Confessions of a Conservative Atheist
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Somehow, a mere 25 years after Patton’s death Hollywood managed to create a big budget masterpiece that unflinchingly and unapologetically tells his story. Rather than moralize or criticize, the film immerses the viewer in the unique combination of madness, genius, grit, and determination that drove one of America’s greatest generals. In one sense, legendary general… Continue reading Patton, the man, the movie, and the “they just don’t write ‘em like that anymore” phenomenon
Before the age of political correctness, they used to say that behind every successful man was a special woman. While this is true for me, I don’t think it was intended to apply to expanding one’s taste in music. Shortly before I got married, a colleague asked me to describe my future wife in three… Continue reading Elton John, a cat named “Hercules,” an “Indian Sunset,” and the persistence of my lovely wife
When was the last time you saw an ad for an automobile featuring a dirty, dinged up car parked in some equally trash strewn and crowded garage, even though that’s what happens to the great majority of cars in the real world? Last week, I noted that the recent controversy over Sydney Sweeney’s appearance in… Continue reading No, I don’t need some scold’s permission to love boobs and other recent misadventures in thought control, media, and advertising
If Polonius had taken his own advice to be true rather than false and kept his command to his daughter to avoid Hamlet, Ophelia and the royal family might still be alive. The phrase “To thine own self be true” is familiar to almost everyone, having taken on a life of its own after William… Continue reading “To thine own self be true” and the importance of the source and context of advice
What are we to make of all this furor over an innocuous ad featuring a major celebrity that uses a well established pun for 45 years simply because she happens to be beautiful with blonde hair and blue eyes? In one of the most bizarre and unexpected stories in recent memory, Sydney Sweeney, among the… Continue reading Sydney Sweeney isn’t a Nazi and she’s certainly not ugly
As my lovely wife is fond of saying, we and our beloved doggies are thrown together by fate, but I want to go much further back in time than she’s normally thinking to consider what fate had in store up to a hundred million years ago when humans and canines were one species. Since every… Continue reading Me, my dogs, and our long march together through evolutionary time
For a distance of over fifty yards on reasonably flat ground, our greyhound and our whippet tore across the lawn at well over forty miles per hour in a full-fledged race, almost neck and neck until the greyhound pulled ahead towards the end, despite having only three legs. That’s the heart of a champion. We… Continue reading Life lessons from a three legged greyhound
While many of us are wondering when Superman became an immigrant, given that he’s a fictional alien from another planet with almost godlike powers and is not usually associated with either border policy or migrant workers, Hollywood once again reveals that they have nothing but contempt for half the country or more. Once upon a… Continue reading Superman and how much Hollywood truly hates us
While Western Stars was released to significant critical acclaim in 2019, it marked a stylistic departure for the Boss and certainly isn’t a rock album by any means. If you are looking for screaming guitars, the usual glockenspiel, and pounding drums, you will not find them here. You will, however, find a compilation of sorts… Continue reading Springsteen’s Western Stars and the most underrated album ever made
When people ask what’s different about India, the sheer number of people is astounding. Boasting a population of over 1.4 billion and still undergoing massive economic development, hotels, restaurants, and service businesses tend to feature at least twice if not three times the number of employees as in the United States and automation is barely… Continue reading Living like a local: Reminisces and observations about my recent trip to India, part two
Confessions of a Conservative Atheist 