Kit Stolz

I’ll Put That Down as a “Yes,” Mr. Cheney

From an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by his adoring biographer Stephen Hayes: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole?" Mr. Cheney said in 2004. "It’s a nice way to operate, actually."

Sunday Morning on the Planet: Buster Keaton

One of the most original and lovable of all Americans, sez me, is the great star of vaudeville and movies, Buster Keaton, a master of paradox. When I was a student in New York City years ago, the 8th Avenue Cinema downtown near the Village used to run Buster Keaton movies every Sunday. With aContinue reading “Sunday Morning on the Planet: Buster Keaton”

Good-Looking Rook — and Presidential Candidate

Okay, it’s Saturday, time for something completely different. Here’s a stand-out video report from Jodi Kantor at the New York Times on the character of Barack Obama, as revealed on the basketball court. To get the scoop, Kantor talked to a former college player named Craig Robinson, currently coach of the basketball club at BrownContinue reading “Good-Looking Rook — and Presidential Candidate”

The Good News About the Day Fire

As the Zaca Fire continues to burn in the back country between Santa Barbara and Ojai, it brings up memories of last year’s epochal Day Fire, which burned for weeks, threatening our region repeatedly, costing tens of millions of dollars, and changing the landscape in hundreds of thousands of acres in the Los Padres NationalContinue reading “The Good News About the Day Fire”

Flap Over 150th of a Degree Does Not Disprove Global Warming: WSJ

According to "The Numbers Guy" at the Wall Street Journal, the flap over a tiny error in the calculation of the warmest year by NASA is much ado about nothing. Even Steve McIntyre, the former mining official behind ClimateAudit who first came across the correction, admits this slight recalculation on NASA’s part in no wayContinue reading “Flap Over 150th of a Degree Does Not Disprove Global Warming: WSJ”

To Reduce Global Warming, We Need Another Katrina

A week ago in a column in the Philadelphia Daily News, Stu Bykovsky made a provocative point, arguing that "to save America, we need another 9/11." To put it in a nutshell, he said that because the Bush administration botched the Iraq War, the United States has lost "its righteous rage and singular purpose toContinue reading “To Reduce Global Warming, We Need Another Katrina”

The Gettysburg Address of Pop Music

That’s the best description of John Lennon’s classic "Imagine," I’ve ever heard, from a musician friend here in Ojai. We all know the song, but his best version is not the familiar piano rendition, sez me, but a live version Lennon sang with guitar at a benefit at the Apollo Theater in l971. In theContinue reading “The Gettysburg Address of Pop Music”

The Environmental Wit of Alfred Hitchcock

Born on this day in 1899, Alfred Hitchcock was a man who despite his great sophistication, never forgot the essential meaning of meat. Happy birthday, Hitch. (HT: Slate)

“Bush’s Brain” Resigns — But Was Rove Really All That Smart?

The Prez liked to call him "boy genius," but among the chattering class in D.C., Karl Rove’s reputation as a political genius is in sharp decline, and some wonder if Rove is getting out while the getting is good. Joshua Green, an original and talented writer who last year found the liberal side to RonaldContinue reading ““Bush’s Brain” Resigns — But Was Rove Really All That Smart?”

Things Can’t Go On Like This, Yet They Must

This quarter in Granta, a literary magazine which unfortunately makes little of its content available on-line, is a tremendous memoir chapter by Jeremy Seabrook. It’s about his Aunt Em, a kind and vivacious woman whose ability to make friends and have fun was quashed by his cold mother. This might sound like a small matter–oneContinue reading “Things Can’t Go On Like This, Yet They Must”