Excerpt from full column here.
Images sent over thousands of miles, well-lit anchors who seem alert to everything of importance taking place in our world, field reporters in far-flung places who pop up and respond instantly to the anchors and deliver close-up accounts of vital events. Continue reading
This is an early column of mine (December 2006) that seems fitting to recycle at this time of year…
In some of my writings, and in my conversation, I’ve been insensitive and negative toward people who have a glaring weight problem. Recently, when I came to realize one of my friends is truly suffering from the problem, I felt the need to make amends.
Jack (not his real name) has gotten noticeably larger, too. He’s a great guy, and I care about him, about his health and longevity. All he seems to get from his friends, including me, is laughter or offhand comments about fatsos. My column today is partly an attempt to redeem myself. Continue reading
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end. — Thoreau
Neil Postman is the prophet of the Second Enlightenment, the one that “builds a bridge” to the First Enlightenment of the 18th century. The former chair of the department of communications arts and sciences at New York University has a thing about technology and language. Reading any of his books—and I did review his Building a Bridge to the 18th Century—gives one the pure joy of seeing a first-class literary mind wrestling conceptually with the neverending stimulus-response “stuff” coming at humankind through the unchecked machinery of wretched excess. Continue reading
Prince John: [sarcastically] Would every man have a castle?
Robin Longstride: In England, every man’s home *is* his castle.
So whatever you think you know about Robin Hood, throw it out the window before inserting this DVD in the player. Otherwise, it will conflict with not only history but with every account of the band of merrie men we all grew up with… from the 1950s TV series on Disney, to Robin and Marian with Sir Sean Connery (1979), to Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in 1991. And I guess there’s a Robin Hood BBC TV series available, who knew? Finally, another one I haven’t seen but may be the best of the bunch, the original Hollywood Errol Flynn version the Adventures of Robin Hood. It’s a trip to browse Robin Hood on Netflix or Amazon. Continue reading