Interesting article by Elaine Sciolino in today’s New York Times on the brouhaha over the proposed expansion of Champagne’s AOC, increasing the number of communes legally permitted to grow grapes to be made into champagne. The reason? Increased demand for the bubbles around the world. As I say, it’s a good piece. But I would
Jane Austen fans should run on over to Norm’s place to tackle his Boxing Day quiz. This blog may yet have a few New Year teasers for you all.
I suppose one should probably read Jonah Goldberg’s book Liberal Fascism before criticising it. On the other hand, why do the dreary work when Spencer Ackerman’s prepared to highlight the juicy bits for one? For instance, Spencer draws my attention to this: Indeed, it is my argument that during World War I, America became a
Part of Megan McArdle’s response to Kerry Howley’s excellent guest-worker article: But mostly, I worry about having a large number of people in the country who are, definitionally, not planning to stay here. There’s something corrosive about transience: witness the way college students treat their neighborhoods. (And don’t tell me they’re young; they’re prime guest-worker
Shane McGowan celebrates his 50th birthday today. Who would have thought it? Comfort and joy all round. This must rank as one of the most unlikely anniversaries imaginable. As the great man says himself: “Smoking, drinking, partying – that’s why I’ve stayed alive as long as I have.” That’s the spirit lads. Give it a
The New York Times’ Ben Brantley says this was a year in which drama reasserted itself on (and off) Broadway. If so then that’s a splendid thing. It’s notable, though, that just two American plays make his list of the top ten* dramas to have played in New York this past year. No fewer than
Christmas in Helmand Province, Afghanistan can’t be the bonniest gig on the planet. Hence this contest amongst the Royal Marines of 40 Commando: who can grow the spiffiest moustache. Best, however, is Major Alex Murray’s reminder that this takes us back to the days of the great Harry Flashman: “Generations of our forefathers have been
More from Helmand province where Sergeant Kraig Whalley of the Royal Military Police says: “We were thinking of challenging the Taliban to a game of football on Christmas Day, but I’m not sure they’d get the joke.” [Hat-tip, Ben Brogan]
Oh dear. The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis (who apparently find the idea of being asked to name and write about her favourite movies of the year an intolerable imposition that reminds her of the Judeo-Christian patriarchy that has made her existence so frightfully ghastly) then further indulges herself with this hackneyed spot of hand-wringing:
Good lord. further evidence that, despite improvements in recent years, Washington still has work to do. Today’s WaPo runs a piece noting that the free minds and free markets crowd at Reason are insidiously recruiting innocent young Washingtonians to the libertarian cult by, yup, throwing a couple of parties a month. The horror! To wit:
This is the best Christmas song I’ve seen in years. It’s obviously even better if, like me, you went through a teenage phase of listening to nothing but The Doors…
I guess Rudy Giuliani won’t be getting many Christmas cards from the fine folk at The American Conservative. Read their comprehensive anti-Rudy package here. Read my own anti-Rudy contribution to a previous issue of TAC here.
Now that Hollywood has decreed that smoking in movies is as bad – and in fact perhaps worse – than gratuitous sex and violence, it’s not a great surprise that folk are reminiscing about the role smoking has played in the movies. This Slate sideshow doesn’t break much new ground – and, lamentably, declares smoking
While we’re talking about smoking, this study points out something that, intuitively, I’ve long considered obvious: Heart attacks among cigarette smokers may have less to do with tobacco than genetics. A common defect in a gene controlling cholesterol metabolism boosts smokers’ risk of an early heart attack, according to a new study. The findings also
A shocking teaser from Arts & Letters Daily: Hitler, Stalin…and Abdul Qadeer? Who is he and why might anyone want to talk about him in such monstrous company?… more» Quite. I was, as you might imagine, taken aback. I always liked and admired this man who, more than anyone else, kept the flame alive through
And while we’re on the subject of cricket, here’s the latest madness from the United States: Cuba have been blocked from playing in their first ever international cricket tournament because of a US embargo. Cuba had been invited to take part in the Stanford 20/20 tournament, which features 20 Caribbean teams. But the competition is
At last! I really can’t express quite how tickled I am by this news: Researchers in a remote jungle in Indonesia have discovered a giant rat and a tiny possum that are apparently new to science, underscoring the stunning biodiversity of the Southeast Asian nation, scientists said Monday. Original warning here. [Hat-tip: Hit & Run]
My favourite comment of the year was left in response to Ross Douthat’s reply to this post of mine: This has to be the most useless post of the year. Why do conservatives like scottish independence? because they are as malevolent as the SNP. I mean, I like Slovakia, but breaking up Yugoslavia was, well,
Since Andrew has already posted about this, everyone will have learnt about this poor Icelandic woman’s horrific story by now. But just in case you haven’t, here’s her awful story. Her crime? She remained in the United States for three weeks after her tourist visa expired in 1995. Silly girl, you may say. You may
David Corn reads a book Mike Huckabee wrote in 1998 so you don’t have to: It is now difficult to keep track of the vast array of publicly endorsed and institutionally supported aberrations—from homosexuality and pedophilia to sadomasochism and necrophilia. It saddens me, I guess, that I missed the public – and institutional! – endorsement