Monthly Archives: May 2007

TO SAY YOU’RE MY EQUAL IS AN INSULT.

TO SAY YOU’RE MY EQUAL IS AN INSULT. In today’s Financial Times, Quentin Peel has a retrospective look at Jacques Chirac. Peel says, “He [Chirac] expected to be treated with respect, given the decades of his involvement at the top. … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

THE ALL-METAL HOUSE OF THE FUTURE.

THE ALL-METAL HOUSE OF THE FUTURE. The Wall Street Journal over the weekend had an article on predictions from the past on future technology. The article mentioned that some 2500 Lustron houses were built after World War II. Lustron houses … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

COMMUNITY HATREDS.

COMMUNITY HATREDS. A friend of mine who had served in the Peace Corps in Ecuador for two years once told me that it took him almost the whole two years to learn the web of hatreds and grudges that underlay … Continue reading

Posted in History | 2 Comments

THE WRONG GHOST.

THE WRONG GHOST. I know it’s a matter of crossed wires and typographical errors or something, but I can’t resist quoting this sentence from the weekend Financial Times: “For all the existential anxiety expressed with such wondrous lucidity in HAMLET, … Continue reading

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A GOOD ACTRESS CAN OVERCOME BEING PRETTY.

A GOOD ACTRESS CAN OVERCOME BEING PRETTY. I realize that I have been posting a lot about the literalism of New York critics who believe that only a beautiful actress can play an attractive female character. See here and here. … Continue reading

Posted in Theater | 2 Comments

THE ZIPPER THEOREM.

THE ZIPPER THEOREM. PROOF is a very moving play about a father and daughter. The father is a great mathematician who has lapsed into madness. The daughter has some of his mathematical talent and fears that she will share his … Continue reading

Posted in Theater | 2 Comments

THE NEW YORK SOCIAL HIERARCHY.

THE NEW YORK SOCIAL HIERARCHY. This article tells about an internet site that every two weeks gave numerical rankings to the young women in the New York social scene. The article has the wonder of describing a world I didn’t … Continue reading

Posted in History, Literature | 3 Comments

CANDIDATES WHO LOVE TO PERSUADE.

CANDIDATES WHO LOVE TO PERSUADE. There have very few of them in my lifetime. My son Nick commented on my post about American Presidential debates: “Another part of my point was that they do lack the power of persuasion, and … Continue reading

Posted in History, Politics | 3 Comments

PRESIDENTS AND PRIME MINISTERS.

PRESIDENTS AND PRIME MINISTERS. Dick Weisfelder comments: “The point you need to explain is the following: ‘The American Presidency calls for executive talent more than the French or English systems.’” Dick’s comment is in response to this post and my … Continue reading

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THE WRISTWATCH GAFFE.

THE WRISTWATCH GAFFE. Kids, one of the most discussed things in the 1992 debate between Clinton and the first President Bush involved a wristwatch. The cameras showed Bush looking at his wristwatch during the debate and a great fuss was … Continue reading

Posted in History, Journalism, Politics | 6 Comments