It’s tough bein’ a sister, livin’ in the USA. As the New York Times tells it, “Across the country, women in their prime earning years, struggling with an unfriendly economy, are retreating from the work force, either permanently or for long stretches.” In an “above the fold” July 22 story, “Women Are Now Equal as…
Richard Cohen has no penis
It’s official. In his latest column, Richard Cohen, who made his bones at the Wash Post by helping take down Spiro Agnew, treats the fad for tattoos among the young as a sign of the general fuckedupedness of modern America, addresses young women as “sweeties” and makes smart remarks about their “tummies,” bemoans the fact…
At Last! My take on that New Yorker cover
Well, it is the law, you know. I dodged them as long as I could, but when the Thought Police caught up with me and gave me the choice of sixty days in the hole or posting a comment, I buckled, so here it is: The New Yorker’s Obama cover was smart-alecky, pretentious, and condescending,…
Emails on my mind
I kind of miss the good old days of spam—just a little. It was like all America was one big, happy trailer park: Bigger breasts! Bigger penis! Cleaner septic tank! That’s what everyone wants, right? The under-the-counter drug ads were an additional delight: Get your meds from Mexico! Hey, hey! Excellent Zanax! Okay, getting twenty…
Joe Lovano
Tenor sax man Joe Lovano, one of the leaders in “post-Ornette” jazz, is shown here in 1995 with George Mraz on bass and Al Foster on drums. Two years later, Lovano made one of the greatest free jazz albums ever—Trio Fascination*—with Dave Holland on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. *Trio Fascination (edition one) to…
Kathy Griffin’s My Life on the D-List—I can’t stop watching! Oh, wait, yes, I can.
I was always a fan of Kathy Griffin, dating back to the days of the Suddenly Susan TV show. Susan got terrible reviews, but I was a devoted fan, sticking with the show even through the last, stumbling season, or at least the first half. I even watched the show in reruns for awhile, before…
George Russell
Back in the fifties, the heyday of “intellectual jazz,” George Russell was perhaps the most cerebral of them all, not that it netted him much at the box office. But he did get on the tube now and again, on those Sunday afternoon “public service” broadcasts the networks put on to satisfy the FCC and…
You heard me—a total monarchist
I was riding on the metro last week, about 7 PM, listening to the two young women in front of me. “He’s like a total monarchist,” one of them said. This was way over my head. Was this a new putdown? A riff on the less savory aspects of the Bush fils presidency, or at…
Humor at the New Yorker. No, I’m NOT kidding!
In the past, it’s true, I have on occasion made fun of the New Yorker, driven beyond endurance by its obsessive orotundity, but this squib by David Owen is pretty funny.
Justice Scalia, very big, very fat liar
In his already infamous dissent in Boumedienne v. Bush, Justice Scalia released a massive volley of palpable falsehoods, including this one: “At least 30 of those prisoners hitherto released from Guantanamo Bay have returned to the battlefield.” Nino has an obsession with “the battlefield.” His use of “returned” is intended to make us believe that…