… and the award for best exploitative photojournalism goes to … … this photo. It appeared yesterday on the front page of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The caption reads: “Panorama Towers is shown in Las Vegas on Sunday as a commercial airliner flies in the distance.” The excuse for running the photo was an FAA […]
Archives for September 2008
Paul Newman, R.I.P.
Paul Newman, who died at 83, once told me in an interview, “There’s a part of me that has always wanted to win an Oscar when I’m 83, so I could say, ‘So there!’” The interview took place in Boston, at the Meridien Hotel. Newman was 57 then and in top form, promoting “The Verdict.” […]
Is the Gasbag Lying? Or Is He Just Ignorant?
The Rick Davis story continues to percolate with this New York Times headline, “McCain Aide’s Firm Was Paid by Freddie Mac Through August.” The disclosure undercuts a remark by Mr. McCain on Sunday night that [his] campaign manager, Rick Davis, had had no involvement with the company for the last several years. How long will […]
Truth in Editorializing?
Before it’s too late, three cheers for the lead editorial in The Wall Street Journal on Friday, “McCain’s Scapegoat,” which began this way: “John McCain has made it clear this week he doesn’t understand what’s happening on Wall Street” — oh, wait a minute — “any better than Barack Obama does.” Hmmm … make that […]
No Train to Glory — James Crumley, R.I.P.
John Schulian wanted to know if I had heard the news. I hadn’t. His e-mail message filled me in: “James Crumley, the best crime writer of our generation, died, at 68, in a bed surrounded by his friends and family in Missoula. I never pictured him checking out so benignly, and I doubt that he […]
And Let’s Not Forget This
… in the wake of yesterday’s Wall Street meltdown … …in case anyone needs a reminder. EmailFacebookTwitterReddit
McPalin & McMaverick
Still the Best 9/11 Memorial
It was up tonight — briefly. The techs must have been rehearsing.
Varieties of Musical Experience
Here’s a good friend, Carl Weissner, playing Chopin. He hasn’t played for, oh, about 50 years. “This is the schmaltzy version — Viennese,” he says. On top of that he’s combining two different pieces. “But,” he adds, “what the hell.” (Recorded on my new little gizmo, a Flip Video Mino. The image is sharper when […]
John Cage Would Have Been 96
I went to the John Cage birthday celebration at St. Mark’s Church yesterday. Big crowd. Awful sound. A couple dozen people mumbled into a bad p.a. system. It was impossible to understand what they were saying, with a few exceptions. This guy came prepared, though, with his own music and his own setup. His name […]