On this day in 1878 the H. M. S. Pinafore opened for the first time at London’s Opera Comique…And shortly after posting this, Ed sent the following, sort of a rejoinder… Read more

Yesterday while driving along I heard an NPR story about Haiti. One of the people discussed was a Haitian physician. He was cited as saying he had a new definition of who really is an atheist.An atheist is someone who when the earthquake happens, does not pray.Way, way, better than that bit of nonsense about foxholes.  Of course, short of that earthquake, who knows what they believe in their bones?I think I know. But, I’ve been wrong many times about… Read more

Margaret Fuller. A remarkable person, worth recalling.Worth celebrating. Read more

I’ve already stated my objections to Arizona’s notorious law generally known by its Senate bill designation SB 1070.Now, in my state of Rhode Island, a representative with a history of immigrant baiting has introduced what is essentially SB 1070.I’ve spoken with the House Speaker’s general counsel as well as another representative and have come away confident this bill has no legs.Nonetheless, it is introduced and it is going into committee.What is important is for those who find this legislation both… Read more

Fats Waller was born today in 1904… Read more

On this day in 1609 Thomas Thorpe published William Shakespeare’s collected Sonnets. Read more

The interviewer isn’t a complete idiot. Although it might have helped if he had thought to read her book…I love Grace! One of the good ones, no doubt… Read more

Okay, I’ve now read the new anti-immigration legislation in Arizona, senate bill which gives the legislation the name we most commonly call it, SB1070, the house bill which refines it, and the governor’s executive order regarding training officers with the express intent of avoiding racial profiling with the law’s implementation.I admit I should use scare quotes around the term read. I generally have a higher comprehension rate with what passes in front of my eyes. I tell you, the language… Read more

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Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, better known to most of us as Taj Mahal, was born on this day in 1942. Read more