Monthly Archives: December 2006

BLYTHE DANNER AND THE FOURTH WALL.

BLYTHE DANNER AND THE FOURTH WALL. On New Year’s Eve in 1980 (I just looked it up), my wife Mary Jane and I saw our favorite actress, Blythe Danner, in a performance of PHILADELPHIA STORY at Lincoln Center. In the … Continue reading

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GERALD FORD–EX-MID

GERALD FORD—EX-MID. Calvin Trillin once wrote an article about two kinds of transplanted Midwesterners and used Gerald Ford and Thomas Dewey to illustrate the difference. Both were from Michigan, had spent a lot of time in the East and were … Continue reading

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ECONOMIC PREDICTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR.

ECONOMIC PREDICTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR. It’s always fun to read predictions at this time of year. Professor Summers’s article is especially interesting because it summarizes the predictions that are being made by financial markets: clear skies. “At the same … Continue reading

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HEMINGWAY AND FEMINISM.

HEMINGWAY AND FEMINISM. There was a wonderful phrase in the Wall Street Journal for December 23-24. In an article on William Empson, Robin Moroney refers to the “Graham Greene and Ernest Hemingway types who made their discoveries while drunk in … Continue reading

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GERALD FORD–A NICE MAN.

GERALD FORD—A NICE MAN. Years ago Gerald Ford, before he was President, was a visiting dignitary at Harvard. A friend of mine had the honor of escorting him to various functions in his honor. One was an afternoon reception which … Continue reading

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SUFFERING THEATER CRITICS

SUFFERING THEATER CRITICS. My third post on this blog pointed out that “Theater critics are long suffering types who find only one or two plays a year that are worthy of their attention.” Ben Brantley says in this article “But … Continue reading

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GOOD WILL TO MEN.

GOOD WILL TO MEN. My father’s wisdom: In my encounters with Dickens, I have always been moved by the characters who appear suddenly and are generous and kind (such as the Cheerybles in NICHOLAS NICKLEBY). Thirty odd years ago in … Continue reading

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LONELINESS IN AMERICA.

LONELINESS IN AMERICA. In the early sixties when I was in graduate school there was a Nigerian graduate student who was nice to me. He had already gotten his Masters at Boston University and was going on for his Ph.D. … Continue reading

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WHAT IS A HOBBY HORSE?

WHAT IS A HOBBY HORSE? Yesterday, I referred to the proposition that American bonds are attractive as a “hobby horse” of mine. One of the purposes of this blog is to provide a place for my hobby horses, which my … Continue reading

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AMERICAN BONDS ARE ATTRACTIVE.

AMERICAN BONDS ARE ATTRACTIVE. David Malpass, Bear Stearns’s chief economist, has a wonderful article in the Wall Street Journal for Thursday December 21, which reminds people of this. The article has a detailed analysis of foreign demand for American investments, … Continue reading

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