Jan. 22, 2013 1:37 pm
History, proclaimed an old college professor of mine, is just one damned thing after another. Judging by the current landscape of popular culture, history is pretty cool, too. At least for the time being. Think about it. With the popularity of "Lincoln," "Downton Abbey," "Argo," "Django Unchained," "Les Miserables," "Boardwalk Empire," "The Hatfields & McCoys," "Anna Karenina," "Copper,"...? Read?MoreDec. 31, 2012 2:05 pm
This is the time of year when news organizations look back on what they usually call the "notable" deaths of the year. Leaving aside the notion that every death is notable to somebody, we know what is meant by that, don't we? We're talking celebrity; movers and shakers, TV and movie stars, politicians, writers, artists, people of accomplishment, the notorious, and a few who fall into that...? Read?MoreOct. 30, 2012 2:03 pm
With only a few days to go until the Presidential election, as usual each side is convinced that if the other candidate wins it will be a calamity for the country. You know how it goes: Barack Obama, socialist, dangerous foreigner, and architect of towering deficits versus Mitt Romney, who never had a belief that he couldn't deny he ever had, a man who turned memory loss into campaign strategy. ...? Read?MoreSep. 25, 2012 2:42 pm
As we get ready for three television debates between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, much is being written about the first one between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon 52 years ago. The problem is that so much of it is wrong. Rarely have so many inaccuracies become part of an event's mythology. Over the years I've written about the pivotal Kennedy-Nixon debate several times. I watched it twice...? Read?MoreAug. 27, 2012 5:31 pm
When Steve Jobs died, a satrical publication called The Onion lamented that Jobs was the last American who knew what the hell he was doing. It was a different time and a different world, but Neil Armstrong, who died August 25 at 82, knew what he was doing, too. The first man to walk on the moon; it doesn't get any better than that. In this utterly dispiriting presidential campaign - something...? Read?MoreAug. 21, 2012 5:26 pm
Scott McKenzie may have died, which he did a few days back at the age of 73, but his song San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) lives on, which is too bad because I hate the damn thing. Always have, by the way. I am no Robert-come-lately. I hated it as much in the summer of 1967, when it first abraded the nation's ears, as I do now. That song has more sap than an entire forest...? Read?MoreAug. 16, 2012 1:47 pm
We live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which bills itself as "The City Different" - and let me tell you, it isn't kidding. Don't misunderstand - after more than three years, we love it here. Great sunsets, great food, lots of art, very outdoorsy. But to call Santa Fe different doesn't get the job done. This place is nuts. Let me offer some examples: The Woo Woo Factor We lived in California for...? Read?MoreAug. 8, 2012 4:01 pm
I don't watch much television news and every so often it's good to be reminded why. A couple of days ago two self-inflating gas bags on Fox News - where else? - were releasing hot air all over Gabby Douglas and her double gold medal-winning gymnastics performance at the London Olympics. Alisyn Camerota, guest host of Fox's "America Live," pointed out that it was noticed by "some folks,"...? Read?MoreJul. 19, 2012 3:23 pm
You probably weren't at all wondering why 90-plus year old British mystery writer P. D. James thought I was gay. That's okay, I gave it enough thought for all of us. Me, my wife, Dana, and another couple recently indulged ourselves in a trans-Atlantic cruise from New York City to Great Britain via the Queen Mary II. Unlike the standard port-a-day cruises, we got on the ship in New York City and...? Read?MoreJun. 7, 2012 3:08 pm
It seemed as if the great Ray Bradbury always was and always would be, and it does not seem possible that he could die. Many will praise the extraordinary literary legacy he left behind with his death at age 91 - more than 27 novels, 600 short stories, and many classic short story collections, including "The Martian Chronicles," "Fahrenheit 451," "Dandelion Wine," and one of the the greatest...? Read?MoreMay 28, 2012 4:13 pm
And so, like the song says, another one bites the dust. In this case, "another one" is the New Orleans Times-Picayune, which sometime this fall will go out of business as a daily newspaper, leaving New Orleans as the largest city in the country without one. We should be used to this by now. The newspapers that now Rest In Peace include the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, the Seattle...? Read?MoreMay 23, 2012 1:10 pm
There was a time, back long before the earth cooled, when you had to get up to change the channel! What! those who are not of a certain age may cry. Impossible! The horror! The brutality of it all! Trust me, it's in all the history books. And who is the man who helped lead us out of this dark and terrifying time? I give you Eugene Polley, inventor of the first wireless channel changer,...? Read?MoreMay 6, 2012 2:18 pm
A friend recently sent me a copy of an essay by the writer Hilary Mantel that confronted a problem faced by all historical novelists: How did those people talk? As Mantel, author of the excellent novel "Wolf Hall," pointed out, in any era the language in preserved letters, speeches and documents is much more formal than how people really spoke to each other. In Mantel's case, that era is Tudor...? Read?MoreMay 4, 2012 12:13 pm
I have been asked time and time again - that makes twice - why I was interested in writing two novels about Sam Houston, a man whose name is well known but without anything specific coming to mind for most people. Which is one reason I wanted to write about him. He was, to say the least, colorful, which makes writing about him a lot more enjoyable. I'm sure there are people who yearn to write...? Read?MoreNew Girl Avalanna Gigi Chao Jimmy Hoffa Ed Hochuli Opie modern family
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