January 2011
14 posts
“I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent...”
– Obama’s 2009 Speech in Cairo (video)
As The Ruin Falls
All this is flashy rhetoric about loving You. I never had a selfless thought since I was born. I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through: I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn. Peace, re-assurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek, I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin: I talk of love —a scholar’s parrot may talk Greek— But, self-imprisoned,...
I used to be stylish and English.
But I’ve always been pretty punk rock.
“I like to see people reunited, I like to see people run to each other, I like...”
– Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Borowitz: My Idea of a Heartwarming Story
If you’ll pardon me for being serious for a moment, here’s my idea of a heartwarming story:
A homeless man with no special talent gets our compassion anyway.
The Ted Williams story is, of course, riveting and hopeful. But the nation’s fascination with it has nothing to do with our capacity for empathy and everything to do with our addiction to instant celebrity.
The coverage...
