So, a Portland, OR masseuse claims that in 2006, Vice-President Al Gore, groped and man-handled her in a hotel room. Yeah, whatever; fine and dandy.  The most interesting aspect, to me and apparently also to Alexandra Petri of The Washington Post, is the almost-literary quality of this case–if your literature runs toward cheap and tawdry… Continue reading “Big Lummox”: Language in the Al Gore Crazed Sex Poodle Case

Holy cow. Previously, I have written about the Almighty Helvetica and how it was used to convey a sense of faux humility in advertisements in the 1960s. In fact, I plant the faux humility flag at about 1966. Turns out I’m not the only joker with this idea.  Gary Hustwit has directed a documentary film… Continue reading Somebody Made a Movie About the Almighty Helvetica–Really

Holy shit, Sally Quinn! I’m reading this profile in Vanity Fair of the ever-sweet -and-easygoing Georgetown (DC) powermeister, Sally Quinn, when this pops up: “After the firestorm, she entered the concrete meditation labyrinth her husband had built for her on their country estate in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, to think.” Wha’?  Concrete meditation labyrinth?

In March 2010, while listening to PBS, I heard an obituary of radio writer and producer Norman Corwin.  For years, Corwin has been one of my favorites, chiefly because of (or only) his wonderful On a Note of Triumph. On a Note of Triumph, difficult to describe, better yet heard–but I suppose I can sketch… Continue reading In My Mind, I Will Make Them Dead Already To Soften The Inevitable