Pankaj Mishra, whom I’ve previously praised, has an excellent, excellent article up at theguardian, as it calls itself these days, “How to think about Islamic State”, though it might better be called “Civilization and its Discontents, Neo-Liberal Edition,” because it treats the really world-wide complaints of those who aren’t making a decent living in the…
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here “Am I Bachelor No. 1? Honey, I think you’re going to make that Bachelor No. 1 in a million.” “Yes, as a matter of fact, this was your mother’s idea.” “I’ll be a sort of tour guide for the natural wonders you’re about to behold.” “I come with the room.” “Who am…
Dizzy Gillespie quintet – 1960
Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Leo Wright (alto saxophone, flute), Junior Mance (piano), Art Davis (bass), Teddy Stewart (drums) Posted by p3ximus
Yo, Larry! Is this what you mean?
Larry Summers is, I think, not the only Ivy League economist to moan about the condition of American airports, most specifically those in the neighborhood of New York, New York. In a review mostly devoted to an excellent put-down of the pretensions of Thomas Piketty, Larry let out with the following cri de cœur: “Look…
Edward Gibbon, Part VII
In Part I of this near-random collection of jottings, I remarked that Edward Gibbon, despite his near-obsessive concern with politeness and polish, tells you more about the sex lives of historical figures than virtually any modern historian. I also remarked that his modern-day fans, despite their frequently amazing levels of erudition and enthusiasm, studiously avoid…
Thomas Friedman, still wanting to blow things up
Poor Thomas! He’s supporting Obama’s Iran deal, because, because, I guess, because the guys at the water cooler at the Times wouldn’t speak to him if he didn’t. Damn that peer group pressure! But Tom isn’t a total pussy. No way, John! According to Tom, once we make the deal with Iran, we include this…
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here “Okay. This one is way over my head.” “In these parts, stranger, we don’t settle no vendettas with no balloons.” “Stranger, if this is a gay thing, you picked the wrong town to get pretty.” “Stranger, Jed done asked you nice twice to let him hold your balloon. Jed don’t ask nice…
I guess no Muslims were available
The Atlantic has printed a symposium/sitdown discussing the Obama Administration’s proposed nuclear agreement with Iran, featuring, well, featuring three Jews—Peter Beinart, David Frum, and Jeffrey Goldberg. Pete and Jeff are both in favor of the deal, leaving poor Dave as the odd man out, but I couldn’t help thinking that the Atlantic might have picked…
John Lewis Gaddis—“They Really Believed That Shit!”
Way back in 1978, a dude named John Lewis Gaddis started in his academic career by publishing Russia, the Soviet Union and the United States: An Interpretive History (America & the World), which looked at U.S./Russian relationships from the time of Catherine the Great to Jimmy and Leonid. John probably expected to spend his life…
Gawkermania! Pretty much.
If I understand the odds correctly, it’s about 180 million to 1 that you’re reading Gawker instead of this. But if you are reading this, you may not be aware that there’s a serious suits-versus-shirts contretemps at No Shame Central, after the business boys insisted that the site pull an article about, well, let me…