So I watched the first episode of In Plain Sight on Hulu. USA is carving out a decent niche with its entertaining hour-long crime shows. This one is a bit like a female version of Burn Notice — emotionally damaged, cynic-with-heart-of-gold protagonist offering wry voice-over narration with the case of the week serving more as background for longer character arcs, etc. Add those two shows to the quirky whodunits Monk and Psych and they’ve got a respectable lineup that, thanks... Read more
Stirring my brandy with a nail … “Get Behind the Mule,” Tom Waits “Get Off This,” Cracker “Get On Their Way,” R.E.M. “Get Out of Town,” Ella Fitzgerald “Get Outta London,” Aztec Camera “Get Rhythm,” Johnny Cash “Get Right With God,” Lucinda Williams “Get Up Get Out,” The Rosebuds “Gett Off,” Prince “Gettin’ Jiggy With It,” Will Smith “Getting Mighty Crowded,” Elvis Costello & The Attractions “(Getting Some) Fun Out of Life,” Madeleine Peyroux Read more
Left Behind, pp. 442-443 Chloe Steele told her father of her plans to finally look into local college classes that Monday. That makes sense, right? Chloe was just beginning the winter quarter of her freshman year at Stanford when her studies were interrupted by a loss in her family. She returned home to be with her father but now, after two weeks of sitting around at home, she’s looking into resuming her studies closer to home. Makes perfect sense. Or,... Read more
Left Behind, pp. 440-442 Buck felt more alone than ever on the flight home. He was in coach on a full plane, but he knew no one. He read several sections from the Bible Bruce had given him and had marked for him, prompting the woman next to him to ask questions. He answered in such a way that she could tell he was not in the mood for conversation.* He didn’t want to be rude, but neither did he... Read more
Left Behind Friday seems to have turned into house-hunting and dinner-with-family Friday. I apologize. I don’t suppose the promise of another Left Behind Saturday Monday (@%#$!) is much help if you’re sitting in a cubicle and trying to run out the clock on a Friday afternoon, but perhaps it’ll provide a welcome distraction come Monday morning. As a kind of amuse bouche for tomorrow’s belated installment, here’s a link to John McCain’s buddy, John Hagee, getting worked up preaching on... Read more
… feed them the truth until they choke “Freedom ’90,” George Michael “Freight Train to Nowhere,” Mark Heard “From a Buick 6,” Bob Dylan “From Head to Toe,” Elvis Costello & The Attractions “From Me to You,” Kangaroo “From My Point of View,” Ticklepenny Corner “From Russia With Love,” Count Basie “From the Bottom of a Well,” Mike Doughty “From This Moment On,” Ella Fitzgerald “From This Moment On,” Jimmy Somerville I first encountered Kangaroo at the Folger in Washington,... Read more
Two headlines I didn’t expect to see but which both, in a small way, make me more hopeful about the future: “Monkeys Control a Robot Arm With Their Thoughts.” “Political world abuzz over Scott McClellan’s tell-all book“ The weird thing here is that I’m more excited about the second one. * * * The “Christian Worldview Network” is the D-list religious right speakers’ bureau in the conference/tape-series/literature-in-the-narthex racket. It’s an unwieldy agglomeration of John Birchers, anti-evolutionists and Jack Chick-style evangelists.... Read more
It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and... Read more
Is Barack Obama a Muslim? Here’s hoping that the boastfully ignorant folks who need that site will be able to find someone to read it to them. The success of the ridiculous “secret Muslim” whisper campaign sends me into a Menckenesque despair regarding the prospects of democracy triumphing over shrieking stupidity. Seriously, how dumb does one have to be to believe that Obama is a Muslim just because of his middle name? That makes about as much sense as accusing... Read more
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