… Complete skepticism is an understandable consequence of discovering that one’s enthusiasms are based on illusion. This skepticism leads to a dehumanization of history — a history drifting somewhere above us, taking its own course, having nothing to do with us, trying to cheat us, destroy us, playing out its cruel jokes. __ But history …
Absent Friends
RIP, Christopher Hitchens
This just sucks: Christopher Hitchens—the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant—died today at the age of 62. Hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the spring of 2010, just after the publication of his memoir, Hitch-22, and began chemotherapy soon after. His matchless prose has appeared in Vanity Fair since 1992, …
R.I.P., Anne McCaffrey
(Elizabeth Malczynski Littman’s website) __ From Charlie Jane Anders at io9: Anne McCaffrey wasn’t just the inventor of Pern, the world where a whole society is based on dragon-riding. She was also an incredibly influential author who helped transform the way science fiction and fantasy authors wrote about women, and the way all of us …
Andy Rooney, RIP
He died last night at age 92. Here’s the CBS obit.
I can’t find the Republicans
I wrote about how Mike Huckabee from Fox News is parachuting into Ohio to push Kasich’s union-busting law, and there was a great point raised in the comments: How hard up is Kasich that he is calling in a celeb from Fox? Do you see any Ohio GOP heavies campaigning for this? Like…um…the last 2 …
Warriors: R.I.P., Rev. Shuttlesworth & Professor Bell
I am not the best person to be covering this, but there are some lives to whose passing attention must be paid. The Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Professor Derrick Bell were both, in their distinct and unique ways, true warriors for justice. Diane Mcwhorter, in the NYTimes, eulogizes Rev. Shuttlesworth: IF you recognized the …
Warriors: R.I.P., Rev. Shuttlesworth & Professor BellPost + Comments (35)
A Stray Jobs Anecdote
Emailing back and forth with a college (and current) friend, this little anecdote of an encounter with Steve Jobs came up. It dates back to the ’80s when my friend was working for Lotus: I had the pleasure to meet and speak with Steve Jobs in 1988 when he came to Lotus to persuade us …