February 2012

Oh, what can it mean?

February 29, 2012

I guess this post has to be about Davy Jones. I used to occasionally sneer at the Monkees, back in the day, but I still find myself singing the chorus to “Daydream Believer” whenever it comes on the radio. I know, he didn’t write it. But I don’t think I ever heard a cover as [...]

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A night at the races

February 28, 2012

A man who finds himself living in the South should probably cultivate an interest in NASCAR. But that’s harder than it looks. Last night I caught about 25 laps of the Daytona 500. As you may have heard, rain delays had pushed it into prime time. So it was either that or “Two and a [...]

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We’ve seen this show before

February 27, 2012

Really, the only reason anybody watches the Oscars is so they can carp about it the next day, or text clever remarks during the show itself. I’m no different. I had my laptop out and was trying to run with the best of them, but I gave up after about an hour. There was just [...]

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The writing on the wall

February 25, 2012

I guess my favorite thing about Facebook is the way friends and family send birthday wishes when my special day rolls around. I know, they’re being reminded by the machine. And yeah, it’s pretty easy to type a few words on a person’s wall. But it’s also pretty easy not to. I have to admit [...]

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One for the price of two

February 24, 2012

Ever pay good money for a book, and then realize two chapters in that you’ve already read it? That’s happened to me more than once, most recently with Ruth Rendell’s The Rottweiler. The bad news: it’s not so great a book that I’d have knowingly bought it twice. The good news: I’ve forgotten how it [...]

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The promises they make

February 22, 2012

I started off watching the Republican debate last night, but quickly tired of it. So I switched over to the American Experience documentary on the Clintons. That wasn’t exactly riveting either, but the comparison between the two shows was instructive: What people are willing to say while grasping for the presidency, and what they’re willing [...]

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‘Tis the season of doing without

February 21, 2012

I'm not a very religious man, but I usually try to give up something for Lent. Over the years I’ve somehow convinced myself that occasional self-denial is a good thing. This year I guess it’ll be wine. That’s a heavy burden. I like wine. But it doesn’t count unless you give up something you like. [...]

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So long, ‘Downton.’ See you next year

February 20, 2012

The close of Season 2 leaves me with only a few questions: What startling evidence will spare Bates a life sentence? How will Mary’s scandal play out in the press? And most importantly, why don’t people there ever put on a sweater? Tess is still shivering at the way those ladies stand around in their [...]

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Get our cash out of the classroom

February 19, 2012

You can’t say Rick Santorum doesn’t have some stones. Coming out against public education is a bold strategy at a time when the U.S. is steadily sinking in the global education rankings. Once at the top, we’re now in the lower middle. Clearly it’s time we quit spending state and federal money trying to teach [...]

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Why didn’t anybody think of this before?

February 18, 2012

U.S. employment and the U.S. economy both appear to be rising. But so are gas prices. Guess which one gives GOP presidential candidates more joy? Yep, in an election year — and really, don’t these all seem like election years? — what is good for the country is bad for the party not currently occupying [...]

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