Oh, to be in England, Now that April’s there, And whoever wakes in England Sees, some morning, unaware, That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf, While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough In England – now!! In general, and despite my childhood infatuation with the… Continue reading Thoughts of Abroad, From Home, in April, 2025
Author: rightwingknitjob
Reflections on “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”
The Pied Piper of Hamelin is one of my least favorite childhood stories, one so redolent of evil--with overtones of perversity-- that I pretty much deep-sixed it to the memory hole of my life, absent unusual circumstances which occasionally and repugnantly bring it to mind for one reason or another. If you’re not familiar with… Continue reading Reflections on “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”
Quote of the Day 2025: “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool”
The quote in the title is from As You Like It, and it contains a lot of wisdom, but that’s not really the quote of the day. So, April Fool! Today’s actual quote of the day comes from Charles Lamb, who was born in 1775, in London, to a middle-class lawyer’s clerk and his wife, in… Continue reading Quote of the Day 2025: “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool”
Grace and Love: Rest in Peace
She was a star in the Republican party, beginning with her speech (while she was the Mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah) at the 2012 Republican National Convention. That year, she lost her first bid for Congress, by fewer than 1000 votes. She tried again, and was elected, two years later, and then again two years… Continue reading Grace and Love: Rest in Peace
Sometimes It’s Not Real, and It’s Not Even True: Disney’s Latest Snow White Staggers To the Finish Line
Crimenutely. The date is almost upon us. Come tomorrow, March 21, 2025, Disney's latest iteration of Snow White hits US theaters. I've done my best, during what must be one of the most drawn-out, screwed-up, infelicitous run ups to a premiere in movie history, to keep my dear readers up to speed with developments over… Continue reading Sometimes It’s Not Real, and It’s Not Even True: Disney’s Latest Snow White Staggers To the Finish Line
St Patrick’s Day 2025: Weird Holiday Foods Edition
Here we are, at St. Patrick’s Day, 2025, not a big seller in the land of my birth, but huge in the two areas I’ve lived in, in my adopted country–Boston and Pittsburgh. It’s the holiday that always “Springs” (see what I did there?) to mind when I think of revolting unusual celebratory foodstuffs. Green beer.… Continue reading St Patrick’s Day 2025: Weird Holiday Foods Edition
A Book Recommendation–From Sapper to Spitfire Spy–And Some Notes on Diving For Pearls
Today (March 6, 2025) would have been Dad's 106th birthday. He departed this earth at the age of 88, on September 30, 2007, and I miss him every day. A few years ago, I came across the book mentioned in the title of this post, on my way--as so often happens--to looking up something else. … Continue reading A Book Recommendation–From Sapper to Spitfire Spy–And Some Notes on Diving For Pearls
Constantly Outwitted By My Cat…
When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction--Mark Twain, 1887 Some of you have met him. Many of you have heard about him, or read about him. I’m talking about Psymon. My ginger-and-white cat who’s about seven years old, who first appeared in my life during the winter of… Continue reading Constantly Outwitted By My Cat…
Happy Belated Birthday, George Washington!
So here we are on February 22, 2025, all set to observe George Washington's 293rd birthday. Right? Not so fast. It's true that, for years, February 22 was a national holiday in the United States. Banks were closed. Schools were closed. No mail was delivered. Department stores nationwide celebrated the end of the "white sales"… Continue reading Happy Belated Birthday, George Washington!
Happy Seynt Valentyn’s Day!
. . . from Geoffrey Chaucer, who, as with so many other things, is often credited with starting it all. It's a post which has largely gone before, but a sentiment which--to my mind--never goes out of date: Chaucer's dream vision poem, The Parliament of Fowls, was written about 1380 and begins with the narrator… Continue reading Happy Seynt Valentyn’s Day!