In our second quarter-final match up we had the makings of a blowout, as Aerosmith surged to a huge early lead. Then Meat Loaf’s fans weighed in, as it were, and the biggest solo artist in all of Hard Rock blew past the boys from Boston like, well, a bat out of hell, I guess, […]
Archive | December, 2012
Uganda Journal: Into my Heart of Darkness
In the morning, I leave for Africa. Specifically, I’m heading to Uganda for twelve days, for reasons that still remain vague to me beyond “I’m going to write about being in Africa.” That’s all the reason I really need, though: Africa has been a bucket-lister for me for as long as I can remember. I’ve written […]
Netflix streaming movies: the 18 horror of 2012
As if to say, “oh, the horror.” Oops, did I miss a word? Shouldn’t that be “the best of horror 2012?” No. If I did a Top 18 list for 2012 releases available via Netflix streaming, that would be all of them. This really is just the horror of 2012. That’s right, and this is […]
GOP senators vote against Sandy relief: Screw these guys
Here’s a list of the estimable members of the US Senate who voted against disaster relief for New Jersey, Connecticut and New York yesterday. There are 32 of them. They’re all Republicans, of course. They mostly come from Red States. One is a former Presidential candidate, and several others have run for the presidency. Not only that, […]
Review: Django Unchained
I am not a movie guy, but this weekend I saw a movie so spectacular, so breathtaking that I feel compelled to attempt a review. The movie is Django Unchained, and I went to see it, I admit, because I just wrote a book that also features a black gunman. I was afraid that coincidence […]
The Tech Curmudgeon – Wunderlist jumps the shark
What the hell was Wunderlist thinking when they released a bug filled, poorly tested, and badly designed software “update” to their to-do list app three days before Christmas?
Telling History vs. Making Art: Fictions and Histories
Final part of a series “[H]istory and historical fiction,” says historian Paul Ashdown, “are alternate ways of telling stories about the past.” In that context, Ulysses S. Grant spoke more truth than he realized when he said “Wars produce many stories of fiction.” Aside from yarn-spun anecdotes about apple-tree surrenders and lemon-sucking generals, war also produces “stories […]
Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more
Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. ― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas This is the third consecutive year that my family members have chosen not to exchange Christmas gifts. In 2010, we shifted away from this material side of the holiday in […]
After protest, NRA advocates for speech control
by Christopher Griesedieck (WASHINGTON, DC) “In the wake of this great national tragedy, the National Rifle Association mourns with the victims,” announced NRA President Buck Donalds at a press conference today following yet another massive protest in favor of tougher legislation on firearms. “We certainly want the community to have space and time to mourn, and […]
Libertarians and engineers should embrace industrial climate disruption, not deny it
Libertarians and engineers should both engage and work to address industrial climate disruption instead of fleeing to the illusory safety of science denial.
Deconstructing the NRA response to Sandy Hook
Every good recipe for deception begins with an ounce of truth. Whoever is managing the current public relations crisis facing the National Rifle Association clearly understands this fundamental principle. In the days since the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, the NRA has offered a textbook execution of the crisis communication […]
Tournament of Rock IV: Meat Loaf vs. Aerosmith
Wow. #4 seed REO Speedwagon vs. #5 Bon Jovi turned out to the be the nailbiter we’ve been waiting for. Each band held significant leads at one point or another, and in the end it came down to a photo-finish: by a mere two votes, your winner is…REO Speedwagon. Congratulations to both bands on a […]
Raw materials: how often are guns used in self defense?
One challenge of stepping hip-deep into an issue about which one wishes to be as objective as possible is that of not believing one’s own PR. I might like cliches, but I hate drinking the Kool-Aid, even my own special brew. To that end, fact-checking is indispensable. As a starting reference, I’ll be using the […]
More evidence for the war on Christmas
Before moving to London fifteen years ago, we lived in several different states—Massachusetts for seven years, New Jersey for seven years before that, Rhode Island twice. There were other places too, but mostly the suburban northeast, where Christmas decorations, for most of my life, were taken seriously. Both Mrs W and I grew up on […]
Walking in a winter wonderland…
Merry Christmas from the staff at S&R. And Ronan MacScottie.
Gun control advocacy: let’s talk about blood on hands, shall we?
Just three days before Christmas, The Journal News, a Gannett company, decided that there might not be enough red in our holidays. Map: Where are the gun permits in your neighborhood? The map indicates the addresses of all pistol permit holders in Westchester and Rockland counties. Each dot represents an individual permit holder licensed to […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- “Where Girls Grow Strong” – and Boy Scouts follow
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- I-5 bridge collapse: reflecting on our crumbling infrastructure
- UPDATED: Pope Francis says atheists can go to heaven: Sweet Jesus! The College of Cardinals done elected a hippie
- Magic Hat vs. West Sixth brewhaha: will MH win the battle that costs them the war?
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
