"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." —Mark Twain
In the news
In May 2010 Arizona banned the teaching of ethnic studies in the state’s public school classrooms, specifically targeting Mexican-American and Native American studies. The new law forbid elementary and secondary schools to conduct classes “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” or that advocated “the overthrow of the United States government” and “resentment […]
In December, after the death of hereditary dictator Kim Jong-Il, network and cable TV news programs replayed videos of North Korean citizens publicly weeping and wailing in mourning for the Dear Leader. Many Americans, starting with but not confined to news reporters, made fun of the North Koreans. I wrote a blog entry at the […]
The outside lights are up, strung along the eaves on the front of our house. Polly and I put them up two weeks ago. But the tree? That’s a different story. Our old Martha Stewart Omniliving Holiday Tree® has become a Ghost of Christmas Past: threadbare (yes, artificial trees shed too), one entire section of […]
Oh, scare-mongering media, what will you terrify us with next? Well, what more can one say about that? Really. Brain-eating ameobae. I’ll never put anything up my nose again. Not even a finger. More current news, as seen on Facebook: Anent the Dear Leader’s demise, I couldn’t help making a few jokes, but I’m saddened […]
If you looked at an online news site today, read a newspaper, or watched the six o’clock news, you’re aware of this story: Safety Board Urges Car Cellphone Ban The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended a nationwide ban on the use of cellphones and other electronic devices while driving, even hands-free devices. The recommendation […]
We try to keep the world from intruding on our happy lives, but sometimes all defenses fail. I don’t mean to make light of what happened at UC Davis, and god knows the photo itself is horrifying, but this photoshop somehow makes the latest pepper spraying incident all the more Orwellian: What a world we […]
I just ended the longest no-flats streak I’ve had since taking up bicycling again a few years ago. The culprit: the dreaded goathead, a thorn that detaches itself from the devil tree it grows on and then, through some kind of plant/asphalt magnetism, migrates unerringly to the nearest bicycle path. What amazed me, once I […]
We’re spending Thanksgiving in Las Vegas with our son and his family. We won’t hit the road until next Wednesday … which means we weren’t there yesterday for our grandson Quentin’s 9th birthday. Gregory and Beth hired an animal wrangler to entertain Quentin and his guests. What a great idea! There were snakes, snapping turtles, […]