In my freshman year of college my friend Bob Crumlish and I were sitting in the college cafeteria doing what 18 year olds were doing in cafeterias the length and breadth of America, namely, screwing around. In our case, we were using teaspoons to catapult elements of a fruit cocktail through the air and onto …
Brinksmanship is a pretty effective tactic; the disciplined refusal to compromise until the very last minute often panics a less steadfast opponent into making desperate concessions. Currently Congressional Republicans are engaging in brinksmanship with the debt ceiling, refusing to approve raising the ceiling by the deadline of August 2nd unless there is an effective budget …
The happy parents of Cara Malanowski and Jay Jensen brought their families and friends to dinner at Orofino’s on Friday. Congratulations Cara and Jay! Well done! Now on to Kentucky and Rensselaer. (That’s a photo of Cara and Jay as babies on the cake.)
Jayne Mansfield knew it. Whenever the blonde, buxom, modestly-talented starlet threatened to become lost amid the endless parade of up-and-coming bombshells Hollywood produced, Jayne found a way to display her breasts in view of a host of compliant paparazzi. Because Jayne knew the secret of success, she managed to support herself and her girls for …
David Brooks has been a great columnist for The New York Times because he has always conducted himself like a decent guy. Intelligent, prudent, even-handed, he spends a lot of time giving the other fellow his due, in the obvious belief that he ought to behav in an earnest, high-minded, intelligent way because that is …
Explaining his intention to support the gay marriage bill now before the legislature, New York State Senator Roy McDonald said “You get to the point where you evolve in your life where everything isn’t black and white, good and bad, and you try to do the right thing. You might not like that. You might …
And the War Came received an excellent write-up in Michael Humphrey‘s blog Techno-Tainers on Forbes.com: “Byliner’s third Original, “And the War Came,” marches readers chronologically from just before Abraham’s Lincoln’s election to the doorstep of war. We arrive byway of every imaginable thought direction – the passionate abolitionist and adamant slavery defender, the brave-savvy leader …
I had the great good fortune to be visiting the office of my accountant near Madison Square yesterday, which gave me the opportunity to see this wondrous sculpture sitting in the middle of the lawn. It is called Echo, and it is by the Spanish artist Jaume Plensa. Forty feet tall, and sprinkled in marble …
It was my great pleasure to participate in the 1st Annual Writers’ Conference of the Writing Center, now of Hunter College, late of Marymount Manhattan. I was on a panel that made pronouncements about the Blogosphere, of all things. Joining me in this mission was the estimable Patty Marx, Jesse Kornbluth, Susan J. Behrens, and …
And the War Came, my new book, is a reality, or at least an e-reality, since at this point, it can be obtained only in digital form. Nonetheless, it is here, and real, and starting to get attention. I’m almost as pleased with the above video as I am with the book. Many, many, many …