I'm in Annapolis for Eid weekend and this makes me want to use expensive gas to see what's showing in Baltimore Saturday afternoon. This is also the first Nicky Otis Smith piece where the film criticism is on a low enough level I can understand what he's saying. Thanks!

Amazing research!

I had a similar collection of empty beer cans and bottles. Basically, proof of what beers I'd tried and the collection included odd containers like the two hole coors can and the fosters oil can

You felt sorry for people you know who’ve assigned themselves the social-media task of defending this disgraceful president’s assault on truth and reality? Really? You don't understand the gamesmanship and bluffing of war? Then you're the one people should feel sorry for.

Bri Kane summed it up pretty well “consciousness is under siege, from chatbots, social media, and Donald Trump.” We never saw this level of obsession or instability bordering on mental illness in the pre social media/smart phone era. To allow anyone to “worm his way into our consciousness and stay there day after day after day’ shows a complete loss of self mastery to the point where it can send someone into a form of derangement and psychosis. Fortunately there is an antidote for those living in the obsession filled online, social media/smart phone pseudo reality. For one month stop using social media and put away your smart phone and avoid news of any kind. Replace the time you spent on electronic devices with healthy activities like sports, physical activities, hobbies, reading books creative writing, listening to music etc. and engage with people face to face. There will be a withdrawal period in overcoming the addiction but at the end of the month the end result will be spiritual renewal, enhanced mental stability and a consciousness that is more attuned to reality.

Do you want to give me something I can respond to? I'd be happy to correct any untruths. I believe I was fair to you here, but don't want to be inaccurate.

Perhaps approaching the person involved before printing. Some of this information is not correct.

Good year for jazz standards though (Body and Soul and On Green Dolphin Street).

Whole lotta punctuation in that penultimate paragraph but, if there's an error, I couldn't find it. What makes "The Athletic" content awful? I mostly like it (for hockey, baseball and football).

Why could I only see the Coen bros "creating" No Country For Old Men? How many films have been made of Cormac McCarthy's novels by now? McCarthy "created" the story, and then they adapted it for the screen. Other directors can do this too. It wasn't the work of an auteur. You say directing for money is "sad," so your purity tests must be real rigorous.

Alert the media! America is getting fat. And this advice is so original: The cure isn’t complicated. Walk more. Eat less junk. Lift some weights. Sweat occasionally. Experience hunger without panic. These aren’t revolutionary concepts. Every functioning culture taught them long before TikTok discovered kettlebells.

My favorite review was Melody Maker’s review of Depeche Mode’s Just Can’t Get Enough back in the eighties. Short and to the point, it simply said “I can. You will.”

Yes, I'd previously read that Al Jazeera piece. It is as good a case as I've seen for a more optimistic view.

The real assessment of success will be comparing the prewar regime under the belligerent and tyrannical Ayatollah Khamenei who has been a destabilizing force in the region for decades with their funding of terror proxies and their quest to develop a nuclear arsenal and project power verses what will come next which will be at the very least an Iran who's military has been severely degraded if not debilitated and that has further isolated itself from its gulf neighbors and no longer has the where with all to fund its terror proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis which are all encouraging developments. I share some of the concerns that you outlined in your comment in regard to the costs, the unintended consequences and in particular the way in which the war has been carried out. The three operative words when over throwing a regime is 'and then what'. I have yet to see a sufficient answer to those three words which leaves us with three other words 'we shall see'. The linked article is an interesting analysis of why the U.S should be heartened with the direction of the war so far...https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/3/16/the-us-israeli-strategy-against-iran-is-working-here-is-why

The speed with which Trump went from demanding "unconditional surrender" and a say in who'll run Iran, to requests for help from previously scorned allies, to talking about "winding down" without any of above achieved, suggests things have gone awry. Moreover, even a "successful" outcome at this point, whatever that might be, would have to be weighed against damage to our constitutional order (by not going to Congress), plus fiscal and human costs, rundown weapons stockpiles, perception US can no longer protect Gulf states, etc.

These books look like interesting reads. I am putting both of them on my books to read list. The last sentence of this article seems way over the top in my view. Is the U.S led war in Iran an example of "extraordinary incompetence." I don't think any fair assessment of the conflict so far would define it in that way. From a military operational standpoint it has actually been quite impressive. Will it be viewed as" a world-historical blunder that will echo through history." It is premature at this stage of the conflict to reach that conclusion. A cost benefit analysis at some point will take place and then we shall see if the benefits outweigh the costs or vice versa..

Not sure why; it's working for me currently. But I made new URL in case helps: https://tinyurl.com/72p2z36m

I'd love to read but the link is not working.

Many intelligent commentators on the right - from @KeenanPeachy to #AynRand - have said this for decades. No doubt part of why Rand said she was not a conservative, she was a "radical for capitalism."

"Radicals for Capitalism" is a great book. I reviewed it when it came out https://nypost.com/2007/02/04/freedoms-philosophy/ and my opinion of it remains just as high today.

I met Brian and Angela a few times at reason magazine events after the magazine moved to DC in 2007, and Brian and I may have even been on the same reason cruise (I think it was the one to Alaska, not the one to the Caribbean). I was about to say that Brian and I smoked pot together with a NYC lady who was a reason donor (in international waters of course) but it was actually a different reason editor. Brian always seemed less talkative than Angela. I'm guessing he thought about what to say and then wrote it, and she would just say it to you. A not uncommon dynamic. To add to your weird and subjective remarks, I had been told at some point they were both mischlings, half-Jewish and half-Irish (I assume). It is a real loss to the libertarians. I've never read "Radicals for Capitalism" but now may commit to doing it this summer. I've always wanted to write a supplement or sequel to it on how the libertarian movement was shaped by the feuds of its semi-autistic founders, mainly just so I could entitle it "Cranky Old Jews."

Isn't it sexist to overlook the arguments of KT McFarland https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/kt-mcfarland-operation-epic-fury-proves-both-america-first-proudly-maga

This is a solid list. It's hard to argue with any of the selections. My list of perfect songs are probably in the dozens spanning a variety of genres, eras and moods. If you are looking for a song that expresses betrayal, abandonment, pain, despair and vulnerability it doesn't get much more perfect than 'I'm Gonna Cry Til' My Tears Run Dry' by Irma Thomas.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpwY-aiGQPg

Any affiliation between Omar's husband's Rose Lake Capital and Hunter Biden's Rosemont Capital?

I really enjoyed the interview. Great job making Johns feel comfortable while asking interesting questions, both technical and "spiritual". Will hunt down the book. 🙂

On "Coffee with Scott Adams" today (11/11) Scott Adams says, in discussing how to persuade people, you should watch Cheryl Hines on podcasts, and in particular this episode, if you want to know how to be on a podcast.

That and GQ?

I think seeing The Sting as a young teen or pre-teen helped turn me gay. THAT was a hot couple!

Trump has won twice, but neither of these guys have the slightest idea of why that happened. Try harder, Splice Today.

Hard to imagine thinking that Marc Maron has any real insights into the future of American politics. He's a good comedian and decent interviewer, but his talent stops there. And in this clip, he's talking to a fellow insufferably smug progressive, Sam Seder, who hasn't had an original thought in decades. Posting such material is a total waste of time. Thanks for nothing.

Actually the second littlest one was not her son because he was younger than my dad, i unfortunately don’t remember which cousin he was but the tallest boy was my great aunt’s son.

They are not going to school, my grandfather filmed this. It was a leisurely trip to the end of the line by lake Roland. The little blondie in white was my dad and the dark haired second tallest boy in stripes was my uncle. The lady that was on camera before they boarded was my aunt Bea and the two other boys I think were her sons

Such a great song. So sad youngin's don't know our music in the 60's and 70's was SO much better than their music is.

"If you only know a cup this way, you don't know the cup." David Thomas threw off sparks every time he opened his mouth.

A loving/moving biography of Les Baxter: https://lesbaxter.com/pages/biography

This is great. please add a blusky link one of these days.