Well, that is good news, isn’t it? I mean, when the president of the United States sh*ts on the carpet, it’s always a downer. Always! But he didn’t do it this time! He totally didn’t do it! I mean, he barely loosened his pants! That’s the general take on General Good Trump, who mostly held…
Author: Alan Vanneman
Koch Bros pledge $400 million—because you’ve got to spend money to make money
Yes, the arms of the Kochtopus are reaching out, and gearing up, to spend $400 million on right-thinking guys and gals, first order of business being to maintain Republican majorities in both houses of Congress. “I’m more excited about what we’re doing and about the opportunities than I’ve ever been,” Charles Koch said. “We’ve made…
Hillary Clinton #notmyfavoritemartyr
I did not write a post last week entitled “100 Reasons Why I Won’t Be Watching The Grammys Next Week”, but I could have—anything from “I have a life” to “I’m 72”. However, if I had written such a post, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to say “I won’t have to listen to Hillary…
The Post? What about The Times? What about The Truth?
Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks seem to be involved in a conspiracy to bore us to death with virtuous films, first with Bridge of Spies and now with The Post, films that consist almost entirely of old white people standing around and talking, a lot. Bridge of Spies is about one honest man who makes…
Stakhanovite liberalism—It’s still a thing!
“Stakhanovite1 liberalism” was a labored term of abuse worked up by the late William F. Buckley to ridicule overproducing liberals. Coal miner Alexsei Grigoryevich Stakhanov was made a “Hero of the Soviet Union” by Joseph Stalin in recognition of his exploits with a jack hammer and his example was used to encourage others to overfulfill…
The Boswells—The Perfect Escape!
Connie, Vet, and Martha, riffing on Louis Armstrong’s classic “Heebie Jeebies”, recorded in 1930.
Reply to Fred
Fred Kaplan, who writes for Slate and whom I sometimes praise and sometimes ridicule, has a new post, with the disappointing subhead “America’s retreat from the world under Trump has shown why we’re still the indispensable nation”, causing me to post a long comment, which was so eloquent, and so unlikely to read by anyone,…
Regarding Michael Brendan Dougherty, who can, on occasion, strongly resemble a three-armed gorilla
What can you say about a man who can both beat his own chest and pat himself on the back at the same time? Michael Brendan Dougherty, or Mickey B, as I sometimes call him, manages this display of anthropoid dexterity in a recent column warning us never-Trumpers that “We’re Becoming Like Him”, taking the…
Stay strong, Alan Vanneman! Stay strong!
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a takedown of James Franco’s new film, with the rather harsh title “James Franco’s The Disaster Artist: Hollywood Caught In the Act of Kissing Its Own Ass”. The more I thought about it, the more I wished I had made the title “James Franco’s The Disaster Artist: Hollywood…
Gentlemen Drum Choir—“Bemsha Swing”
The Gentlemen Drum Choir perform at the 7th Annual Keith Hall Summer Drum Intensive in 2013. When Monk recorded “Bemsha Swing” for his 1957 album Brilliant Corners, drummer Max Roach availed himself of some timpani which happened to be in the recording studio. This recording seems to have encouraged “percussive” interpretations of the tune, which…