Dear Sheffield, Thanks for sharing the commentary supposedly written by Ian Duncan and published in The Baltimore Sun. I say supposedly because Ian Duncan, their journalist on intelligence and military issues, didn’t actually write it, and the piece never appeared in The Sun. The real title is “Ten Percent is Not Enough.” It was written... Continue Reading →
Helseth’s Hurricane Concert
When I joined Facebook a few years back, I entered the name of Tine Thing Helseth, the Norwegian Trumpet player, on my list of favorite musicians. Others included The Grateful Dead, Suzanne Erens, and The Band. Three of my favorite Helseth pieces from that period are Fanfare, Nobel Peace Prize Concert of 2007, Eternal Story,... Continue Reading →
Glimpses of Our Civil War Today
The Civil War is, for the American imagination, the great single event of our history. Without too much wrenching, it may, in fact, be said to be American history. Before the Civil War we had no history in the deepest and most inward sense. Robert Penn Warren, The Legacy of the Civil War, 1961 Introduction... Continue Reading →
Steely Dan and Accelerated Technological Change
Living entails an ever-accelerating mastery of new technology, and nothing much is needed to accomplish the feat. No soulful reflection, willpower, or guts are required to obtain the learning. For example, we were given a Wii game center twenty months ago, an Apple Ipad2 ten months ago, and a one-month Netflix trial, for $7.99, 8... Continue Reading →