I ought to dislike the new CBS TV series, “Elementary” more than I do. Conan Doyle’s immortal character has recently been brilliantly updated by the BBC in the series “Sherlock,” which extracted the soul of the character with exacting precision and inlaid him in the 21st Century with barely a seam showing. This American version (starring Jonny Lee Miller) is far more ham-fisted. It takes an attitude to the source material closer to that of the recent Robert Downey films (which I did not like),…
To the hurrahs of atheists everywhere reports of the decline of religion in America was fantastic news. Finally America was moving beyond the myths of regressive religious societies to the secular age predicted for generations by our enlightened cultural elites. If only. David Aikman in The Wall Street Journal laments what appears to be a moving away from religion, but he may be missing something.
A comment on Mike D'Virgilio's essay "The Illiberalism of Modern Liberalism" brings up some important questions, specifically how far the notion of liberty goes: Can and should opinions and personal choices that one person or a powerful group of people consider illiberal or flat-out wrong be protected from government intrusion?
"Religion is evil, which means anti-mind, which means anti-life, which means anti-reason, which means anti-reality."
In a piece last weekend George Will writes about the seeds of America’s dysfunction, which is the unsustainable consensus of receiving government “benefits” that our country can’t afford. America's public-policy dysfunction exists not because democracy isn't working but because it is. Both parties are sensitive market mechanisms, measuring more than shaping voters' preferences. The electoral system is a seismograph recording every tremor of public appetite.
"There is no surer foundation for a beautiful friendship than a mutual taste in literature."
John Sandford is a darned good mystery/thriller writer, and more than a one-note performer. While the Lucas Davenport “Prey” novels that made his fortune continue to draw readers, he’s added a second, related series character, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers, who looks like a surfer boy, practices journalism as a sideline, and is pretty successful with the ladies (which explains the obscene nickname his colleagues have given him, which I won’t share here). The Flowers books have a different flavor from the…
I hate to get all culture-war on you, but when liberty is at stake I don’t see a way around it. The title of this George Neumayr piece, “Enemies of the State” says it all. Who are these enemies? Why, of course those bigots who resist, in spite of all the progress we’ve made to become a tolerant people, “marriage equality.” We cannot tolerate them!
Recently I heard about Mark Helprin’s new novel, “In Sunlight and in Shadow.” I’ve only read one of his novels, but liked it very much. I’ve especially enjoyed his op eds; he used to write for The Wall Street Journal, and if you are familiar with his work you’ll know he’s a conservative sort of fellow. So I decided to look up some reviews of this latest work. The first review that came up in my search was from The New York Times, and it…
Tonight brings the season-ending episode of 'Major Crimes,' TNT's replacement for the popular 'The Closer.' 'Major Crimes' reprises nearly all of the police team from 'The Closer' and replaces Kyra Sedgwick's character with a new boss of the LAPD Major Crimes unit, Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell).The producers retained the police-procedural format of the show's progenitor, but they wisely have made sufficient changes to give this show a fresh approach. For one thing, they have placed a bit less emphasis on the central character's private life.…
I have heard of Wendell Berry for a long time but I have only read a few of his essays and none of his poetry. I only recently leaned he also wrote novels when I asked a friend to recommend one of his books thinking his books were collections of essays. But my friend said his wife thought that it is in his novels that Mr. Berry most effectively presents his ideas, so he recommended Hannah Coulter. It is a good novel and I am…
" 'Anthem' is essentially the future that awaits the world of 'Atlas Shrugged' if its protagonists fail in their struggle ..."
"In fact, it's a darned good thing for these migrant workers that their beloved union turned out to be a failure."
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