Category: Bits and Pieces

Folks, the votes are in at the Watcher’s Council and the winners are: In the Council-authored category are Eternity Road’s Demographics and the Medicalization of Human Existence (first place) and Colossus of Rhodey’s Student Press Rights (second place). In the non-Council category, the winners are Michael Yon’s Tabula Rasa (first

When I was young, I knew a family of six that could “boast” about the fact that each member of the family had been involved in a serious car accident.  If that coincidence wasn’t strange enough, what made the whole thing truly bizarre was that none drove.  Each of them

American Heritage Dictionary – Cite This Source ni·hil·ism (nī’ə-lĭz’əm, nē’-) Pronunciation Key n. Philosophy An extreme form of skepticism that denies all existence. A doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. Rejection of all distinctions in moral or religious value and a

You know it’s going to be a busy day when you wake up worrying, not about the great number of things you have to do throughout the day, but just about the great number of things you have to do before 8:30 in the morning.

Catherine Seipp died today.  She was a trenchant and witty commentator about the silliness that is West Coast liberalism, and I know that I will miss her columns.  My thoughts and wishes go to her family.

I first heard about this ATM scam when I read of it in Rick Steve’s excellent travel book on Italy (it is, apparently, a very popular European scam).  You can view this easy to read slide show to understand what not to do when your card apparently gets sucked permanently

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of you. And, if you haven’t already, be sure to read Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization .

The American public, rightly, is refusing to get excited about the eight US attorneys that got fired.  It’s apparent that Bush simply passed on complaints without making any recommendations or demands, and equally apparent that Gonzales did not go overboard in firing people (unlike the Clintons’ housecleaning in 1993).  I

You’ve probably heard that the Flying Imams are going after US Airways for refusing to let them fly after they made a loud, scary spectacle of themselves, that seemed intentionally to mimic the behavior in which the 9/11 murders engaged. (Bravo, US Air!). What you didn’t know is that the

Is it just me, or is this a really, really unattractive look for a pregnant lady. The actress pictured is Tori Spelling. Maybe it’s just that Tori Spelling can’t carry it off, but it’s so not flattering. del.icio.us | digg it

Sometimes life in the suburbs is good.  With the later sunset and the warm weather, we’ve opened our pool.  There are worse ways to spend an afternoon than sitting in the garden, surrounded by spring flowers, reading a book, while every few minutes doing a head count to make sure

Busy, busy morning, followed by a busy mid-afternoon, to be followed by a sort of busy late afternoon — and that late afternoon is when I’ll resume blogging with a comprehensive unloading of all the stuff swirling in my brain.  Until then, keep coming at me with your comments about

It’s spring and new things are happening.  As I noted in the preceding post, Neo has a new address.  Also new, entirely new, is a blog called The Thomas Chronicles.  Thomas has only been blogging for a few months, but he writes with a real assurance that’s just a pleasure

I’ve been an Edith Piaf fan since I was a teenager.  When I was about 14, I discovered amongst my parents records a 1950s “Best of” album with songs from post-war French singers, including Charles Trenet and Edith Piaf (these French performers were enormously popular after WWII).  Turns out that

Sorry for the low volume of original posts, but I’m surprisingly busy. I say “surprisingly” because spring is usually a slow time of year for me when it comes to paying work. Add to that ludicrous amounts of Mom as chauffeur, chaperon and volunteer, and you’re looking at someone who