Merry Christmas, everybody.
December 25th, 2013Merry Christmas from the Los Angeles Times.
December 24th, 2013If you’re like me, and just a wee bit tired of Virginia, here’s a Christmas story you might enjoy (reprinted: it originally ran on Christmas Day in 1986).
This is a story that has everything: a dying child, an impossible request, and a gruff but kind hearted hard-drinking city editor. It is almost as if someone took many of the cliches of 1950s journalism and rolled them into a single morality tale.
He listened to the problem and told me to telephone the Secretary of Agriculture and have him clear the peaches when they arrived.
“It’s close to midnight,” I argued. “His office is closed.”
“Take this number down,” Reck said. “It’s his home. Tell him I told you to call.”
Merry Christmas from Doge.
December 24th, 2013“Shaming the Pets — Does It Work?“, from Larry Harnisch at The Daily Mirror. Featuring two cute doggies and a sworn enemy of WCD.
Yeah, he was asking for it.
Merry Christmas from the Austin American-Statesman.
December 24th, 2013It is the most celebrated letter to the editor and its reply the most celebrated editorial in American journalism.
Yes, that one.
In the summer of 1897, 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon sent a letter to The New York Sun asking if Santa Claus was real. An editorial writer named Frank Church was assigned the task of answering Virginia’s letter. Church’s response, published anonymously Sept. 21, is a Christmas classic.
Please, good sirs, do go on.
This story continues on our new premium website for subscribers, MyStatesman.com.
Oh.
Or you could read it on the Newseum website. On on the New York Daily News website. Or any number of other places where they don’t charge you to read something that (I strongly suspect, but you never know with US copyright law) is in the public domain.
Behold!
December 24th, 2013Obit watch: special oh Mikhail you’re so fine edition.
December 24th, 2013Nobody knows…
December 23rd, 2013You don’t often see $300 items at the supermarket. Especially in the produce section, as opposed to behind a locked cabinet in the wine department. (I’m not sure, but I don’t think even the highest-end champagne HEB stocks hits the $300 mark.)
The story you are about to hear is true.
December 23rd, 2013The names have not been changed to protect the innocent.
One night in 1962, a young police officer was working Vice out of Wilshire Division.
The vice cops pulled over a cab that had two men in it.
One of the men was Lenny Bruce. The other man was a then unknown actor named Peter O’Toole. And the vice cop was Joseph Wambaugh. Click through for the whole story.
I have a new (second) favorite Christmas song.
December 21st, 2013Second because it is hard to replace “Fairytale of New York” in my affections. Hattip to LawDog for this:
This is not suitable for children, or adults who have no sense of humor. And I would buy this in a heartbeat if it was available on iTunes or Amazon.
Random notes: December 21, 2013.
December 21st, 2013I’d never heard of Ned Vizzini until yesterday; this isn’t a shot at him, I just don’t read a lot of YA fiction. But this is just sad and awful.
The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 (TALK).
The WP reviews “Chris Burden: Extreme Measures”, a retrospective of his work. I believe Mr. Burden and his work have come up here before, but for those who don’t remember…
Unmentioned because it isn’t really relevant, but: Burden’s performance inspired one of Laurie Anderson’s early works, “It’s Not the Bullet That Kills You (It’s the Hole)”.
Better Red than…
December 19th, 2013More:
The last time I went to Red Lobster, it was kind of a disappointment. And the last two times I’ve gone to Olive Garden, I’ve walked out before even getting a drink. Maybe this is what Red Lobster needs.
Obligatory: the all-you-can-eat crab legs story.
Obligatory 2: make your own cheddar biscuits at home.
TMQ Watch: December 17, 2013.
December 19th, 2013You know that comment we made yesterday, about “Start writing or stop talking about it” being pretty good writing advice?
Speak up, I can’t hear you.
December 18th, 2013If you must know, I was looking up the “Ding Fries Are Done” meme when I stumbled across this entry at KnowYourMeme: The Family Guy Effect.
You. Don’t. Say.
Tickling my fancy.
December 18th, 2013I don’t know why I find “the Olympic torch has only set people on fire three times” so funny, but I do. It reminds me of the line from the Spinal Tap commentary track about the pods working…maybe 70% of the time, but Marty DiBergi had to pick one night they didn’t work and make a big deal out of it…
Also tickling my funny bone:
“supposedly Greek virgin priestesses”? I’m not sure I want to think about that.
Wild, wildlife.
December 18th, 2013(For folks unfamiliar with Austin, Sunset Valley is an independent municipality located on the south side of town.)
Gee, if only there was some other solution to the problem of coyotes attacking dogs…