McAfee

Marion Beck, 1924-2012

2012-02-06T21:27:00.005-05:00

Marion Beck, who was lost to dementia eight years ago, died Thursday. Marion was rambunctious and fun and, as D. said, constantly and magnificently generous even when she had little to be generous with.Dead Friends I Think Of OftenSteve Ingersoll, 1966Steve Kelsey, 1967Margery Pierce, 1967John Trotter, 1967Al Furniss, 1968Brooke Halsey, 1969Frank Frederick, 1970Fred Fox, 1981Bob Lamberton,

Fleðilegt Nýtt Ár

2012-01-10T20:53:00.004-05:00

Iceland is an amazing place to welcome in the New Year. It has more fireworks per capita than any other place on earth. Iceland's volunteer rescue squads fund their operations chiefly through the sale of fireworks, so it's a civic, charitable duty to buy fireworks, and competition is keen among neighbors and neighborhoods for the most flamboyant, combustible, noisy, dangerous displays. Here are a

Audit and Legal: A Special Relationship Since 1914

2011-12-24T09:14:00.004-05:00

At his retirement luncheon on Tuesday, Bob Wetzel claimed that every time he and I had a conversation, he always came away wiser. That's not true, of course, but he did always come away much better informed.Merry Christmas to all.

Her Brother Was a Saint

2011-11-17T21:27:00.005-05:00

We celebrated the installation of Phoebe Roaf as the 22nd Rector of St. Philip's Church this evening. St. Philip's is the South's oldest historically African-American congregation in the Episcopal Church, established at the beginning of the Civil War, and Phoebe is the granddaughter of Bill Layton, who had been one of my particular friends and heroes. I was glad for the chance to catch up with

Common Ground

2011-10-20T11:34:00.003-04:00

The one issue both Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street agree on:

He Didn't Get the Memo

2011-10-17T15:13:00.005-04:00

Or maybe this azalea bloom got the October memo intended for the camelias.Why wait? In your rear-view mirror, his sign reads "MOVE OVER >." They might as well give out the speeding ticket preemptively in advance.

Driven From Ideas

2011-09-17T15:42:00.004-04:00

Michael Tomasky in the current NYRB: Usually a political movement is driven by its ideas. Then it chooses the rhetoric it thinks best advances the ideas. Sometime in the 1990s, this normal process reversed itself on the American right, and rhetoric began driving, and even elbowing out, ideas. Once this wall is breached, compromise on any important issues becomes impossible, and responsible

Venice, 50 Years Later

2011-09-10T22:33:00.006-04:00

August 7, 2011: July 4, 1961: In Venice, Mr. Mack reported, "In the middle of the concert, after our rendition of the Negro Spiritual 'Set Down Servant,' the audience rose and shouted so loud, we thought for a moment we were being booed. We discovered they were shouting 'sing it again, sing it again' in Italian. We had to stop the show and repeat the number."Sue Lewis was to cover Venice, but her

"Ambition Must Be Made to Counteract Ambition."

2011-09-07T21:42:00.004-04:00

Tonight’s televised debate reminded me what a smart little guy James Madison was:A zeal for different opinions concerning religion, concerning Government, and many other points, as well of speculation as of practice; an attachment to different leaders ambitiously contending for preeminence and power; or to persons of other descriptions whose fortunes have been interesting to the human passions,

Joe Coyne, 1928-2011

2011-09-05T22:35:00.002-04:00

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joseph Coyne, who oversaw the public affairs operations at the Federal Reserve for more than three decades, has died. He was 83. Coyne died unexpectedly on Sunday in Scranton, Pa., where he had gone to attend his 65th high school reunion. A former reporter for The Associated Press, Coyne retired from the Fed in 1998 after a career that spanned four Fed chairmen — Arthur Burns,

Richard Taylor, 1944-2011

2011-09-05T22:32:00.002-04:00

Richard M. Taylor, 67, of Highland Springs, died August 21, 2011, with his loved ones at his side, at Retreat Hospital Hospice of Virginia. He was born June 1, 1944 in New York, N.Y. He was the son of the late Robert B. and Helen J. Taylor, and was raised in Old Greenwich, Conn. Richard graduated from Colgate University in 1966 with a BA in Psychology, and earned an M.Ed from Springfield

Поздравляю, Kid!

2011-09-05T13:47:00.002-04:00

Schuyler Parsons, 1943-2011

2011-08-12T08:22:00.002-04:00

Sky Parsons and Tom Tinkham, Ailiñlaplap, 1966 Dead Friends I Think Of Often Steve Ingersoll, 1966 Steve Kelsey, 1967 Margery Pierce, 1967 John Trotter, 1967 Al Furniss, 1968 Brooke Halsey, 1969 Frank Frederick, 1970 Fred Fox, 1981 Bob Lamberton, 1985 Jim Swan, 1986 Jim Markham, 1989 Bill Taylor, 1992 John Simpson, 1993 Alan Kirschner, 1994 Valerie Battle, 1995 Larry Katzenbach, 1997 Jeff Moss,

Connie Hansen, 1919-2011

2011-07-14T12:37:00.008-04:00

The fact you have rec'd this means the Lord has called me home. I'm writing this special letter in advance and leaving it with names of people who are very special to me. Death-bed goodbyes have never appealed to me [but] I want to be sure you realize how much you have meant to me.Leave it to Connie Hansen to have concerned herself with friends in this circumstance and to have taken care of the

Happy Birthday, Pedro.

2011-06-10T20:41:00.005-04:00

I worry more now that my son is outOn his own . . . He's freeTo cross his streets without a father's help—A father's caution, practice reading the signs.And though I must admit he's doing well,Anything could happen, and he's still mineTo fret over. Finally I understandMy own father's silence. Not uncaring,As I once thought, it's the brave wordlessnessOf love and wonder, and no little fear:Two

It's Official.

2011-06-08T22:21:00.004-04:00

The Wall Street Journal made it official: if you've been tempted to feel sorry for Dick Syron, don't bother.

Hip, HipRah, Rah, RahTiger, Tiger, TigerSis, Sis, SisBoom, Boom, BoomBah'66, '66, '66! (Less Bah, Please.)

2011-06-02T21:56:00.007-04:00

My youth isMade fastTo the dockAt MarseillesRotting awayWith a chain to her mastShe that saw slaughtersIn foreign watersShe that was tornWith the winds off the HornShe that was beached in the bleaching environsOf sirensShe that rounded the Cape of Good HopeWith a rope's aidShe's fast thereOff the CannebièreIt's easy to seeShe was frail in the kneeAnd too sharp in the bow You can see now.

Talkin Bout.

2011-05-08T00:01:00.002-04:00

(1) I've got: (a) So much honey the bees envy me; (b) A sweeter song than the birds in the trees; (c) All the riches one man can claim; (d) Sunshine on a cloudy day; and (e) Even the month of May.(2) Happy Birthday, Kiddo,(3) Happy Mother's Day,(4) and thanks.

Dulce Dieciséis.

2011-05-05T22:02:00.002-04:00

The greatest birthday party in history! I couldn't understand a single word they said, but I helped them drink their wine, and it was worth a trip to South Philly.

Happy Birthday, Joggy.

2011-05-03T22:30:00.003-04:00

Sail on!

Emmett Rice, 1919-2011

2011-03-28T14:24:00.004-04:00

Emmett Rice was not the most useful Federal Reserve Board member. From my narrow vantage, he was too often mulish, inflexible, lazy, self-pitying, and behind the curve. An African-American staff member instructed me, “You’ve had more than your fair share of nincompoops on the Board; now it’s our turn.” But Governor Rice was a decent man; he had an extraordinary career and an amazing personal

Preemptively Seizing the High Ground

2011-03-13T22:24:00.005-04:00

"Mother Jones" reporting on Bank of America's preparations for a possible Wikileaks scoop: According to "Domain Name Wire," Bank of America, through an intermediary, has registered hundreds of domain names including its executives' names followed by "sucks" and "blows." For example, for CEO Brian Moynihan, the company registered BrianMoynihanBlows.com, BrianMoynihanSucks.com,

Otherwise the Story Was Quite Believable

2011-02-27T20:50:00.002-05:00

It's a mystery how Hunding could sleep through all that racket.

Majkin Namu 1966-1968

2011-02-19T00:09:00.009-05:00

Not many people will be interested, but a few will be very interested and glad. When Tom Tinkham died, his brother-in-law asked me for photographs of him from our time together on Namu Atoll. It took me awhile, but I've now digitized and posted many pictures of friends and colleagues there fondly remembered. Yokwe, LaTom!

While the Getting's Good

2010-11-18T16:56:00.003-05:00

Alice Rivlin on PBS: We believe that the Congress should adopt a broad range of deficit-reduction measures, and that itself will help us get out of the recovery.

Worth a Try

2010-11-13T19:17:00.005-05:00

Notre Dame Professor R. Scott Appleby, explaining in today's New York "Times" why the Catholic Church in America is getting back into the exorcism business: It's [the church's] strategy for saying "We are not the Federal Reserve..."

You and Me

2010-10-07T11:21:00.005-04:00

Till the wells run dry,Till the mountains crack,Till this good life ends,Till the blazing sun comes tumbling down in the deep blue sea,You and me,We're gonna beThe best of friends.Happy anniversary, kiddo!

Noteworthy Necrology

2010-08-03T20:42:00.003-04:00

From Monday's Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Just Like Self-Discipline

2010-06-21T19:24:00.007-04:00

Eliot Spitzer: "Self-regulation is a farce, is a joke. It just doesn't work."And while we're on the subject, let's not forget the moral runt, shown life-size at right, who set out to redeem his father's name and blew it.

Happy Birthday, Pedro

2010-06-12T00:01:00.002-04:00

and welcome back.

Spoiler Alert

2010-05-21T21:29:00.004-04:00

Answers to ABM's Peace Corps jumbles:ANSWER: Be Mayan (Be Mine)ANSWER: Pair of Sites (Parasites)ANSWER: Clothes of Service (Close of Service)

Tea Party On, Wayne

2010-05-15T15:13:00.007-04:00

David Frum: When you argue stupid, you campaign stupid. When you campaign stupid, you win stupid. When you win stupid, you govern stupid.Mark Lilla in NYRB, after quoting David Frum: For half a century now Americans have been rebelling in the name of individual freedom. Some wanted a more tolerant society with greater private autonomy, and now we have it, which is a good thingthough it also

Outer Banks, 2010

2010-05-13T20:50:00.000-04:00

So give a cheer, cheer, cheer for sunny days,For they are dear when we're near ocean sprays,And when we are leaving,Then we are grieving,Then we're receiving a blow.

G is for the Grandmany Things

2010-05-08T21:16:00.008-04:00

From the archives and never truer: Mrs. McAfee was chosen Mother-of-the-Year because she loves her children, and she makes the best cherry pie in the world. She gives her children the best presents. She reads her sons books. She bought her children a dog. In soccer she can beat anyone. She can drive the ball through the goal in 1 second flat. She is the best dribbler. She can do anything. NOT!

The Attorney General's Song

2010-05-07T12:18:00.004-04:00

By A. Barton HinkleRichmond Times-Dispatch, May 7, 2010I am the very model of a mad Attorney General,My politics are paleoconservative and visceral I'll sue the pants off Democrats and wreck their plans historicalWith writs and briefs that I'll compose, tendentious and rhetorical I'll stop environmentalists from regulating greenhouse gasBy proving carbon dioxide does not have an atomic mass

Happy Birthday, Joggo.

2010-05-04T00:01:00.003-04:00

You've done well; you're doing great. Persevere..

Bienvenido.

2010-04-22T20:52:00.002-04:00

2010-04-10T22:14:00.003-04:00

John Cassidy, How Markets FailThe Logic of Economic Calamities: "In the modern economy with a large financial sector, the combination of cheap money and lax oversight, if maintained for years on end, is sure to lead to trouble. But this was something that Greenspan, trapped in the world of utopian economics, never accepted."

2010-03-03T14:55:00.003-05:00

Tony Judt in this week's NYRB: Undergraduates today can select from a swathe of identity studies: "gender studies," "women's studies," Asian-Pacific-American studies," and dozens of others. The shortcoming of all these para-academic programs is not that they concentrate on a given ethnic or geographical minority; it is that they encourage members of that minority to study themselvesthereby

John Stone Hooley, 1916-2010

2010-01-10T20:44:00.003-05:00

Thirteen years ago, Dr. Hooley said that the only thing he wanted to do before he died was to stand on the plains of Troy. Here he is, and behind him are the plains of Troy. For 30 years I had wanted to visit Istanbul and stand in the nave of the Hagia Sophia. We were both married to women who found these ambitions weird and boring. So in 1997, we threw a copy of the Iliad into a suitcase, and

Where Were the Lawyers?

2010-01-07T15:43:00.005-05:00

Sarah Kellogg in this month’s “Washington Lawyer”: There is a certain nostalgia in the corporate legal community for the “old days,” when the custom was to give objective legal advice based on a long-term relationship with a client that often encompassed that client’s entire line of business. By encouraging a long-term association, the firm got a chance to befriend the client in a way that is not

2009-11-12T15:59:00.004-05:00

Joe Nocera on the News Hour last night: I will say, if Paul Volcker had been running the Fed during this crisis, instead of Alan Greenspan, as we led up to this crisis, people wouldn't be talking about how weak the Fed was.And it isa large part of the problem with the Fed was the guy who was in charge of it, who simply didn't believe in regulation. So, I am of sort of mixed mind as to whether

How Lawyers Lose Their Souls

2009-11-07T21:26:00.003-05:00

Professor Burt Neuborne in NYRB: Once upon a time, lawyers recognized two categories of legal servicespre-event counseling and post-event defense. After a client acted, the duty of a lawyer was to marshal all nonfrivolous arguments that might protect the client. Before a client acted, the lawyer's job was to provide the client with the lawyer's best understanding of what the law required. [That

Belly Dancing, For Example.

2009-10-21T15:57:00.002-04:00

Count the Ways

2009-10-09T00:12:00.001-04:00

Shall I, my love, compare thee toBaba au rhum or summer's day?Handel chorale, or Malibu?Rubens, Ravel, or Mel Tormé?Is there a better metaphorFor how I melt beholding you,Or shall the glow I so adoreOnly be felt enfolding you?Racking my brain for fitting praise!Seeking, in vain, the perfect phrase!Poring through piles of poems and plays!Haunting the aisles at Doubleday's!I might convey the state

Congratulations, Babe

2009-09-22T21:07:00.006-04:00

"Shield of the Norns" by Deirdra McAfee"DEIRDRA McAFEE, whose stories have appeared in Willow Springs, Confrontation, Seattle Review, and Diagram, teaches at a community arts center in Richmond, Virginia. She earned her MFA in fiction at the New School in 2004 and received a Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency in France to work on a novel in 2008. She once had a boss she wanted to

No, Seriously

2009-09-19T20:16:00.006-04:00

Prof. David Cole in NYRB, 8 Oct. 2009: At its best law is about seeking justice, regulating state power, respecting human dignity, and protecting the vulnerable. Law at its worst treats legal doctrine as infinitely manipulable, capable of being twisted cynically in whatever direction serves the client's desires.

Поздравляю, Kid!

2009-09-05T10:28:00.003-04:00

"For goodness' sake. Why is this fuss necessary?" Whoops! Looks like I picked up C's notes instead of mine.

Carrots, Sticks, and Stones

2009-08-22T21:52:00.008-04:00

Sound bites from "The Atlantic" about Henry Paulson's dealings with Ken Lewis: it also sounds an awful lot like what happens in a banana republic or in Putin's Russia, when captains of industry did favors for the government in exchange for economic subsidies. There's no question there was coercion and bribery here. [Public indifference] raises the possibility that Treasury and the Fed will

A Rising Star

2009-08-10T00:48:00.002-04:00

CDGG reports that his four-year-old brother asked their mother, perhaps after Sunday school, if Michael Jackson died for us.

Mary Turner Willis Lane, 1918-2009

2009-07-26T22:01:00.004-04:00

“Through a career of championing the cause of women's rights at Chapel Hill, Mary Turner Lane broke down many barriers for women. She was a visionary in establishing criteria for female faculty members to attain tenure and promotions. Founding the Committee on the Status of Women as well as the Association for Women Faculty and Professionals were among her many contributions. She also launched

Fathers' Day

2009-06-21T08:13:00.000-04:00

Fathers' Day: the pleasure has been all mine.

Happy Birthday, Pedro!

2009-06-12T10:08:00.011-04:00

You amaze me,amuse me,and make me proud.

Double Feature

2009-06-04T13:25:00.002-04:00

Casual Friday: Another Fed Bailout

2009-05-12T14:18:00.002-04:00

Because SGG and PALN put their little feet down and didn't let me play the brat, I got over 100 postcards, emails, and letters, four parties, two impudent videos, an amazing song, a poem, eight lovely, extravagant speeches, a couple dozen visits, and almost that many hugs. Plus some weird loot—an AIG key fob, a “Remote-Controlled Fart Machine with Boom Box Technology15 Louder SoundsWorks Up To

M is for the Many Things

2009-05-10T11:10:00.005-04:00

Let is rain and thunder!Let a million firms go under!I am not concerned withStocks and bonds that I've been burned with.I love you and you love me,And that's how it will always be.And nothing else can ever mean a thing.Who cares what banks fail in Yonkers,Long as you've got a kiss that conquers?Who cares what the public chatters?Love's the only thing that matters.Life is one long jubilee,So long

One Reason Not to Let Children Have Camera-'Phones

2009-05-02T13:46:00.003-04:00

And two reasons not to let their fathers have balloons.

Tom Tinkham, 1944-2009

2009-04-17T18:27:00.008-04:00

Tom died April 9 of a pulmonary embolism following outpatient hernia repair surgery the day before. Tom and I were among the first 25 Peace Corps volunteers in the Marshall Islands, and, stationed 10 miles away on Namu, Namu, he was the closest volunteer to me both geographically and emotionally. Tom used to say that to get an accurate sense of the difficulty of travel in the Marshalls, you had

Maybe I Won't Tell You About My Super-Glue Accident

2009-03-08T16:47:00.002-04:00

J: I need some nail-polish remover. Do you have any?D: What's the matter? Red not your color?

Highway Code of India

2009-02-15T20:13:00.004-05:00

Article I: The assumption of immortality is required of all road users.Article II: Indian traffic is structured on a strict caste system. The following precedence must be accorded at all times: in descending order, give way to cows, elephants, camels, buffalo, pigs, goats, dogs, heavy trucks, buses, official cars, pedal rickshaws, private cars, motorcycles, scooters, auto-rickshaws, handcarts,

India, 2009

2009-02-08T09:59:00.012-05:00

There is magic in the atlas; how the names allure my eyes!Ah, to be in Hiddi Birra, where the Jam-jam Mountains rise!Or Kasongo on the Kongo, where Kibombo gleams afar!Or in Kilwa Kisiwami, looking north to Zanzibar!Oh, this life is dull and dreary; I would journey far awayTo Jalalabad and Lhasa, to Kabul and Mandalay!Ah, the Runn of Cutch! Rajpipla! and that dim and ancient landWhere the

But Once a Year

2008-12-29T13:15:00.012-05:00

I Saw Mommy Shooting Santa ClausWhen the landlord wants the rentOf your humble tenement;When the Christmas bills beginDaily, hourly pouring in;When you pay your gas and poor rate,Tip the rector, fee the curate,Let this thought your spirit cheer--Christmas comes but once a year.When you roam from shop to shop,Seeking, till you nearly drop,Christmas cards and small donationsFor the maw of your

Margaret Elizabeth Jones, 1917-2008

2008-12-08T19:06:00.009-05:00

Libby Jones's Christmas card arrived in the mail Thursday. She died Friday in Birmingham. Libby started work in the Records Section at the Federal Reserve Board before World War II, two years before I was born. Restricted opportunities for women let the Board hire Phi Beta Kappas as file clerks then and, boy, were those old records in good shape. Libby worked for the Board 56 years, losing hours

Operation Plum

2008-11-28T22:45:00.003-05:00

McAfee in his diary lamented his unit's fate, "If the 27th Bomb Group is sacrificed over here for nothing, I'm going to shoot a dozen of those low isolationist congressmen who wouldn't spend any money on an air force." He wrote this two days before being assigned to Bataan Field. At least now, he thought, he might be able to get checked out in a P-40 at Bataan Field and get some flying time

Irrational Discouragement

2008-11-02T15:52:00.007-05:00

James K. Galbraith: There are thousands of economists. Most of them teach. And most of them teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. Greenspan blotted his copybook disastrously with his support of deregulated finance. This is a follower of Ayn Rand, an old Objectivist. His belief was that you can't really regulate and discipline the market and you shouldn't

Postcard from Guatemala

2008-10-21T20:51:00.010-04:00

"Think my English is starting to bad."Click here for the videoDavid Brooks on social contagion: It's one of the things economists rarely do: think of us as human beings in a web of relationships. They think of us as individualistic risk calculators.

Celebrating the Blessing of Growing Up in an Interesting Home

2008-10-11T17:52:00.006-04:00

The Beat Goes On

2008-10-09T18:36:00.000-04:00

Night and Day you are the one,Only you beneath the moon and under the sun,Whether near to me or farIt's no matter, darling, where you are,I think of you, night and day.Happy Anniversary, Kiddo.

Happy Birthday, Babe!

2008-09-05T00:01:00.000-04:00

By the lightOf the silver baboon,We used to spoon,To my honey I'd croonLove's tune.Honeymoon,Keep a-shining in June.Your silv'ry beamsWill bring love's dreams,We'll be cuddling soon,By the silver baboon.

July 4: Independence Overdose

2008-07-12T20:07:00.004-04:00

Mittel Europa, June 2008

2008-06-24T20:23:00.014-04:00

Along the Danube valley, D ordered food she was in the mood for or thought would be delicious, but I gravitated to the menu items with the most arresting English translations. There were plenty to choose from, for example:Devil's toastRobber's bagFireman's favoriteFavorite of King MathiasHell boy specialCaloric bombBig schnitzelCooked potatoFried mouldy cheeseGreasy bread with onionPithy

Mittel Europa II

2008-06-24T20:20:00.006-04:00

Fathers' Day

2008-06-15T15:02:00.004-04:00

Click here for the Online Serpent's Tooth

'Tis a Gift To Be Simple

2008-05-26T11:16:00.007-04:00

Globalization Begins at HomeDeirdra McAfee, écrivain, Richmond, Virginie. Les contes de McAfee, ont été publiées dans des revues litteraires et à l’internet, ont gagné le Prix H.E. Francis, le prix de fiction du Seattle Review, et le deuxième prix parmi les Prix Littéraires Hackney de cette année. Elle est en train d’écrire un roman qui s’est situé en Océanie.

M is for the Many Things

2008-05-10T16:31:00.009-04:00

Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, glory in the flower. We will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind. Happy birthday, too, Babe.

At Last A Platform I Can Understand

2008-05-04T16:24:00.002-04:00

"I'm not going to put my lot in with economists," the New York senator said when asked to name a credible economist who supported her proposal.

¡Hola! Yourself

2008-04-13T21:19:00.009-04:00

News from ABM at www.oneam.net/redshift/:Missing ABM:P. J. O'Rourke: Economics is an entire scientific discipline of not knowing what you're talking about.Ben Stein: Capital markets crises on this scale are not natural phenomena like hurricanes or earthquakes. They happen because the false god of deregulation allows unscrupulous people to loot the system.Allen Sinai: The free market is not

A Prize By Any Other Name Would Smell Sweeter

2008-03-16T17:39:00.009-04:00

A serious writer might feel embarrased to win the Hackney Award and actually prefer the silver instead.

Secrets of the Temple

2008-03-07T20:27:00.003-05:00

Jon Stewart: Isn't the Federal Reservethey make one decision every few months, then just spend that time pretending like they know what they're doing? But it's really just, "We'll raise it a quarter We'll lower it a half Awright! Let's go get a beer."

Reincarnation

2008-02-23T17:25:00.020-05:00

What a great car the 1970 Plymouth Barracuda was, the first car I bought with my own money, fire-engine red with a black vinyl top. The trunk could hold a large briefcase. The back seat could seat two leprechauns comfortably. Wherever your hand was on the steering wheel, you just squeezed to blow the horn. When I gave R driving lessons, you could hear him coming for blocks: the car had no power

What Happens in the Kitchen Should Stay in the Kitchen

2008-02-09T08:48:00.000-05:00

D and her siblings helped their parents move into a new retirement home last week. There was cheesecake for dessert with a fruit sauce, the name of which the waitress did not know until a crabby old man said, "Don't put any of that jizzum on my cheesecake." When she got to D's parents' table, the waitress politely asked if any of them would like some jizzum on their cheesecake.The Email of the

Books Saved For Their Inscriptions

2008-01-23T22:03:00.000-05:00

Herndon's Life of Lincoln: "To Randolph Preston, a present from himself to himself as a man of (self)esteem and goodwill, Kansas City, July 6, '45. Finder please return to Fed. Trade Commission, Washington, and get reward."5,000 Quotations For All Occasions: "A Present from R Preston Sr to himself as an evidence of esteem, Washington, Feb. 7, '48, the day I spilt hot butter and set myself on fire

Buena Suerte, Flaco!

2008-01-07T23:34:00.002-05:00

The Peace Corps evidently is attracting a better class of volunteer than it did 40 years ago!

Bah, humbug!

2007-12-15T17:35:00.001-05:00

To see 45 years of Christmas cards, click >>here.<

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-26T21:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Anniversary and Happy New Kitchen

2007-11-14T22:14:00.000-05:00

You're a man’s ideal of a perfect mealRight down to the demitasse.You're a pot of joy for a hungry boy,Baby, you're cooking with gas.

Relish in the Faery Power of Unreflecting Love

2007-10-31T20:31:00.000-04:00

I'm glad they're making their way in the wide world, but I miss them every Hallowe'en.

Women Know

2007-10-25T22:20:00.000-04:00

D's email to the kids about Cokie Roberts's lecture at the Historical Society: Cokie was brilliant, witty, and charming. Your father is in even deeper than he is with Renée Fleming, I fear.

Audit and Legal: A Special Relationship Since 1914

2007-10-20T21:44:00.000-04:00

Greenwich 35, Westhill 13

2007-10-14T23:23:00.000-04:00

A spectacular weekend! Once again Bob McMillan and his committee were brilliant organizers. As I said to a young upstart in an earlier post, if you weren't alive and young when "Duke of Earl" was new, you missed the wave. Greenwich slaughtered Stamford's Vikings only because of the loud, spirited, encouraging exertions of Tom Gorin's Geezer Redcoat Marching Band. I was stricken with

Back in Blue

2007-10-06T20:51:00.000-04:00

Anyt'ing prettier, me be spoiled.Buchanan's Boyhood HomeIn 1796, James Buchanan, Sr., erected this large and handsome brick house. Here the future president, James Buchanan, spent his boyhood. The Buchanan family had living quarters on the second floor while operating a small store. The home was then purchased by James O. Carson and later, after McAfee's Hotel a block north burned, purchased by

Stony Batter

2007-09-15T20:51:00.000-04:00

John is Mercersburg’s director of technical theatre. Before coming to Mercersburg, he was a >>Stony Batter?<<

Happy Birthday, Babe!

2007-09-05T19:59:00.000-04:00

I've Been Glad About That For 30 Years.

2007-08-10T21:30:00.000-04:00

Greeting heard on the elevator this morning: I'll bet you're glad you're not an economist today.

For Your Information, the Edsels Put the Ram in the Rama Lama Ding Dong

2007-08-03T20:58:00.000-04:00

Go ahead, make fun of "Wooly Bully" all you want. But if you weren't alive and young when "Duke of Earl" was new, I feel sorry for you, kid. You missed the wave.K accused me today of pushing people's buttons at work just for sport. It's a dirty lie; I always have excellent reasons for pushing their buttons. Nevertheless, if you want to pay me back, be my guest:Why do the movie reviews call "You

Williamsburg→Mercersburg, July 2007

2007-07-16T20:56:00.000-04:00

If you want the move to go smoothly, train the movers young.JRP's new residence (The Lindens) and workplace (The Burgin Center for the Arts):

İstanbul, July 2007

2007-07-13T13:37:00.000-04:00

Turkey: It's not just for Thanksgiving any more.View from our hotel room balcony.Click here to learn more about Çimen Filiz Paşa, the greatest tourist guide in Turkey. And here for the story about Sultan Mahmud, who I had thought was Ottoman but I found out Tuesday was really Persian, and the eggplant.

A New Hostage Crisis

2007-07-02T22:26:00.001-04:00

S and RS would have us believe that they were married 30 years ago in Teheran. The U.S. State Department, perhaps having lost or mislaid its records in the confusion of the Islamic Revolution and Hostage Crisis, can’t vouch for this or just won’t. The federal hesitancy gives the Commonwealth of Virginia pause. If the Commonwealth thought S and R were married, they would let them reaffirm that

Government Auditors at Play

2007-06-08T21:31:00.000-04:00

If it's too small to read, double-click on the image to enlarge it. If it's too hard to believe, click >>here<< and scroll down four pages to page ii for official proof.

Dangerous Playthings

2007-06-02T19:41:00.000-04:00

he regarded himself as an accomplished writera clear sign of madness in anyone.Paul Theroux, “New Yorker,” May 28, 2007General equilibrium theory, or GE as it is known in the profession, has an almost irresistible attraction for economists. As Kornai writesThe theory is strictly logical and I might say beautiful in its conciseness and crystal clarity. It captivates all who come to know it

McAfee

Marion Beck, 1924-2012

Fleðilegt Nýtt Ár

Audit and Legal: A Special Relationship Since 1914

Her Brother Was a Saint

Common Ground

He Didn't Get the Memo

Driven From Ideas

Venice, 50 Years Later

"Ambition Must Be Made to Counteract Ambition."

Joe Coyne, 1928-2011

Richard Taylor, 1944-2011

Поздравляю, Kid!

Schuyler Parsons, 1943-2011

Connie Hansen, 1919-2011

Happy Birthday, Pedro.

It's Official.

Hip, HipRah, Rah, RahTiger, Tiger, TigerSis, Sis, SisBoom, Boom, BoomBah'66, '66, '66! (Less Bah, Please.)

Talkin Bout.

Dulce Dieciséis.

Happy Birthday, Joggy.

Emmett Rice, 1919-2011

Preemptively Seizing the High Ground

Otherwise the Story Was Quite Believable

Majkin Namu 1966-1968

While the Getting's Good

Worth a Try

You and Me

Noteworthy Necrology

Just Like Self-Discipline

Happy Birthday, Pedro

Spoiler Alert

Tea Party On, Wayne

Outer Banks, 2010

G is for the Grandmany Things

The Attorney General's Song

Happy Birthday, Joggo.

Bienvenido.

John Stone Hooley, 1916-2010

Where Were the Lawyers?

How Lawyers Lose Their Souls

Belly Dancing, For Example.

Count the Ways

Congratulations, Babe

No, Seriously

Поздравляю, Kid!

Carrots, Sticks, and Stones

A Rising Star

Mary Turner Willis Lane, 1918-2009

Fathers' Day

Happy Birthday, Pedro!

Double Feature

Casual Friday: Another Fed Bailout

M is for the Many Things

One Reason Not to Let Children Have Camera-'Phones

Tom Tinkham, 1944-2009

Maybe I Won't Tell You About My Super-Glue Accident

Highway Code of India

India, 2009

But Once a Year

Margaret Elizabeth Jones, 1917-2008

Operation Plum

Irrational Discouragement

Postcard from Guatemala

Celebrating the Blessing of Growing Up in an Interesting Home

The Beat Goes On

Happy Birthday, Babe!

July 4: Independence Overdose

Mittel Europa, June 2008

Mittel Europa II

Fathers' Day

'Tis a Gift To Be Simple

M is for the Many Things

At Last A Platform I Can Understand

¡Hola! Yourself

A Prize By Any Other Name Would Smell Sweeter

Secrets of the Temple

Reincarnation

What Happens in the Kitchen Should Stay in the Kitchen

Books Saved For Their Inscriptions

Hip, HipRah, Rah, RahTiger, Tiger, TigerSis, Sis, SisBoom, Boom, BoomBah'66, '66, '66! (Less Bah, Please.)