Legal humor here. All cartoons here. and here “Don’t sweat it, Smedley. You know how the old man loves this sort of thing. A lot of men would envy you. I will say, however, that I’m not one of them.” “Why, Smedley? Why? Because at Goldman Sachs, this is how we roll.” “I didn’t come…
Author: Alan Vanneman
In Search of Mike and Ike
Who are Mike and Ike? I mean, the dudes who give their name to Mike and Ike candy? I thought I knew, but it appears the extensive folk etymology I constructed over the years was largely erroneous. My mother’s mother, Augusta Jewett Street, was born in 1890 and raised a Methodist in Cleveland, Ohio. Like…
James Thurber, A Reader’s Guide, Part 31
INTRODUCTION This is the 31st and final episode of “James Thurber, A Reader’s Guide,” a rambling consideration of Thurber’s works, examining his life and work in some detail.. Ultimately, I’ll be publishing the whole thing as an ebook. The links to the first part and the most recent part are given below. Part 31 discusses…
Torture? Is that even a word? Use it in a sentence! On a second thought, forget about it!
Yes, just when you thought we had reached bottom, well, the bottom falls out. Andrew Sullivan, still manfully pursuing the torture scene, has more bad news. Obama’s found yet another way to cave for the CIA! “The Obama administration is actually now debating whether the legal ban on torture by the CIA in black sites…
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here. All cartoons here. and here “This is the perfect car for New York! To the pedestrians who say ‘I’m walking here!’ this car says ‘No, you aren’t!’” “You’ll never need to buy tires, but regularly scheduled manicures are strongly recommended.” “Just keep it away from SmartCars and Mini-Coopers. I mean, that would…
Liar, Liar, Hair’s On Fire
OK, this is not what I signed up for. Andrew Sullivan accurately diagnoses President Obama’s stance on torture as “hate the torture, love the torturer,” linking to this story by Jonathan S. Landay, Ali Watkins and Marisa Taylor in the newsobserver, which tells me far more than I would like to know about the Obama…
James Thurber, A Reader’s Guide, Part 30
INTRODUCTION This is the 30th episode of “James Thurber, A Reader’s Guide,” a rambling consideration of Thurber’s works, examining his life and work in some detail. Generally, these appear every Friday. The links to the first part and the most recent part are given below. Part 30 discusses Thurber’s book-length reminiscence The Years With Ross….
What Hath Obama Wrought?
In 2012 President Obama became the first president to win two terms by a majority of votes cast since Ronald Reagan, back in 1984, and the first Democrat to do so since Franklin Roosevelt, back in 1936, and, yeah, you read that right. Yet now his administration drifts towards the 2014 mid-terms like a rudderless…
Count Basie and the Kansas City Five, 1979 Special
Count Basie, no longer young, but sounding pretty damn good. Posted by kcbigbandjazz
Jimmy Carter, aging gracelessly
What is it about aging former office holders that compels them to get in front of TV cameras and berate President Obama for failing to activate America’s fleet of death ray satellites that ceaselessly circle the globe to wipe out ISIS, along with all other non-“moderate” Syrian rebels, or perhaps for not slipping over to…