Self-Absorbed Boomer

"[A] delightfully named blog", (Sewell Chan, New York Times). "[R]elentlessly eclectic", (Gary, Iowa City). Taxing your attention span since 2005.

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Has anyone noticed ...

... that Paul Simon, at least in a baseball cap, has come to resemble Michael Bloomberg? 9/20 Addendum: For proof, go to http://www.paulsimo...

Sir Hermann Bondi, 1919-2005

I first read of Hermann Bondi when I was about twelve, probably in George Gamow's One, Two, Three ... Infinity , a book that helped to c...

Will the Vols give Meyer's tailor some business?

The NYT's Pete Thamel tells us, on page one of today's sports section, that Florida's new coach, Urban Meyer, loses ten pounds a...

Flatlining?

The Mets still have a pulse, and it's propelled by Pedro .

Friday, September 16, 2005

Postscript on culture war.

It's not the big one I promised earlier - I'll try to get that done this weekend - but Meghan O'Rourke thinks reading Faulkner ...

Thursday, September 15, 2005

This blog needs more of these.

According to the plaque on the sidewalk, this is "Eyes", by Louise Bourgeois.

Oh, give me a break!

Braves Cited For Abuse Of Mets . Y'all just love kicking us when we're down, don'tcha?

"Mathematical elimination fever: Catch it!"

Someone suggested that as a slogan for the Atlanta Braves, back in the early 1990's, not too long before they were transformed into the ...

Will Weiner's class act be nullified by bureaucracy?

Magnanimity and self-sacrifice aren't words usually associated with New York City politics, on either the Democratic or GOP side. So it ...

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Can the culture war end in anything but scorched earth?

Digby has a scary take (these posts are from November, 2004, but are linked to a recent post of his; follow my link and scroll down to the ...

Monday, September 12, 2005

Targeted Katrina relief.

In a post below ("Sometimes, bureaucracy works"), I mentioned a friend who is working with the Louisiana Insurance Department and ...

Alas, it's too late for Gate.

Following up on my post below about aid for musicians, I'm saddened to pass on this report of the death of Clarence 'Gatemouth' ...

Help for New Orleans and Gulf Coast musicians

Those of you, who, like me, are music buffs, and want to help the many musicians whose lives and art have been uprooted by Katrina should go...

Shades of Grantland Rice.

Ray Glier of the New York Times uses "albeit" in his Sunday sports section story about Saturday's gridiron clash between Georg...

A view from afar.

Here's more from our man in Beijing . Well worth reading, it includes helpful links to another expat blog and, for hard-core Sinophiles...

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Sometimes, bureaucracy works.

We've all read and heard much in the past week about the failures of bureaucracy in the face, and aftemath, of Katrina. So it's goo...

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Ship watching from Brooklyn Heights

When I moved to Brooklyn Heights in 1983, one of the principal attractions the neighborhood held for me was that it sat atop a bluff overloo...

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Another blog worth visiting.

This time, it's an Englishman living in semi-retirement in France. I discovered him because Blogger identified us as the only two users...

A visit to Beijing

I've discovered an excellent blog by an American living in Beijing. A fascinating account of life in that city, with incisive views on t...

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Back to things nautical, ...

... or, at least, riverine. Another Fray friend, Raprap, with whom I share (at least on my father's side) an Ohio valley heritage, has ...

Monday, September 05, 2005

More on Katrina, and a note on the Fray

As the enormity of the tragedy has become apparent, I've felt compelled to add to my earlier, brief comments. However, as so often happ...

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Ship watching at Eisenhower Lock

One of Massena's fine points is that it's located close to the Eisenhower Lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Seaway is a system of...

Saturday, September 03, 2005

A Postcard from Massena

Last year my in-laws moved from Vermont to Massena, on the northern edge of New York State, where the St. Lawrence River defines the border ...

Friday, September 02, 2005

A recommendation.

For a gripping account of riding out the storm, and continuing updates, with photographs, from the Gulf coast of Mississippi, go to http://d...

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Disclaimer

The fact that the engine that creates my profile chooses to take my birthdate and, from it, determine and show my (Greek) astrological (sun)...

Bad news from New Orleans

A city that I love lies mostly deserted and gravely wounded. No speculation or pontification here. I'll do what I can for relief efforts...

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Welcome.

Here begins our adventure in blogging. If you know me from the Fray, or from some other context, you pretty much know what to expect. I'...

View web version

About Me

: I was born in 1946 in a city renowned in Vaudeville humor, Altoona Pennsylvania. My dad was in the military, so we moved many times in my childhood. We lived in rural England from the time I was five until I was eight, and I began my formal education in a county council school, where my being American is likely all that saved me from having my bottom caned. When I was eleven my father retired from the Air Force, and we settled in Tampa. I graduated from the University of South Florida (1967) and Harvard Law School (1970). Since then, apart from two years' active Army duty, I have lived in New York City; and have lived in the Borough of Brooklyn since 1983. In 1991 I married Martha Foley, an historian and archivist. We are proud of our daughter, Elizabeth, and our granddaughter, Ada, who also live in Brooklyn.

View my complete profile

Powered by Blogger.