When he began his presidential campaign, Barack Obama and his advisers were disappointed in his performance as a speaker. He experimented with different styles and was his own worst critic. I learned all this from a copy of Newsweek I found in the sauna at the gym. In South Carolina […]

I heard it’s 50 below in Omaha, so I guess the frigid air is headed this way. We’ve had a lot of balmy weather this year, which has been money in the bank for all us frugal Yankees, but now Old Man Winter is getting down to business. I’m looking […]

Shown above are the Filhos de Gandhi (Children of Gandhi) at Carnaval in Salvador, Brazil. The photo is by Isadora Dunne. In an earlier post I expressed the belief that someone in the Indian government, in responding to the Mumbai attacks, would ask the question that every good Christian, and […]

The blogosphere is abuzz with the advent of a new blog entitled Erratic in Heels. It’s written by a self described “neurotic idealist just outside the city,” and it describes the hectic life of a New York fashionista. I came upon it due to my longstanding interest in high fashion. […]

I’m very, very happy about the election of Barack Obama, but I’m deeply concerned about his proposal for a college football playoff. I feel that the best team in college football should be decided the American Way — by free and fair debate among sportscasters. Let’s face it. In these […]

Eyeless in Gaza is a novel by Arduous Huxley that I read when I was young and remember little about. Except the opening scene with the exploding fox terrier. I hereby vow to reread it and write an entry about it. The title is a reference to Samson, I think. […]

When Roman Skaskiw sent his 7,000-word article about visiting the Holy Land to GoNOMAD, we put it up right away, even though it was more than twice as long as any story we had ever published. A graduate of the Iowa Writers School, Skaskiw is an excellent writer, and he […]

I make the same New Year’s resolution every year, and even though it’s a resolution that is impossible to keep, I think it’s a good one. My resolution is never to be annoyed by the bad manners of others. Even though this is impossible to do, remebering this resolution changes […]

I was supposed to be making music with some friends of mine on New Year’s Eve, but then we had four or five inches of light fluffy snow and they all cancelled, so I suppose I could be miffed, but then again, things turned out pretty well. My brother Rob […]

When I heard my old college chum Kris Pickering had been elected to the Nevada Supreme Court, it went a long way toward restoring my faith in democracy. Anyone who has ever played bridge with Kris will tell you the voters of Nevada have made a very wise choice. Playing […]