Kudos to the National Review, which I generally do not like, for publishing Mona Charon’s column, “Shades of Presidential Scandals Past”, which tosses more than a few solid punches at the “Move along, folks, move along, nothing to see here, move along” approach being fostered and foisted by most of her compadres at NR regarding…
Author: Alan Vanneman
TV or not TV? Isn’t there a third option?
I’ve already argued that the pickings at the multiplex are pretty slim, nor am I a fan of what I have labeled “Heavy TV”, disliking it so much I had to write a sequel to my original putdown.1 My appetite, such as it was, for the doings of sadistic serial killers is pretty much exhausted,…
Robert Kagan writes an interesting essay, with some stretchers, and not a few omissions
In one way, Robert Kagan’s recent “long-form” (7,000 words) essay in the Washington Post, “The strongmen strike back”, is an honest, intelligent examination of the rise of illiberalism in the modern world, a phenomenon as incontestable as it is dispiriting. In another way, Bob’s latest and longest is a bit of a con job, and…
China could be as bad as the U.S., Fred Kaplan warns
Well, it’s true. Over at Slate, the rarely Trumpian Fred Kaplan says that Trump’s ban on purchases of equipment from giant Chinese telecom firm Huawei using federal funds makes sense: The problem is that those wares are also potential backdoors for Chinese intelligence. If Huawei gains a foothold in the burgeoning market of 5G networks…
Livin’ the life in sunny USC
The Washington Post has a piece on USC, epicenter of the “pay for class” college admissions scandal. USC is often described/ridiculed as a playground for rich kids, and the Post says there’s plenty to back up the stereotype: There is, to be sure, plenty of privilege. Campus restaurants serve acai bowls, poke and salmon salads….
“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” played twice
Back in the day, Jerome Kern provided the score for what was once the most famous musical on Broadway, Showboat. He did plenty of other excellent shows, including Roberta, made into a film now (mostly) famous for being the third, and one of the best, of the eight films that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers…
Why go to the movies when you can laugh at them?
It’s a damn fact: movies are made either for 13-year-olds or bicoastal glitterati/literati pc pundits. So if you want to watch the Avengers avenge something, or see a woman make love to a fish—because all men are you should excuse the expression pigs—be my guest. I prefer to stay home and laugh. My resources o’…
Shorter Dick: Do as I say, not as I did
Or, maybe, do as I did, not as I say. Or even, do as I say, not as Reagan did. You may have heard that our former veep, Ragin’ Dick Cheney, ripped our current veep, Mild Mike Pence, a new one over the Trump Administration’s less than rumbustious foreign policy. Money quote (or money shot)…
Blimps are back, baby! Big time! Sort of!
Oh, yeah, baby, blimps—or rather rigid-frame airships—are back! This time, for sure! Why do I care? Well, settle back in your easy chair, and smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, because the backstory for this post is intense! Close to 40 years ago, I worked with “Dee”,1 a woman who, in addition to a Ph.D….
Charlie Byrd Trio—“Blue Monk” New Orleans 1993
To my untrained if not indeed untrainable ears, Charlie simply plays a standard blues using the chords to Monk’s composition rather than basing his solo on the composition itself, which is what many people do when playing Monk-which, of course, is not what Monk wanted. However, I used to see Charlie way back in the…