I wonder if this will make This Week in Schadenfreude? It seems that Sergio Furnari invested $100,000 of his own money to create a statue of a racist in the hopes of selling it for millions of dollars, only to find that nobody wants it. A New York sculptor has been left furious after spending … Continue reading I Guess Enough Time Has Passed
They’re Back!
SummertimeAnd the Proms are returning! One of the great joys of summertime for me is the BBC Proms. Of course, I don’t live in London, so I can’t attend the concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, which is where most of the festivities are held, but happily for me, many of the concerts are televised, … Continue reading They’re Back!
Herbs
The spearmint in my backyard The herbs in my backyard have grown so fast, I can’t keep up with them. So I invited my next door neighbor Joelle to bring a bowl over and I’d fill it with the herbs of her choice. She selected spearmint, basil, and rosemary. Oregano To thank me she brought … Continue reading Herbs
Rene Auberjonois
One of the pleasures of watching television programs from 40 or more years ago is to see actors in their younger days before they became better known and received larger roles. Case in point is Rene Auberjonois. Unlike many actors of his generation, he refused to changed his last name to something pronounceable by the … Continue reading Rene Auberjonois
A Letter from the IRS
When I changed my address over ten years ago, the Post Office gave me the option of a daily email showing me the mail I’m going to be receiving later that day. I’ve changed my address several times since then, and each time I’ve continued with the email option. Most of the time I find … Continue reading A Letter from the IRS
Botany
The tomatoes from my three plants are ripening pretty quickly now, and I’m happy to say that they’re tasting pretty good. Not as good as the best I’ve ever had, but at least it’s been worth the trouble. A neighbor has some attractive plants that I used an online site to identify as Chinese … Continue reading Botany
Groucho and the Real Old Lady
There’s a quote that I remember from Walter Kerr’s Tragedy and Comedy, and I even used it in preparing a speech for a public speaking course I took at Penn State. This may account for the mysterious distinction Groucho Marx once made between an amateur and a professional. An amateur thinks it's funny, Groucho said, if … Continue reading Groucho and the Real Old Lady
Who’s a Commie Now?
Back in the day when I had to go to Sunday school, my favorite teacher was Hart Beaver. He was a lawyer and an Assistant District Attorney for Lebanon County (as I wrote about in my Murder in a Small Town series). He led some interesting discussions from time to time. Like when we were … Continue reading Who’s a Commie Now?
Tragedy and Comedy
Walter Kerr, in addition to being the husband of humorist Jean Kerr, was a theater critic for the New York Herald Tribune and later on for the New York Times. During his time as a critic, he gave absolute raves to fluffy musicals such as Hello, Dolly!, and he consistently panned everything that Stephen Sondheim … Continue reading Tragedy and Comedy
What Happened
I’ve thought a lot about it, and here’s my best explanation. During orientation week at Penn State I took some placement tests, and I ended up placing out of the introductory English composition course. I also took a Latin test, and I was surprised when I heard the results: I had placed into Latin IV. … Continue reading What Happened