(The World’s Greatest Consulting Detective. Source: Wikimedia) In my quest to...
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The Rest is Noise (2)—How the century started
The 20th century started, musically at least, in Vienna. Actually, much of the century started in Vienna. Not so much the visual arts, because while there was lots going on with the Vienna Secession painters—Klimt, Schiele and Kokoschka—and the Wiener Werkstatte Arts and Crafts developments, these didn’t really travel outside of Vienna for some time. [...]
The Rest is Noise
A while back Mrs W decided we needed to come to grips with modernism and the 20th century. By “we,” she meant the two of us, not the world in general, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea, frankly. That’s another post, probably. We’ve been doing our part, I have to say, but more Mrs [...]
Uganda Journal: heading home
Standing on the Equator, I’m as centered as I’ve felt during my entire journey. A few feet to my left, in the Northern Hemisphere, there’s a sign that says “Did you know?” with a shallow bowl that drains into a bucket. In the Southern Hemisphere: same thing. Did you know, in the north, water drains [...]
Bad journalism: it isn’t just a Manti Te’o thing. Remember Columbine?
As we try to unravel the whole Manti Te’o/”Lennay Kekua” mystery – is she dead? Is she alive? Does she exist? Was Te’o in on it or is he the biggest rube in America? – “sports journalists” (one of my favorite oxymorons, btw) are taking a right kicking, and deservedly so. Everybody out there who [...]
WordsDay: a couple of recommendations
First, I hope you checked out today’s outstanding S&R LitJournal offering from Changming Yuan. If not, you really oughta. Second, in addition to being a talented writer, Changming also edits Poetry Pacific in Vancouver. Give it a look. In particular, I really liked the set from Laurence Overmire – very vivid and immediate, I thought. Finally, [...]
S&R Poetry: “Directory of Destinies: A Parallel Poem” by Changming Yuan
- Believe it or not, the ancient Chinese 5-Agent Principle accounts for us all. 1/ Water (born in a year ending in 2 or 3) -helps wood but hinders fire; helped by metal but hindered by earth with her transparent tenderness coded with colorless violence she is always ready to support or sink the powerful [...]
Lance, you fooled us all. Well, not really.
I ride bicycles. Not particularly well, but I ride in competitive events. And I’ve spent the last fifteen years or so arguing with friends of mine about whether or not Lance is a cheat. Obviously I was right. A million fat Texans with ten thousand dollar bikes wearing yellow wristbands and Postal/Discovery/Radio Shack jerseys were [...]
Words Matter: a “denier” is someone who denies, nothing more or less
The term “denier” simply means “one who rejects the existence, truth, or validity of something” – there is no inherent moral value attached to the word. As such, labeling someone a denier does not automatically invoke the moral repugnance of Holocaust denial, however much the denier may complain otherwise.
Manti Te’o and the worst (and best) in sports journalism
The ridiculous Manti Te’o story that Deadspin broke today represents the best, and the worst, in sports journalism. We’ll get to the worst in a bit here – and there is plenty to say about the worst – but let’s talk about the best. The reporting job that Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey did with this story is [...]
Uganda Journal: Africa’s darkest heart
Final words, written in shit: “I never for my husband was killed….” Scrawled on concrete, marred by blood: “Cry far help me the dead.” The lost voices of 300,000 dead, forgotten beneath the earth. These are Idi Amin’s torture chambers—five concrete bunkers burrowed into the mountainside beneath Mengo Palace in Kampala. Amin, the notorious dictator [...]
Guardiola says no thanks to Chelsea, heads to Bayern – what now, Roman?
Roman Abramovich’s top choice to be the next Chelsea manager, Pep Guardiola, is heading to Munich. Bayern Munich on Wednesday officially announced it had hired Pep Guardiola to coach next season for an undisclosed salary over three years. … Guardiola, who is the first Spanish manager of Bayern Munich since the club’s promotion to the [...]
Nuclear weapons and voter ignorance are a lethal mix
Nuclear weapons are not only a threat to our survival, but to democracy itself. Most of us keep our distance from the subject of nuclear weapons. Nor is it hard to understand why. Many think that since the end of the Cold War, nuclear war has become a minor threat. Especially when compared to an [...]
I can’t believe I’m saying this: give Tebow a chance
Tim Tebow is getting screwed, and the kid doesn’t deserve it. Now let me say hastily I am not a Tebow fan, and it’s not because he used football to sell his religion. Kurt Warner did that. Jon Kitna. Danny Kanell. June Jones. Reggie White. There’s an almost endless supply of great football players (and [...]
At least being railroaded isn’t as bad as being waterboarded
Could the charges on which former C.I.A. agent John Kiriakou are being jailed be any flimsier? You may have heard that John Kiriakou, who worked undercover and as a terrorist logistics specialist for the C.I.A. before retiring, took a plea and admitted that he violated the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. Scott Shane of the New [...]
Tournament of Rock IV: And the winner is….
The the final round matchup between #10 seed Meat Loaf and unseeded upstart Duran Duran saw more than 12,500 votes cast, a new Tournament of Rock record. Thanks to everyone who showed up to voice their support. Along the way we’ve had some laughs, traded some barbs, shaken our heads in disbelief at some of [...]
Why corporations are like Burmese pythons
Last week, many Americans were stunned to pick up their newspapers and learn that AIG was suing us taxpayers for saving them. We shouldn’t have been. That’s what any corporation would do. Indeed, the directors of AIG had to consider it or else get sued themselves. Corporations are the Burmese pythons of the economic ecosystem. [...]
