The Bookman

Blame it on four-dollar cupcakes. And capitalists and philistines. Because of them, the bookman has been forced out of his spot on Columbus Avenue just outside 67 Wine at 68th Street.  At least, that’s what the angry words scrawled in black magic marker on a piece of salvaged wood propped up against a parking meter would lead one to believe. He had been a fixture there for at least twenty years. Not permanent, it seemed.

From 1982 until 2002 I lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on West 70th Street. During that time the bookman was part of my life, the way other dog owners in Central Park and the pharmacy and drycleaner staff were. I used to walk by his piles of books every day and always stopped to see what had been added. After a decade in exile in Weston, Connecticut, I returned to my old neighborhood in early 2012, purchasing a small apartment on West 67th Street. Much had changed, but the dry cleaners with the outdated signage depicting, for some reason, the Eiffel Tower, remained, as did the pharmacy with the ancient and slightly bizarre window displays. Rigoletto Pizza was still there, with a facelift. Full story »

We spent the day basically watching what was left–the Marathon, the Handball final (France over Sweden for the gold, a close match where France just had enough of a defensive edge), Volleyball (Russia over Brazil in a surprising but emphatic comeback), the Marathon (a surprise winner from Uganda). After the surprises of last night, particularly Tom Dailey, who had looked pressured in the tryouts, but who performed magnificently in the diving finals for a bronze medal.

So the medal total is roughly unchanged—the US and China way in front, but Britain 3rd in Gold and 4th overall, after Russia. 16 years ago, Britain won one Gold. How times change. And that’s certainly a large part of why everyone—well, nearly everyone—feels really good about the past two weeks. But it’s also because the events all went smoothly, public transport worked phenomenally well, and everyone who came to London now thinks it’s the coolest place in the world. It’s always nice to have some validation. Full story »

OK, to even ask this question is to already concede the answer. Palin came into the 2008 campaign as a complete unknown, and part of the fun of that campaign was uncovering the surprising and unexpected depths of her ignorance. But she persevered, and she remains admired by large swaths of the American public. Admittedly, it’s for the wrong things entirely—her ignorance, her self-absorption, her self-proclaimed victimhood—but still, you can’t deny she’s got spunk.

But she’s also clever in a certain carnal way—she’s figured out how to make some dough on the side. Why else leave that springboard to political power, the governorship of Alaska? And her career has certainly been peripatetic—she’s worked in public service (well, yes, she has), but she’s also bounced around in the private sector. Not in a particularly distinguished way, to be sure, but still, she worked for media companies as a broadcaster and reporter, and helped run her husband’s fishing business. In the scheme of things, this might not be much, but it’s at least something. At the end of the day, I bet Sarah Palin knows what you need to do to meet a payroll.

Paul Ryan, on the other hand, appears to have never worked a day in the private sector in his life, except for some summer jobs working as a salesman for Oscar Meyer. Full story »

Part one of a series.

This past week AlterNet published an interview with Chuck Thompson, author of Better Off Without ‘Em: A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession. In brief, Thompson argues that the United States has become two very different countries (or perhaps that it was always two very different countries) and that perhaps the time has come to shake hands and go our separate ways.

Thompson makes a compelling argument. Secession is a subject we here at S&R have engaged in the past, primarily within the context of the inequitable distribution of tax revenues (donor states vs. taker states), and it’s perhaps telling that so many of the smartest people I know – rational, clear-headed, educated, progressive-minded, deliberate thinkers all – are more than willing to entertain the idea. Sure, there are plenty of logistical concerns to be considered, but make no mistake – the “South’s gonna do it agin” crowd isn’t the only segment of the population that would be okay parting ways. Full story »

“We’re lost.”

“What are you talking about?”  It was dangerous to be lost in the sub-arctic wilderness, especially in winter.

“You and I aren’t where we should be.”

We found the beaver trap.”  Albert tried to keep the panic out of his voice.  “You told me Indians don’t get lost.”

Fred smiled.  “Well, maybe sometimes…  There are supposed to be two traps, right near each other.”  He carefully released the no. 330 conibear and pulled it off the dead animal.  Its neck was broken, its fur intact.  It was young, not too large, but not too small to bring a bit of money at the NorthWest Company’s fur auction.  Not too small to make a good meal for everybody in their tipi.

Albert preferred his meat to come shrink-wrapped on styrofoam, or better yet, cooked and placed on the table by his mother.  But he was on an important mission, and would put up with eating food he had to kill and butcher himself.  Well, maybe not himself: by his friends and hosts.  He had to watch them do it, though. Full story »

Suppose the following:

• Later today, an organization dedicated to studying science and religion announces it has devised a “God Test.” This process will conclusively reveal whether or not there is a god (or gods). Further, it will discern the nature of god, if one (or more) exists. Does it desire/require obeisance/worship? Of what specific sort? Or is it a distant superior being that doesn’t really concern itself with humans and human affairs?
• Global religious, political, social, academic and scientific leaders review this test and universally agree that yes, it will in fact do exactly what its developers claim. Despite their many differences, they all agree that once the God Test is run, we will all know, without ambiguity, what there is to know about god. Full story »

What, me, I’m the big ‘mistake’?

Mercifully brief, this week’s rousing Cheney-Palin-McCain food fight delivers more brash hijinks to liberals and Democrats than NBC’s controversial, jingoist Olympic coverage. Really, Dark Vader takes on the Tundra Hussy with pinwheel-loaded McCain pulling up the rear? Summertime, and the punditry’s easy. No doubt, after this merry episode in GOP dissension, we face months of Romney drudgery, slogging through a brittle convention, all the while deflecting Bain/tax/culture scandals until November. Full story »

I woke up to the radio this morning like I do most mornings, and as I was grumbling to myself that I really should have got to bed earlier last night, I heard an advertisement for a supposedly inexpensive “erection enhancement” pill that you could get without a prescription. Annoying, as I’d rather have been listening to music, but whatever. Then I heard this gem of advertising “brilliance”

[Product] is made from all natural ingredients so you know it’s safe.

Um, no. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

There are two fails in this sentence, one of which should be obvious to anyone with a functioning synapse in their skull. Full story »

1

The manuscripts had collected in my bottom drawer.  This verbal clutter consisted of poems, stories and film scripts, all fused into the genre of unwanted black ink on white paper; in short, words rejected by the eyes of editors.

And then in early December 2009, an idea struck me.  I decided to try to create a work of art in another form, gluing the scraps of paper to a foam board to make a collage composed of cut-up manuscripts.  I even had a title for the piece: “Unpublished Manuscripts.”

As a recreational artist I have taken photographs over the years with my Pentax K1000 camera.  Some of the images have been exhibited in small galleries in centralNew Yorkand also published in literary magazines. Full story »

Like much of the country, I’m coming to grips with the notion that I live in an Olympic powerhouse. I mean, jeez—at the end of today Britain was third in Gold medals, and fourth overall. WTF? Much of it is the usual—rowing, cycling, “sitting down sports,” as someone said. Well, true enough, but if you backed out the American swimming medals, where would the US stand? There’s been a bit of disappointment today, since the medal haul seems to have come to a temporary halt, but no matter. It’s still a better performance than Beijing, and in a broad enough range of events to suggest that whoever is running things is actually doing a good job. So everyone is pretty happy.
Full story »

Voting for a third-party candidate in a presidential election is considered by many to be a waste of their vote. At its worse, as when Ralph Nader supposedly siphoned off votes for Al Gore in 2000, it’s blamed for aiding and abetting the victory of a nightmare candidate such as George W. Bush.

On the other hand, justifications exist for voting third party in the 2012 presidential election. At the Daily Beast, Michael Tomasky alludes to one.

Liberals are too nervous to think it, reporters too intent on a “down to the wire” narrative, and conservatives too furious and disbelieving, but it’s shaping up to be true: An extremely close election that on election night itself stands a surprisingly good chance of being not that close at all. Full story »

Let’s see, who else are we loving so far in 2012? Ah, here’s one.

Ryan Shaw: Real Love – I’ve been a fan of Shaw’s since … well, since I first heard him maybe three years ago. Gods, what a voice. I have argued that had he come along in the mid-1960s we’d now be remembering him favorably alongside the likes of Otis, Jackie, Wilson and Sam. That is not hype – the man is just that good. His previous release had the feel of a collection of singles, but Real Love plays like an actual album. Here he is live, riffing on the man, Sam Cooke, whom he clearly reveres as much as I do.

Full story »

Every 10 minutes, it seems, somebody dredges up from the miasma of past moribund media strategies the idea that will save journalism. But such ideas are too often about saving the business of journalism — and that’s a much different conundrum to consider than what truly ails the fractured relationship between journalism and democracy.

As for saving journalism? There’s government funding and/or “non-market” money or government dictation of funding mechanisms. How about computer nerds or “hacker journalists,” “personalized news,” the Federal Trade Commission’s “recommendations” for the reinvention of journalism, or a mashup of government subsidy, community ownership of local news outlets, and non-traditional or non-profit support for journalism outlets? Just Google “save journalism.” All the ideas are there, from the hackneyed to the improbable to the Are you effing kidding me?

Now, adding to the mix, backers of the Knight Foundation, in their infinite wisdom, have published an “An Open Letter to America’s University Presidents” with a blunt message regarding their journalism programs: Change or die (because as grant-making institutions, we won’t fund you if you don’t change). Full story »

My high school friend Bob and I used to go fishing every summer in the river that runs through our town. We had no jobs and no pocket money, but fishing was free.

On the way home one August day on the path beside the river, we used Bob’s German boot knife to carve immortality into an ash tree. I sliced my first name in big, blocky letters, cutting completely through the bark to the living core of the tree. On the back of the tree, Bob cut his initials, a plus sign, and the initials of a girl he was sweet on. He and the girl graduated from high school a year earlier than I did. I don’t know what happened to either one of them. I’m sure Bob’s behind-the-tree wish never came true. Full story »

by Brian Moritz

News of the punishment came down first thing on Monday morning, July 23.

More than eight months after scandal first broke at Penn State, about a month after former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts of child molestation, two weeks after the Freeh Report blasted Penn State leadership and former coach Joe Paterno for covering up the allegations, and one day after the statue of Paterno was removed from Beaver Stadium, the NCAA handed down its sanctions against the program.

The punishments are harsh, severe, and justified. The $60 million eats up more than half of the profits Penn State’s athletic department earns annually. The postseason ban means the team is basically playing four years of exhibition games. The scholarship restrictions mean that it will be 2020 before Penn State fields a football team with four full scholarship classes. Vacating 111 wins is a final punishment for the late Paterno, who had been the sport’s all-time winningest coach. Full story »

Much has been said and written about Mr. Obama’s distressing record on civil liberties. Many have gone so far as to argue that he’s worse than his predecessor, that he has assumed powers that are strictly forbidden by the Constitution, that he has begun acting more like a king than a president. These critics have a mountain of objective data from which to draw in making their case.

My mind never stops challenging, though, and this morning I woke up in a contrary mood. I find myself asking a simple what if: what if President Obama is, in fact, doing the right thing? What if his routine abrogations of the law are necessary? I’m not arguing that this is the case, but the question seems worth considering. Full story »

Just the other day I encountered a euphemism for abortion that I hadn’t seen before: “the death penalty for accidental trespassing.” But honestly, I had no earthly idea what that meant. Is the fetus “accidentally trespassing,” i.e., didn’t mean to be there, but, voila, there it is anyway? That’s the only thing I could come up with, considering it’s the fetus that gets the “death penalty.”

As it turns out, in searching for that exact phrase using Google, I located precious few references to it. One was to the comment on a blog article by Russ Wellen here at Scholars & Rogues where I first spotted it (see comment #4 by one Tangle Eye Blues). Another was to a CBS News article about Sarah Palin (where the phrase does not actually occur, alas, not some cranky Palin-ism). A third was to the comments page for that CBS News article, where the phrase actually appears.  Full story »