate the little bit of… …
Continue reading "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?"
- The High Cost of Health Care (For Cats) (5/19/2007) - The high cost of health care is a problem for more than just us monkeys. The price of veterinary services has skyrocketed faster than inflation, too. I had the opportunity to buy pet insurance through my union, but declined. Pet insurance is for little old ladies who order chemo-therapy for their hobbled, mangy 19-year-old cats, isn't? Well, about two months ago, my cat, the duck, began a campaign of biological warfare in protest of my… …
- It’s the Hair, Not the Ho (4/15/2007) - Not to belabor the point, but Barbara Ehrenreich doesn't get it. Writing in the Nation (online edition), she declares, "Of course it's the ho, not the hair, part of Imus's comment that hurts." Actually, it is the hair that hurts. Once again, Barbara can't see past her white, middle class nose to define an issue for what it is. In this case, it's a blatant case of racism as Imus was contrasting the looks of… …
- Pride of the Nappy-Headed Hoes (4/11/2007) - There was an enormous protest today on the traditional women's college campus of Rutgers University over Don Imus. Imus, of course, disparaged the University's second place NCAA women's basketball team in crudely racist and demeaning terms about two weeks ago. The controversy, which has raged across the country and which threatens Imus' career, started out with very little notice here: a "dart" to Imus in the Daily Targum newspaper's traditional "Darts and Laurels" Friday editorial.… …
- Comrades in the Library (3/19/2007) - The Times has an article on one of my favorite places in the world, the Tamiment Institute archives at NYU, which has recently acquired a huge chunk of the Communist Party USA's files. The CP should really be applauded for its openness and willingness to view its past truly as history. I have seen some of the neato gems of these files - such as Seeger's handwritten lyrics to "Turn! Turn! Turn!" - on display… …
- The Science of Blind Dating (3/13/2007) - I have a confession to make. I go on internet dates. And why not? It's a perfectly reasonable way to meet people in this new century and have a reasonable expectation that you'll at least have enough in common to sustain a dinner conversation. I've started a few good relationships this way. A few have lasted as friendships. What makes the whole endeavor truly sporting is the ever-present threat of a Really Bad Date. On… …
- Letter From Munich, 1953 (3/11/2007) - Munich, June 12, 1953 Dear Jay, It's over a half a year now, since we stood on that ship to say goodby. You asked me to write and I promised to do so. To tell you the truth I hesitated because I did not want to be carried away with my feelings. I was a very disappointed man, not because of the court proceedings, the prison, ect. but because of my so called friends, the… …
- The Devilish Fun of a Party Power Struggle (3/6/2007) - Veteran British actor Ian Richardson passed away recently. I took the opportunity afforded by my monthly mail order video subscription (no brand names, comrades) to stage a private film festival of Richardson's best-known work, the BBC series, "House of Cards." The 1991 miniseries focuses on a fictional Tory power struggle following Thatcher's ouster, as Francis Urquhart, the diabolically unassuming Chief Whip, plots to destabilize the government and sabotage his competitors. The filmmakers give more than… …
Continue reading "The Devilish Fun of a Party Power Struggle"
- Look for My Union Label (3/4/2007) - I've finally rejoined the National Writers Union (UAW Local 1181), the freelancers union. I had been a member when I was the editor of the Five Borough Institute's newsletter, mainly because we wanted to have a bug on the masthead. I let my membership lapse during my long stint of unemployment, even though I had begun to write regularly for this blarg. I realize I should be paying lip service to this supposed new media… …