Monthly Archives: December 2009

“….A LITTLE SAD AND A LITTLE LONESOME….”

“….A LITTLE SAD AND A LITTLE LONESOME….” I said yesterday that sentiment is needed if a realistic mirror is to be held up to life and that the Mulberry Street musical set on the home front in World War II … Continue reading

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WHITE CHRISTMAS.

WHITE CHRISTMAS. I am familiar with close readings of lyric poetry, but not with analysis of popular songs. This article by Roy J. Harris, Jr. in the Wall Street Journal analyzes how the words and music of White Christmas work … Continue reading

Posted in History | 1 Comment

SENTIMENT AND THE MIRROR OF REALISM.

SENTIMENT AND THE MIRROR OF REALISM. Another reason the Mulberry Street plays are successful is that they are frankly sentimental. The current show is set during World War II, with two of the young men in the families away in … Continue reading

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MULBERRY STREET—THE TRILOGY.

MULBERRY STREET—THE TRILOGY. Mary Jane and I were able to get tickets for the Curtain Call production in Stamford of A Merry Mulberry Street Musical. The show is the third in a series of “Mulberry Street” plays about immigrant Italian-American … Continue reading

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THE SHAKESPEARE PLAY THE SCHOLARS IGNORE.

THE SHAKESPEARE PLAY THE SCHOLARS IGNORE. My post here on Shakespeare’s view of marriage touched on a strange omission by Harvard’s Stephen Greenblatt. Greenblatt wrote that Shakespeare only has two examples of “a married couple in a relationship of sustained … Continue reading

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OCTOPUSES USING TOOLS.

OCTOPUSES USING TOOLS. Annalisa sent me this link to a video of an octopus using a coconut shell to hunt. Octopuses have joined the list of species that use tools. They will carry a coconut shell around so that they … Continue reading

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SPEAKING TRUTH TO GRANDMA.

SPEAKING TRUTH TO GRANDMA. What happens when the giver guesses wrong? My own view is that the random element is part of the fun of Christmas. There are other views. I had a friend whose mother, if she felt that … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, History | 1 Comment

“IT TAKES TWO TO GIVE A GOOD GIFT….” (COMMENT).

“IT TAKES TWO TO GIVE A GOOD GIFT….” (COMMENT). Scroogenomics, like most useful economic theories, makes strong assumptions which leave out important things. Nick Kellet made an interesting comment on yesterday’s post, including the insight that: “It takes two to … Continue reading

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A PRESENT FOR ANNALISA.

A PRESENT FOR ANNALISA. I have a test of my theory that often a gift broadens horizons. Mary Jane has a gift for Annalisa of something I don’t think Annalisa knows exists. (Nick has a gift like that for her … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

WHY YOU SHOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE GIVING ME CHRISTMAS GIFTS.

WHY YOU SHOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE GIVING ME CHRISTMAS GIFTS. The argument in SCROOGENOMICS is a sound economics argument and, I think, is a useful insight about giving presents. It is hard to know what somebody else wants, and a lot … Continue reading

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