Here are two questions that few today can answer, to wit: “During the Vietnam War, what could you buy in a Filipino PX that you couldn’t buy in an American PX?” “Johnnie Walker Black Label and Chivas Regal.” “What else could you buy in a Filipino PX?” “Nothing.” After Lyndon Johnson sent American ground troops…
Author: Alan Vanneman
OMG! I’m turning into Larry Summers! But not all the time!
The truth can be ugly, can’t it? Here are, courtesy of frequent good guy yet employed by the American Enterprise Institute James Pethokoukis, a number of cogent (I think) charts to illustrate a recent cogent (I think) talk by Larry at the Peterson Institute for International Economics titled “What Should the 2023 Washington Consensus Be?”,…
Chasin’ the Bird, Chasin’ Donna Lee: Cultural appropriation—It’s a good thing!
What do Charlie Parker and Theodore Dreiser have in common? Well, damned little, you might say, seeing has how the creator of bebop and the master of early twentieth century American naturalist fiction never met, but there is a connection, however tenuous. In 1947, Parker went into a recording session, joined with Miles Davis on…
The “Tragedy” of Mitt Romney
A double tragedy, in fact, for poor old Mitt was born with both no shame and no balls! A typical Republican, in other words! I was, in fact, quite willing to let poor Mitt go gentle into that good night until pretty near incessant praise for the guy started to get me down, most particularly…
Yeah, I flunked Econ 101! What’s your point?
As a matter of fact, I I didn’t flunk Econ 101, because I never took it! So what? To quote Mel Brooks, I’m an old man and I’ve got a right to talk. And, to quote another old man, Richard Nixon, “I am not an intellectual, but I do read books!” Well, I do and…
More disinformation from the NYTimes? You betcha! Good Information from the Washington Post? Strange, Yet True!
Yep, yep, yep. It’s Washington Post 1, New York Times 0 on the Vanneman-o-meter, which measures, of course, “TRUTH”! The matter at hand is Missouri v. Biden, a recent decision by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals partially affirming—with the emphasis on “partially”—a wide-ranging (as in “loud mouthed” and, well, “Trumpy”) lower court’s preliminary…
Disinformation, Krugman style
Okay, I hate to call out Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman on what is, perhaps, not a huge deal, but we have the right to expect “more” from a Nobel dude like Paul, and I’m afraid Paul’s “error” here is more than a foot fault. In the course of a rap on the irresponsible…
Transitional Group— “Played Twice”
From the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy. Trumpet – Jo-Gerard Re’em; Tenor Sax – Ruben Ross / Alex Dmochowski; Guitar – Scipio Mosley; Bass – Jedd Bailey-Smith; Piano – Tara Jerome / Isla Cummings; Drums – George Harvey. Posted by the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy. July 21, 2017.
Two Thumbs Down for the Barbienheimer!
Yeah, I hit the Multiplex for a double disappointment, both Barbie and Oppenheimer—“not so hot” and “pretty dumb”, respectively. Click on the links provided for the gory details.
Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” Q: What would life be like if smart girls ruled the world? A: Not so hot!
Mattel’s legendary high fashion gal on the go Barbie is pushing 65. Most of the jokes in Greta Gerwig’s monster, monster hit of the same name have a similar vintage. Seriously, is there a single gag in this movie that couldn’t have appeared on Saturday Night Live back in 1975? But the monster success of…