The Speaker’s decision to tear up the SOTU speech was A) childish; and B) well . . . I can’t think of a succinct word for B, but bear in mind that a number of people were recognized during the speech: The Tuskegee Airman and his great-grandson, people honored for service to country, people who have lost family members, and so on . . . I’d like to get a sound bite on how they felt about having the document ripped up. Especially the bereaved. How did it feel to have the public record of your loss ripped up right in front of you? I’d like to see party leaders — and adults in general, really — have the mental capacity and self-control and whatever it takes to refrain from doing something like that. Read more →
Author Archive: Paul Epps
Harvey Weinstein’s Lead Defense Attorney the “Ultimate Feminist”?
Insider has an interview with Harvey Weinstein’s lead defense attorney, Donna Rotunno, who calls herself the “ultimate feminist.” Feminists and Weinstein accusers say they’ve been repulsed by her comments, accusing her of victim blaming. Rotunno says women have fought for decades to be viewed as equal to men, and now they need to start taking on some of the responsibility that comes with it. Some excerpts: In addition to fighting for Weinstein’s acquittal, Rotunno is waging a broader crusade against both the #MeToo movement and a culture she believes infantilizes women and rewards victimhood. . . . The problem with women today, Rotunno told Insider . . . is that they don’t take responsibility for their decisions. . . . “Everybody says, ‘Oh, are you telling women that if they go to hotel rooms they deserve to be raped?’ No,” Rotunno said. “What I’m saying is that after having drinks… Read more →
Our Town
On this date — Feb. 4, 1938 — the Thornton Wilder play Our Town opened on Broadway . . . Emily: Oh, Mama, look at me one minute as though you really saw me. Mama, fourteen years have gone by. I’m dead. You’re a grandmother, Mama! Wally’s dead, too. His appendix burst on a camping trip to North Conway. We felt just terrible about it — don’t you remember? But, just for a moment now we’re all together. Mama, just for a moment we’re happy. Let’s really look at one another! … I can’t. I can’t go on. It goes so fast. We don’t have time to look at one another. I didn’t realize. So all that was going on and we never noticed. Take me back — up the hill — to my grave. But first: Wait! One more look. Good-bye, Good-bye world. Good-bye, Grover’s Corners….Mama and Papa. Good-bye… Read more →
How Much Would You Pay For a Watch?
I got an oddball email today from Amazon . . . Hello Paul Epps, We found something we think you might like. And what they thought I might like was the item on the right, a Breitling Navitimer 1 Automatic 38mm Steel & Red Gold – Silver Watch, which retails for $4,284.50 (free shipping included!). I do like it — click through on it, it’s a real beauty — but “liking” a $4,000 watch and having any intention of buying one are two entirely different things. Why they thought I’d be a good target customer for this email I have no idea. I’ve never shopped for watches on Amazon, nor have I ever made an Amazon purchase at anywhere close to a $4,000 price point. It’s the weirdest thing Amazon’s done since the time I was browsing for a book on software development principles and they suggested that I might… Read more →
She’s a lone forsaken beauty but she don’t trust anyone
I wish I was beside her but I’m not there, I’m gone
If Balboa Could Find the Pacific Ocean, Why Can’t You?
I mentioned in class today that 30 percent of Americans age 18 to 24 cannot find the Pacific Ocean on a map . . . (This was in the context of income diversity — or “income inequality,” take your pick — i.e., I can’t find the Pacific Ocean on a map but I’d like to be paid the same as a Harvard MBA.) Students absolutely could not believe this so I Googled the link to this National Geographic article. Not only was I proved correct on my Pacific Ocean assertion, 58 percent of respondents could not find Japan on a map, 65 percent couldn’t find France, 69 percent couldn’t find the United Kingdom, and 11 percent could not find the United States. The survey is a bit old now — it was taken in 2002 — but if anything, I’m sure the current situation is worse. If my kid could… Read more →
Steve Martin Caro, 1948-2020
He was the lead singer on one of my favorite 1960s songs . . . RIP Steve Martin Caro Read more →
Rascals
LYSISTRATA There are a lot of things about us women That sadden me, considering how men See us as rascals. CALONICE As indeed we are! — Aristophanes, Lysistrata Read more →
Jack Sheldon, 1931-2019
RIP Jack Sheldon Read more →
Things Seem To Be Proceeding at a Dizzy Rate
I wouldn’t have thought from reading Madame Bovary that Flaubert had much of a sense of humor, but here’s something he said in 1850 that’s not only quite funny but, except for the centuries count, will probably never go out of date: From time to time, I open a newspaper. Things seem to be proceeding at a dizzy rate. We are dancing not on the edge of a volcano, but on the wooden seat of a latrine, and it seems to me more than a touch rotten. Soon society will go plummeting down and drown in nineteen centuries of shit. There’ll be quite a lot of shouting. Read more →
Would You Eat Them With a Goat?
My breakfast sandwich at Subway . . . Read more →
Long have I longed, till I am tired
Of longing and desire;
Farewell my points in vain desired,
My dying fire;
Farewell all things that die and fail and tire.
Keys to Marital Longevity
Both partners should drink heavily and/or watch a lot of television. Get a dog. Read more →
It’s Hard to Remember Which Side the Intolerant Bigots Are Really On
“One thing I’ve noticed about online dating profiles is that a lot of people will say something like ‘No Trump Supporters,’ but I’ve never seen one profile where someone says ‘No Trump Haters’ or ‘Trump Supporters Only.’” “That’s interesting. I mean, Trump is a polarizing figure but I’d expect it to split about 50-50 between ‘No Trump Supporters’ and ‘No Trump Haters.’” “No, that’s not the case. It’s not 50-50, it’s 100-0. Nor are there specific exclusions mentioned for other polarizing figures, i.e., ‘No Bernie Bros’ or ‘No Socialists.’ I’ve never seen ‘No Atheists’ or ‘No Christians.’ But I see a lot of ‘No Trumpsters.’ “Ironically, the main beef about Trump and his supporters, as I understand it, is they are intolerant bigots. It makes you wonder, you know, which side the intolerant bigots are really on.” Read more →
There’s So Much Loneliness in the World
“I had a coffee date yesterday. My first date in over 25 years.” “You met online?” “Yes.” “How did it go?” “It was heartbreaking. She was 39 years old, still lives with her mother and uncle, has a personality that explains why she still lives with her mother and uncle at the age of 39 . . . and yet she dressed up, drove out to meet me hoping I suppose that maybe I was the person who would save her from being alone the rest of her life. “And of course I was hoping something similar about her. But I couldn’t save her and she couldn’t save me. There’s so much loneliness in the world. I wish I could save everyone but I can’t save anyone. Including myself.” Read more →
Ilhan Omar Forcibly Separating Children From Parents?
Ilhan Omar files for divorce from husband Ahmed Hirsi amid affair allegations — New York Post Why aren’t we hearing more about the Ilhan Omar extramarital affair and divorce? I remember when it was reported that Donald Trump had an extramarital affair with Stormy Daniels . . . that was a national news story for MONTHS! There was a period of time when her attorney, Michael Avenatti, was getting more airtime on CNN than the actual CNN hosts, for no reason other than to make derisive remarks about Trump. Unlike the Trump case though, where there was no divorce and everyone went on with their lives, Omar has filed for divorce, as has the wife of the man she had the affair with. Both families have minor children, who will be forcibly separated from their parents, and if there’s one thing the progressive left hates, it’s children being forcibly separated… Read more →
“For Estefani, Third Grade, Who Made Me A Card” by Aracelis Girmay
Neon Glory
View this post on Instagram The vertical Palace sign is a beauty in her neon glory ? . . . . #neon #DTLA #broadway #dtlatheaterdistrict #dtlabroadway #broadwaydistrict #theaterphotography #theaterlife #theaterhistory #theatre #losangelestheater #LA #broadwaywest A post shared by Broadway West (@broadwaydtla) on Oct 3, 2019 at 8:17pm PDT Read more →
My Soul
Oh feed to the golden fish his egg Where he floats in his captive bowl, To the cat his kind from the womb born blind, And to the Lord my soul. — Stevie Smith, “My Soul” Read more →
Greta Thunberg
I don’t like being lectured by children . . . because they’re dumber than I am, less experienced than I am, and have nothing interesting to say. (With rare exceptions. John Stuart Mill, for example.) You might not object to Greta Thunberg being terrified and programmed for political advantage because you like the positions she’s espousing, but it would be just as easy to program a child to espouse positions that you find abhorrent and then what would you have to say? Whoever is doing this does not have the child’s best interests at heart, in my opinion. President Trump responded to the Thunberg speech via Twitter and was widely condemned for mocking a child. She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see! https://t.co/1tQG6QcVKO — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019 If you put a 16-year-old girl… Read more →