Monthly Archives: December 2001

The day before the end of the Gregorian year

Written on December 30, 2001 at 2:40 pm, by

Things are done differently in different parts of the world. Here in the U.S., there is discussion of trying John Walker for treason and executing him. In Sweden earlier this […]  More

Getting away

Written on December 26, 2001 at 2:39 pm, by

The second time I went downhill skiing was in New York City. I make no claim as to the glories of our slopes, but one could rent boots, skis, and […]  More

Funerals are not for the dead

Written on December 21, 2001 at 2:38 pm, by

Perhaps the most intense moment of the 1995 movie “Sense and Sensibility” comes towards the end. Colonel Brandon (played by Alan Rickman), the movie’s kindest character, has just rescued a […]  More

Unintended consequences

Written on December 18, 2001 at 2:37 pm, by

Cleveland Browns football team president Carmen Policy made a good case for apathy on Sunday. That’s my take on his statement anyway. After an unpopular decision by officials at a […]  More

Dorothy didn't cheer

Written on December 15, 2001 at 2:36 pm, by

Back when it was still in East Germany, we found ourselves in the Leipzig railway terminal (at the time Europe’s largest) at an end-of-workday rush hour. As New Yorkers, we […]  More

The most important person on earth

Written on December 11, 2001 at 2:35 pm, by

There has been an ongoing story in the local news. It has nothing to do with September 11, anthrax, non-citizen rights, Islam, the Middle East, firefighters, Afghanistan, or our mayor. […]  More

Vexillology

Written on December 7, 2001 at 2:34 pm, by

Today, on the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, American survivors of that attack literally embraced some of the Japanese pilots who tried to kill them. Adjectives of […]  More

The search for intelligent life in the universe

Written on December 6, 2001 at 2:33 pm, by

“The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe” is a theatrical wonder. Not only is it a great play (written by Jane Wagner), but it allows Lily Tomlin — alone […]  More

Fickle fate

Written on December 4, 2001 at 2:32 pm, by

According to next week’s New Yorker cover (by Maira Kalman and Rick Meyerowitz), the place where I rode my bike today is Central Parkistan. It’s south of Notsobad, northwest of […]  More

I have hope

Written on December 1, 2001 at 2:31 pm, by

A colleague of mine often says, “I make television; I don’t watch it.” I’m not so absolute. I don’t get to watch MUCH television, but I do watch some. I […]  More

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