LIAR, LIAR, MIDDLE EAST ON FIRE
I SUPPOSE WE SHOULDN’T BE SURPRISED that someone who continues to lie about the 2020 election would persist in falsehoods. However, this latest horror taking place in the Middle East … Continue reading
CELEBRATING HISTORY EXTRA
I’VE LONG ENJOYED BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE, now rebranded History Extra. Its February 2026 number is no exception, with cover-blurbed features that are varied indeed: Lucy Worsley recounting a competitor of … Continue reading
IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST
I AM A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC. And thus, I read with interest and involvement Ashley Ahn’s “F.C.C. Chair Threatens to Revoke Broadcasters’ Licenses Over War Coverage,” The New York … Continue reading
MIX: FREEDOM (BUT BE PREPARED TO SKIP THE ADS)
DESPITE BEING SOMETHING OF A LUDDITE, every so often my Internet sleuthing reveals a new fav, in this case, modern composer Richard Einhorn’s piece Freedom. I discovered it and more … Continue reading
CONSUMER REPORTS’ TOP NEW CARS
MOLLY BOIGON REPORTS “Hybrids Dominate Consumer Reports’ List of Top New Cars,” Automotive News, February 3, 2026. “The reviews from Consumer Reports,” Boigon observes, “support what many dealers and consumers … Continue reading
WHAT’S THE LAST MASS MARKET PAPERBACK YOU’VE READ?
I REMEMBER VIVIDLY THE LAST TIME I read a mass market paperback: It was right after I had my cataract surgery that (thank you, Dr. Rowen!) gave me 20/15 vision … Continue reading
A.I.’S PLACE, HUMAN EFFORT, AND FRICTION-MAXXING PART 2
YESTERDAY, DONALD MACKENZIE SHARED TRADEOFFS of A.I.’s seemingly unbridled upscaling. Here in Part 2, two means of human control are offered. One is pedagogical, though applicable to the rest of … Continue reading
A.I.’S PLACE, HUMAN EFFORT, AND FRICTION-MAXXING PART 1
HUMANITY IS AT A CUSP OF INTELLECT, tantamount to moveable type’s effect on sharing thought, radio and television’s effect on communicating it, and the computer’s effect on amassing it. Today, … Continue reading
LAMENTABLE OR LUDICROUS—OR BOTH? PART 2
YESTERDAY, FRANK BRUNI GOT US THINKING about the Trump administration’s lack of professionalism. Today in Part 2, let’s consider Donald “The Golf Cap” Trump himself. Protocol Honoring the Fallen. There’s … Continue reading
LAMENTABLE OR LUDICROUS—OR BOTH? PART 1
HAVING READ FRANK BRUNI’S “We Are Being Governed by Unserious People,” The New York Times, March 9, 2026, I’m left with an intellectual quandary: Are Trump and his cohorts lamentable … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 