Category: Uncategorized
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Better Anne Lamott than never
OK, it’s not a very original or really humorous title. But anyway, here we go. I had originally decided to do three “Christmas books.” The first one which I was going to make no 3 seemed inappropriate, so I changed my mind. Two would do– then I noticed Anne Lamott’s “Almost Everything–Notes on Hope.” I…
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Does History Repeat?–Facts and Opinions
One of the best known quotes in the world(at least in the academic world, anyway) is “Those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it.” This from the philosopher George Santayana and his 1905 work, “The Life of Reason.” Others have said/written similar things, some better documented than others. In a 1948 speech to…
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Some last minute suggestions about those Christmas movies
I know this is_____ a bit late. I really feel one ought to watch Christmas movies before Christmas, as watching them after the day seems to take some of the fun out of it. But perhaps not everyone feels that way, and anyway we’ve got a couple of days to go here, so here goes.…
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Some Christmas(sort of)reading
Well, Thanksgiving is past and I’m not quite comfortable yet with doing something on the election, so I guess I’ll start my idea of some books you might read for Christmas–but not necessarily the ones mostly recommended, not necessarily ones clearly definable as Christmas books (Maybe I’ll try a blog on Christmas movies later) My…
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Uncertain election predictions
It is now late afternoon in OH and the rest of the Eastern Time Zone. The polls here will be open for a few hours yet. There are reports of heavy turnouts some places, but such reports are anecdotal, maybe true, maybe not. Also, usually a large turnout favors the Democrats,, but few things are…
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The Ghosts of Movies Past–The Uninvited
I originally thought of this title for a series about old films some time ago and I guess the title came to me by way of memories of “A Christmas Carol.” But I waited long enough to begin, that it now fits the season of Halloween. By “ghosts” here, I mean mostly the former, the…
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The Queen and the Hero–Elizabeth & Winston Churchill
It is my hope to do several short articles on Queen Elizabeth II and history, likely spreading them over perhaps a fair amont of time. This is, I hope, the first of, oh, maybe a half a dozen. Elizabeth was likely the most influential Briton of the 20th century and succeeded in extending her position…
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Waiting for History–the Long Middle Ages and Subsequent Reigns of Edward VII and Charles III
Although the coverage has been extreme in amount, it has overlooked a couple of points, so far as I am able to tell, that should be covered regarding the passing of Elizabeth II. As to the lady herself, I am not really ready to write about her. Her loss is one of those events that…
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Brief Bibliography the Hays Code, etc
There are a lot of books and articles regarding Hollywood and censorship, including a fair number about, more spefically the Hays Code itself. Here are a few varying samples and suggestions Gilbert, Nora, “Better Left Unsaid: Victorian Novels, Hays Code Films and the Benefits of Censorship” Bernstein, Matthew, editor, “Controling Hollywood: Censorship and Regulation in…
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Biden’s Critics
This will be a short, somewhat angry post. It is the result, mostly, of watching the reaction of both media members and political leaders to the President’s visits with the leaders of Israel and Saudi Arabia. I happen to like Joe Biden. I was for him from day one of the campaign and therefore did…
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