In 1682 or thereabouts the English poet John Dryden’s famous mock-epic, “MacFlecknoe,” was published (perhaps without the author’s consent). In it Dryden butchers his contemporary, the comparatively less talented Thomas Shadwell (who nonetheless became Poet Laureate later on), a man with whom Dryden had a series of disagreements (artistic, religious and political). The premise of the poem is that the
Read moreOn April 16 some colleagues and I launched Scholars & Rogues. If you don’t know Technorati, they’re one of the top Internet ranking engines, and they currently track over 101 million blogs. So they’re a pretty significant measuring stick in the blog world. Today, just four months and 14 days after that initial launch, S&R cracked the Technorati Top 10,000,
Read moreOn April 16 we launched Scholars & Rogues.
Read moreIt doesn’t seem controversial to suggest that journalism in America (and beyond) is in trouble, and there are any number of factors contributing to the malaise. A particular concern of mine has been the decline in the efficacy of what we’ll call “objective journalism” – that is, the institutionalized press that dominated newsgathering and production throughout the better part of
Read more:UPDATED BELOW: “If you want to see hate, urged violence, bigotry, racism, and intolerance in general, and anti-American speech, this is the event.” “[It’s] bigger than any KKK, Nazi, or Muslim terrorist gathering … that has ever occurred…” “If we ignore these growing, this growing radical segment of our society, they could and likely will become a force of hatred,
Read moreOn Monday, an incoming freshman at the University of Colorado was injured in a knife attack by a mentally ill former university employee. The student is fine, fortunately, and the assailant is in custody. As the Denver Post story notes, there are some disturbing issues where the attacker is concerned. The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Kenton Drew Astin, worked at
Read moreOn Monday, an incoming freshman at the University of Colorado was injured in a knife attack by a mentally ill former university employee. The student is fine, fortunately, and the assailant is in custody. As the Denver Post story notes, there are some disturbing issues where the attacker is concerned. The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Kenton Drew Astin, worked at
Read moreThe hottest thing on the Internets right now is the video of Miss Teen South Carolina trying, unsuccessfully, to answer a painfully simple question. In this SVR Special Report, we look at new developments in this breaking story. First, for those of you who had trouble following Miss Upton’s answer, here’s a subtitled version, which adds a whole new layer
Read moreI’m not going to dive into the telecom policy implications here, but if you thought Sprint was screwing up by firing customers who call support too often, you’re gonna love Comcast’s latest blast of genius. (More…)
Read moreWhether your pet peeve is the “US American” educational system, beauty pageants, the state of South Carolina or blondes, there’s something here for everybody.
Read moreWelcome to this week’s installment of the Scholars & Rogues SVR, which promises to start strong and then go downhill like a runaway shopping cart. First up: If you’ve never heard or heard of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, educate yourself. This woman, a gospel legend who could play a mean blues guitar, inspired no less than Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Little
Read moreI’m not a political poet. Not for the most part, anyway. I certainly never wanted to be one, and I had been writing for a number of years before this finally happened: I don’t want to say too much for fear of being misconstrued or maybe for fear of being understood all too clearly so here’s your warning – flowers
Read moreThis simply couldn’t wait until the Saturday Video Roundup. [YouTube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=aCxDZRJKkqY]
Read moreImagine you’re a State Department official charged with helping formulate our country’s policy toward a new government in Africa. As you review the files, you note something odd. Their Constitution grants everyone over the age of 18 the right to vote in national elections – which is good – but it also establishes guidelines for how much those votes count.
Read moreThe Honorable Terry M. Bellamy Mayor, Asheville NC P.O. Box 7148 Asheville NC, 28802 Dear Mayor Bellamy: As you no doubt realize by now, you have something of a PR nightmare on your hands. One of your police officers, Russell Crisp, recently arrested a resident named Jonas Phillips for obstructing a sidewalk. Since people were apparently having no trouble walking
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