On My List

 

G.K. Chesterton's Unwritten Books

"Like every book I never wrote, it is by far the best book that I have ever written." 

My favorite of the titles mentioned is The Neglect of Cheese in European Literature (in five volumes).

The Book Was Good

 

DEI's Discrimination Against White Men

This isn't a story about all white men. It's a story about white male millennials in professional America, about those who stayed, and who (mostly) stayed quiet.

Read all of "The Lost Generation" by Jacob Savage in Compact magazine.

Bondi Beach Massacre

 More than ever, it is time for good people to stand up.

• Tablet magazine: "The people of forever are not afraid."
• Commentary magazine: "For Jews, everywhere could be Sydney."
• UnHerd magazine: "Australia's government has failed Jews."
• Ayaan Hirsi Ali: The Intifada comes to Australia.

Going Retro on Correspondence

 

When it comes to constituent letters, Congress should drop its current duplicitous system and Make Correspondence Great Again.

Click here for my plan.

[Photo by Tareq Ismail at Unsplash]

Crank It Up

 

On My List

 

Happy Hannukah

[Photo by Dad Grass at Unsplash]

A Mystery at Christmas

Hunter Gatherer Nicholas Bate has just given a helpful nudge. 

In addition to nonfiction, I've been slow-reading A Christmas Carol by the incomparable Dickens and In My Father's Court by the always excellent Isaac Bashevis Singer.

Nicholas recommends a Sherlock Holmes mystery.

Great idea!

[And, as the above trailer shows, Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot also had some Christmas episodes.]

Find Something Beautiful Today

[Photo by Monika Grabkowska at Unsplash]

Good Film for the Holidays

 

White Christmas

 

A Hard Truth

Steve Layman has a quote from a commencement address by Tom Brokaw that is, I'm sad to say, painfully accurate.

I continue to be stunned by the pettiness that often arises in even the most sophisticated circles.

To Be Re-Read and Re-Watched

 

Just In

 

The Christmas Movie Debate

Here's a list of contenders. Which ones are your top three picks?

1. A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott
2. A Christmas Carol with Reginald Owen.
3. The Bishop's Wife
4. Die Hard
5. A Christmas Story
6. Charlie Brown's Christmas
7. Love Actually
8. How The Grinch Stole Christmas
9. Miracle on 34th Street
10. It's a Wonderful Life
11. Scrooge
12. The Polar Express
13. Home Alone
14. Elf
15. Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol
16. The Muppets Christmas Carol
17. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
18. Scrooged
19. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
20. Planes Trains and Automobiles
21. The Man Who Invented Christmas

[Photo by Michal Perchardo at Unsplash]

Very Nice and Much Appreciated

Julian Summerhayes is reading poetry on Substack.

[Photo by Andy Newton at Unsplash]

First Paragraph

This short book is not a comprehensive history of American liberalism. A number of important figures and episodes are merely glossed over. Instead, it rewrites the history of modern American liberalism. It shows that what we think of liberalism today - the top-and-bottom coalition we associate with President Obama - began not with Progressivism or the New Deal but rather in the wake of the post-World War I disillusionment with American society. In the Twenties, the first writers and thinkers to call themselves liberals adopted the hostility to bourgeois life that had long characterized European intellectuals of both the left and the right. The aim of liberalism's founding writers and thinkers - such as Herbert Croly, Randolph Bourne, H.G. Wells, Sinclair Lewis, and H.L. Mencken - was to create an American aristocracy of sorts, to provide the same sense of hierarchy and order long associated with European statism. 

- From The Revolt Against the Masses: How Liberalism Has Undermined the Middle Class by Fred Siegel (2015)

The Workshop

I've taught an Equal Employment Opportunity workshop for several decades.

I keep being dragged back in.

On the other hand, it's a very good class and it helps to counter much of the nonsense that was peddled under the name of D.E.I.

Crank It Up

 

25 Blogs

I am honored to be on Kurt Harden's list of 25 blogs guaranteed to make you smarter.

What a great group!

Kurt's Cultural Offering blog is a daily visit for me. A symbol of life well-lived.

[Photo by Sixteen Miles Out at Unsplash]

Memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon

In The New Criterion in 2008, Joseph Epstein reviews some extraordinary memoirs. An excerpt:

At Versailles, information was the most precious of commodities. Those who were expert at gathering it were in the strongest position. As Jacques Revel puts it, “to gather information was both to maximize one’s chances and, just as important, to minimize one’s risks.” Gossip was of course a primary source of information and, as the Duc de Saint-Simon makes us realize, the natural outlet of a widely curious and genuinely critical mind. This le petit duc possessed in excelsis, and they had everything to do with making him a great writer and his Memoirs a landmark work.

[Photo by Elena Rabkina at Unsplash]

Hmm

 

High Tech Hides What "Old Tech" Revealed

Check out my Substack on what has been lost.

[Photo by Jan Antonin Kolar at Unsplash]

Big G.K.

In The Everlasting Man, G. K. Chesterton begins his essay on "The End of the World" by noting his introduction to a new religion.

I was once sitting on a summer day in a meadow in Kent under the shadow of a little village church, with a rather curious companion with whom I had just been walking through the woods. He was one of a group of eccentrics I had come across in my wanderings who had a new religion called Higher Thought; in which I had been so far initiated as to realise a general atmosphere of loftiness or height, and was hoping at some later or more esoteric stage to discover the beginning of thought.

A Fred Siegel Shelf

 

He was a frequent contributor to City Journal. As the Mamdani term approaches, his commentary will be especially missed.

A Technocracy Instead of a Democracy

Jonathan Turley on Justice Brown Jackson's view that the chief executive (a.k.a the President) should not be able to fire experts in the executive branch.

I'll add some relevant quotes:

"This army of [college-educated] scribes is clamoring for a society in which planning, regulation, and supervision are paramount and the prerogative of the educated."

- Eric Hoffer

"Rather than opening minds, social media seems to be creating a generation largely unable to communicate in person."

- Joel Kotkin

Niall Ferguson on Trump's National Security Strategy (NSS)

"The truth always hurts. But there is another reason the NSS has outraged the papers of record. Since the early 20th century, the foreign policy establishment has held this truth to be self-evident, that all regions are not created equal, and Europe is the most important region of them all. The NSS rejects this. It firmly puts Europe in second place, after the Western Hemisphere."

Read all of Niall Ferguson's Free Press essay here.

[Photo by Thomas Fields at Unsplash]

In My Stack

 

No Civilization Was Built by Hermits.

 Playing it safe can be very risky.

[Photo by Aaron Burden at Unsplash]

Must Reading

The New Criterion: Andrew Roberts on "Will China Bury Us?"

[Photo by Jerry Wang at Unsplash]

And Let Us Never Forget

[Photo by Winston Chen at Unsplash]

Find Something Beautiful Today

 

[Photo by Matthew Stephenson at Unsplash]

It's Saturday: Crank It Up!

 

Drive-In Theater/Charging Stations

Imagine if in the future, your car could be charged while you watch a drive-in movie.

We may, of course, need to consult the nation's foremost drive-in movie expert.

[Photo by Dominique Hicks at Unsplash]

Out Now

 

In the Background

 

The Death of the Movie Theater

But the movie theater as we have understood it will not exist in a decade. Its footprint is too large in real estate terms and there won't be enough foot traffic to justify the space. There will probably be ten theaters in Manhattan by then. And each city will have one or two.

- John Podhoretz

[Photo by Simon Ray at Unsplash]

"Imported"

 It's unsettling to see so many American clothing firms describing their products as "Imported."

That's not necessarily because the items are made in another country. It is because the quality of the imported clothes seems to have seriously declined in recent years.

At least, that's my opinion.

I have some "imported" jackets from Orvis and Land's End. The newer ones are clearly inferior to the older ones. It's not even a contest.

But wait, here's a counter-argument.

Which way do you tilt?

Uniquely Personal Blogs

 

There are some great blogs that contain more of a view of the personality of the blogger. Among my favorites are:

A Large Regular

Mitigating Chaos

Rhoneisms

Sippican Cottage

The Sovereign Professional

[I note with sadness how much the late Rick Georges, the multitalented lawyer who wrote the unique FutureLawyer blog for many years, is deeply missed.]

A Life Well-Lived

There are many excellent blogs with multiple points of emphasis, but these are always about a life well-lived. 

Cultural Offering was - and continues to be - the trailblazer, but don't miss:

A Layman's Blog

Live & Learn

Stephen Landry's Blog

The Hammock Papers

Each one possesses a magic.

[Photo by Tim Cooper at Unsplash]

The Bad Old Days

 

The Campus Echo Chamber

 City Journal: Kevin Wallsten looks at the political causes of higher education's decline.

A few interesting statistics: 

"More than 70 percent of college administrators and more than 60 percent of students now identify as liberal."

"According to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression's Campus Deplatforming Database, the number of speakers targeted by 'attempted' or 'substantial' disruptions climbed from just three in 2021 to 79 in 2024."

Books and More Books

The Man Who Never Sleeps (a.k.a. Hunter Gatherer Nicholas Bate) is cranking out books, both fiction and non-fiction.

I am waiting to hear from a publisher about one book and am heavily into completing another.

In short, I'm way behind Nicholas.

A friend recently asked, "How do you write?"

My response was "I rewrite."

From Eight Years Ago: Immigration and Poverty

 

Powerful

 

Old School is On!

My entire set of The World Book Encyclopedias arrived yesterday. The original delivery date was originally supposed to be Monday, but that is no matter.

Shelves are being cleared and cleaned. I've already peeked and am eager to delve into the volumes.

And I'm tracking down some card catalogues!

If in Doubt, Throw It Out

I am going through the most extensive office cleaning in years.

[Screams. Shouts. Shots fired.]

Very liberating. Files beyond files. Ancient history is emerging.

[Cryptic comments from family members.]

Portions of my office floor can now be seen. I see tribal markings.

[Photo by Zac Edmonds at Unsplash]

Civilization

 

On My List

 

I Hope the Successor Has Read Some James Bond Novels

 There are reports that the wizard behind the Jaguar rebrand/weird commercial has been fired.

Back By Popular Demand

 

Conservative Social and Political Thought

 The introductory essay by Jerry Z. Muller, taken from Conservatism: An Anthology of Social and Political Thought from David Hume to the Present, can be found here.

[HT: Jonathan Haidt]

Discover John M. Ellis

 

Civilization

 

Keeping a Close Eye on A.I.

My Substack essay is up. The recent A.I. news story in Fortune magazine was a shocker.

[Photo by BoliviaInteligente at Unsplash]

Crank It Up

 

White House Christmas

Well done. Love the mugshot picture.

Why Modern Movies Feel Fake

Check out the fascinating essay by Brian Niemeier on Substack.

"In other words, movies stopped respecting the way we apprehend reality."

Tom Stoppard, RIP

The Free Press: David Mamet on Tom Stoppard.

[Photo by Erik Mclean at Unsplash]

First Paragraph

 There are in this world some very strange individuals whose thoughts are even stranger than they are.

- From In My Father's Court by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Find Something Beautiful Today

 

[Photo by Stephen Crane at Unsplash]

Definitely On My List

 

"The Greatest Discovery in Human History"

 

Jabberwocky

 

Street Smarts: A Series

 Crocodiles are easy. They try to kill and eat you. People are harder. Sometimes they pretend to be your friend first.

- Steve Irwin

Ultimate Old School

I made a Black Friday purchase of The World Book Encyclopedia.

Actual volumes for a bookshelf.

A new edition, of course, and so not the same as the version that captured my attention in grade school.

The volumes will arrive on Monday.

Big smile.

[I mentioned the purchase at Thanksgiving and got the expected stares. The techno-barbarians don't understand the quasi-religious nature of the experience.] 

[Next idea: card catalogues to organize my library. A mere glance would provide a daily morale boost.] 

Big Howard regarding Big Will

 

First Paragraph

Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatsoever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change for anything he chose to put his hand to.

- From A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

We Gather Together

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

May the Lord's blessings be upon each of you.

[Photo by Preslie Hirsch at Unsplash]

Time Travel

 

The Benefits of A.I.

 

Let's assume that the potential primary benefit of Artificial Intelligence comes to pass and that cures are found for many deadly diseases.

Does a society in which people get a generous annual income, and yet don't need to work, sound like a pleasant place to live?

[Photo by Costa Live at Unsplash]

The New News Media

 City Journal: Brian C. Anderson on the transformation of journalism.

10 Rules for Thanksgiving

The rules are up at Substack. (Free! Free!)

A possible amendment regarding smartphones may be needed.

[Photo by Joseph Gonzalez at Unsplash]

The Thanksgiving Movie

 

"Even though I hadn't read a word of it . . . "

Even though I hadn't read a word of it, I grew up hating Moby-Dick. My father was an English professor at the University of Pittsburgh with a specialty in American maritime literature, and that big, battle-scarred book came to represent everything I resented about his job: all the hours he spent in his attic study, relentlessly reading and writing, more often than not with Moby-Dick spread out before him.

Sometimes at dinner he even dared talk about the novel, inevitably in an excited, reverential tone that only exasperated me all the more. And yet, despite my best efforts to look as bored as possible, I found myself hanging on every word. For you see, when my brother and I were very young, my father had told us a bed-time story.

From Nathaniel Philbrick's introduction to Moby-Dick.

[This version is currently on sale at Amazon.]

Thanksgiving is Coming

 

Find Something Beautiful Today

[Photo by Juan Pablo Melo at Unsplash]

What Will We Lose If We Stop Driving?

My Substack essay explores a hidden menace.

[Photo by Eve B at Unsplash]

The Golden Thread

Seth Leibsohn discusses the book with Allen C. Guelzo.

The Church of Maybe

 As I have long said, no one is interested in the church of maybe.

- George Weigel

The Lengthy Lingo Games

 Wishing to employ the correct modern term for disabled, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers set up a "Committee for Members with Special Needs." It didn't work. A homeless person came by, announcing a special need for housing. Then it became the "Committee for Members Who Are Physically Challenged," but a frightened fifth-grade teacher showed up, thinking it was a support group for instructors intimidated by their unruly students. So now it is known as the "Committee for Disabled Members." "Everybody understands the words and nobody protested," said James Gallagher of the committee, satisfied at last.

- From Two Steps Ahead of the Thought Police by John Leo (1998)

Old Dogs Talking (From an Interview with TJ Bennett)

 

Before Anyone Gets Weird About the Dangers of Civilian Control of the Military

 

First Paragraph

Frank Sinatra, Jr., was saying, "I don't have to take this," getting up out of his guest chair, walking out. Howard Hart was grinning at him with his capped teeth.

- From Touch by Elmore Leonard

An Assortment of What Ifs

This is the recent Substack of mine that has received far and away the greatest amount of interest.

Consider the what ifs of history.

On My List

 

As I Prepare a Substack Essay on Cars

I addressed this subject a few years ago, but am back on it due to preparing a Substack essay on changing styles of cars. 

My older brother has owned over 50 cars.

I am far from that league. After reviewing the cars I've owned, one model in particular stands out as the one I wish I'd kept.

Here's my list:

Volkswagen Beetle

Datsun 610

Buick Regal

Ford Escort

Volvo Sedan

Volvo Station wagon

Datsun 300

Ford Explorer

Honda Element

Mercury Grand Marquis

Lexus NX

And the one I wish I'd kept: 1969 Volkswagen Beetle. Should have never gotten rid of it.

Do you have regrets about letting a car slip away?

On My List

 

When Trump Built an Ice Rink

There were important lessons in bureaucracy. An excerpt:

By October 28, 1986, the rink was completed ahead of time and at approximately 750,000 dollars under budget. Within weeks, skaters were on the ice.

[Photo by freestocks at Unsplash]

On the Beaches and in the Immigration Offices

 

Peter Hitchens is wrong: the British should not leave their nation; they should fight for it.

[Photo by Samuel Pollard at Unsplash]

Justin Johnson

 

Strategy Man

 

Unusual and Excellent

 

The Cast Is Interesting

 

Teaching a Class Today

A workshop on Equal Employment Opportunity. Sort of like "Europe in One Day" because it covers a variety of subjects, each of which could merit a separate class.

Always great to hear the perspectives of class members and to provide updates on that has been happening in this fascinating area.

Bear with me. Back this afternoon.

[Photo by Ivan Aleksic at Unsplash]

Goodbye Dragon Inn

 

Mamba Mentality

"Hard work outweighs talent every time. Mamba mentality is about 4 a.m. workouts, doing more than the next guy and then trusting in the work you've put in when it's time to perform. Without studying, preparation and practice, you're leaving the outcome to fate. I don't do fate."

- Kobe Bryant

Government Wizardry

 

The Free Press: NYC has 50,000 "ghost" apartments.