Books-A-Million on Dupont Circle is a fascinating throw-back to the days when people bought books in a store and actually read magazines. Located in the basement of an office building right on the Circle, the store is a collection of incongruities, the most striking of which is that it actually manages to stay in business….
James Thurber, A Reader’s Guide, Part 25
INTRODUCTION *This is the 25th 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 25 continues discussion of Thurber’s collection *The Beast in…
President Obama makes Lynne Cheney look like a [insert opprobrious sexual reference here]
“We need a war!” famously exclaimed Lynne Cheney1 back in the reign of Bill Clinton. President Obama’s motto seems to be “We need another war!” Mainstream Democrats remain terrified of pissing off the Pentagon and the CIA, who will have their toys, and their budgets. This will be a cheap war, of course, but since…
Dave Douglas & Joe Lovano Sound Prints Quintet—“Power Ranger”
Trumpeter Dave Douglas frequently waxes too “experimental” for my taste (because who needs to listen to something new?). But I like this. With Joe Lovano, sax, Lawrence Fields, piano, Linda Oh, bass, and Joey Baron on drums. From the 2012 Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival. Posted by bobylyn
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here. All cartoons here. and here “The A train just left.” “Yeah, you want to speak to a streetcar named Desire. I hope the ghost of Tennessee Williams visits you tonight and fucks you hard in the ass.” “No, the 2 train don’t stop here any more. You know, they’re ‘Brooklyn’. I hate…
Nothing to see here, folks. Move along. Move along.
In a near-parody of a non-denial denial, Brookings Scholar Dan Drezner explains that the New York Times blockbuster story “Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks” gets it all wrong because, well, first of all, DC think tanks (like Brookings, for example) have to get their money from somewhere don’t they? And, and, anyway, the…
Golly, Mitt! Why do you have to be so goddamn reasonable?
“I’m not running, I’m not planning on running,” Mitt Romney told Fox News regarding the 2016 presidential election. “My time has come and gone. I had that opportunity. I ran and didn’t win.” Well, Mitt is a pretty smart guy, and I think his take here is 100% accurate, but I just wish that he…
Nothing to see here, folks. Move along. Move along
Say, what was all that fuss down in Ferguson about, anyway? According to This Town author Mark Leibovich, it’s just a lot of hot air from, you know, the media. “In a less media-saturated time, we might have gone on to consider this serious news event on its own terms, with journalists providing facts and…
Advice to screenwriters, while there is still time
The next time an Hispanic maid (or, really, any other person) discovers a dead body, don’t have her say “Madre de dios!” Have her say something like “Damn! This dude is dead!” or “Shit! I ain’t cleaning this up!” Something like that. I would really appreciate it.
Yeah, we’re in California
Over at the Atlantic, Conor Friedersdorf highlights the latest in Bay Area let them eat radicchio greed/stupidity/self-indulgence: subsidized urban farming, a new way for the wealthy to indulge their liberal guilt, boost their property values, and reduce their real estate taxes all at the same time. Rich liberals can donate the crops they raise to…