Month: February 2001
The great white Democrat campaigns post-presidency with his core constituency
“I hope he comes. But I hope he doesn’t bring the rest of rich white America with him.”
I’m not drinking, I’m healing myself
“If Russia is admired worldwide for its sophistication in some circles
You are a suspect invidual, walking around; good citizens drive cars
“What’s the idea? Does doing away with sidewalks really make housing significantly cheaper? Is a community without sidewalks meant to look charmingly rustic? Sorry about all the question marks, but the idea of a city without sidewalks, or even a significant part of a city without sidewalks, strikes me as truly daft.”
Scoops up! WhirlyBall, the game you’ve never heard of
“This level of dedication forces a new paradigm of play. Gone is the run-and-gun game of the novice. Slowly, the game reveals its tricks: working your car instead of letting it work you, shifting your body weight to avoid a hit, rocking yourself into a position for a better shot. On offense, you learn patience…
Tempests, teapots, authors, editors, etc.
“Even literary Manhattan is not without its joys. A few (very few) nice people are among its congregants, the talk is often worth listening to (especially if you can manage to get in a word or two yourself), and the sense of being among people who share your intellectual proclivities has its rewards (none of…
A 213-word sentence you’ll never understand
“American society is never very far out of whack on things where everybody is watching. It is in the dark, dusty corners of society that things can get seriously out of whack, and public utility regulation is just a classic example. It is boring. The numbers are big, but it’s in the bowels of places,…
What we need is a channel for mumbling, unarticulating Midwesterners
“Chechens know Russian, which is the main language in that territory, and to create such special national autonomy on radio waves is, of course, wrong. I am not sure that Radio Mayak or Voice of Russia will broadcast in Italian in New York, although we may try.”
We lived in the war, we fled the war, and now the war has come back to us
“We are not rebels; we are refugees who have run away from the rebels already once. What army goes to fight with pregnant women? With children strapped to their backs? With bundles on their heads? Not one.”
When did you realize Helen Hunt wasn’t going to make a wacky appearance?
“MOM: It wasn’t what I expected. And either your father didn’t hear me, or he was tricking me into seeing the movie. PAMIE: What do you mean? MOM: Well, I thought it was going to be a comedy. PAMIE: A comedy about getting stranded on an island for four years?”
Chicago version of Survivor: 30 students, a foreign teacher and no discipline
“There is very little regard for superiors or rank. I find it wrong that a student is talking back to someone who is older. It’s not something that I can get used to.”