First Looks category archive

Snopes offers some suggestions for avoiding the hazards on the toxic throughway.

Off to drink liberally.

Now this is too much to bear . . . .

If you have not done so, I highly recommend that you read Lena Horne’s autobiography.

Give me a break.

My local rag tells the story of how the German tradition of the lighted Christmas tree came to Virginia.

Our next number is dedicated to all the boys and girls who think that “happy holidays” is blasphemy.

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, by Howard Pyle.

I had a print copy of this book when I was a young ‘un, and it was one of my favorites. I must have read it four or five times.

Full disclosure: Howard Pyle was a Victorian author and illustrator who wrote this for younger readers, so Maid Mariam does not appear in this version of the Robin Hood tales, but it’s still a fun listen for younger readers of all ages.

Off to drink liberally.

King Arthur and His Knights, by Maude L. Radford Warren.

Le Morte d’Arthur it’s not, but it’s a fun listen.

(Note to self: Download the Le Morte d’Arthur *.epub from Project Gutenberg and read it with FBReader.)

The recent mass shoplifting sprees have received lots of press because the seem unprecedented. Leonard Pitts, Jr., suggests that they are symptoms of a larger fraying of the concept of the common good. Furthermore, he suggests that they are, indeed, precedented.

Here’s a bit of his piece; follow the link for the rest.

. . . we’ve seen police and other authority figures exempt themselves from mask and vaccine mandates – and dare mayors and governors to do anything about it. We’ve seen former public officials thumb their noses at congressional subpoenas. We’ve seen a seditionist mob breach the U.S. Capitol and be lionized for it by certain members of Congress and the media. And we’ve seen a president who delighted in shattering norms, refusing to provide his tax returns, flouting the emoluments clause of the Constitution, openly politicking on government property … the list goes on. And on.

The New Jersey Star-Ledger’s Paul Mulshine had enough of “Black Friday” (the phrase, that is) and wants it to just go away.

Fraudulent frolics.