Turtles all the way down
The paranoid style in American politics is never at a loss for explanations: another layer of theorizing can always be added to support a rickety conspiracy theory. It’s turtles, or theories, all the way down.
Trump*’s two plans
David Frum: “Both Trump’s Plan A and Plan B intend to turn American against American, in an ugly spirit of rancor and resentment.”
“Butter maiden” retired
The days of Native American “mascots” belong in the past.
Stopping at a rest stop with your swim team while black
I think that this story deserves wide attention.
Recently updated
“They,” another word of the year.
A 2019 Nativity scene
From Claremont United Methodist Church.
Recently updated
“Voice,” another word of the year.
Recently updated
Words of the year, now with “cancel culture .”
Recently updated
Words of the year, now with “existential .”
Recently updated
Another word of the year: “upcycling.”
Warfighter on The Late Show
On The Late Show last night, Stephen Colbert commented on the appearance of the word warfighters in a presidential tweet.
The ubiquitous warfighter
To my ear, warfighter has something of the sound of a kenning. As spoken by our president, it sounds like a sanction for war crimes. A service member belongs to a community with norms and values; a warfighter is an independent agent. A warfighter: so anything goes.
Recently updated
Words of the year: now with climate emergency.
Words of the year
From the Collins Dictionary, climate strike .
Current events
All I can say, with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, is “Clickety clack, clickety clack, / Somebody’s mind done got off the goddam track.”
No bottom
“A video depicting a macabre scene of a fake President Trump shooting, stabbing and brutally assaulting members of the news media and his political opponents was shown at a conference for his supporters at his Miami resort last week, according to footage obtained by The New York Times.”
Cather vs. Trump
Writing in The New York Times, Bret Stephens suggests Willa Cather’s My Ántonia as “the perfect antidote” to Donald Trump. Well, sorta.
WWAHPS?
“So when someone says they are ‘a stable genius,’ that is a real cause for concern, because a healthy person would not say that.” Bandy Lee, psychiatrist and professor, talks with Virginia Heffernan about the mental health of our president and our culture.
Rounder
“Sharing cultures, sharing musics, makes the world rounder”: Flaco Jiménez, musician.
“Patently deficient”
A book title of the future?
The Fourth
“The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”
“Western-style liberalism”
Donald Trump thinks it has to do with Los Angeles and San Francisco.
“Political Teamsmanship”
A dispiriting story from WGBH’s Innovation Hub.
Pete Buttigieg on being gay and being married
“And speaking only for myself, I can tell you that if me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade. And that’s the thing that I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand. That if you’ve got a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”
“Like, for sure!”
The New Yorker (February 4) has a short piece about Valley Girl Redefined, an art exhibition then at the Brand Library & Art Center in Glendale, California.
Oswald
A lying narcissist with a big tie. But any resemblance to a real person is purely coincidental.
Two responses
These contrasting responses to a terrorist attack in New Zealand speak for themselves.
The Museum of Everyday Life
The New York Times visits the Museum of Everyday Life.
Que me ves guey
Walking on Olvera Street in Los Angeles, I saw this face and caption on T-shirts at kiosk after kiosk.
The Mental Load
I can’t remember where I learned about this comic: Fallait demander, or The Mental Load. Every human male should read it.