Tag Archives: “The Atlantic”

Seeing a Total Eclipse

15 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by in Articles of Interest, Escapes and Pleasures

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(Credit Reuters)

I suspect many of you have seen a partial eclipse (of the sun). But most of you probably haven’t seen a full eclipse. I haven’t.

And I hadn’t planned to stay in Kansas City where I am as I write this (‘helping’ my daughter and son-in-law celebrate the birth of their second child). Specifically, my wife and I had planned to return to home to DC on Sunday, having been here a full two weeks by then.

As it turns out, Sunday is the day before the August 21 full eclipse, and the view from the Kansas City area, which, according to NASA, is in “the path of totality.” Still, my own parents had always warned me about over staying one’s welcome.

Then I read Annie Dilliard’s Classic Essay: Total Eclipse, which has just been reprinted in The Atlantic. It was first published in 1986, and she quite convincingly writes that there is no comparison between a partial and a full eclipse. Beyond that, her essay is eyeopening and beautifully written.

I urge you to read it also, while I am in the process of changing my reservations back to DC, where the viewing is decent, but nothing close to what will be possible from here.

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“My President Was Black,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates

13 Tuesday Dec 2016

Posted by in Articles of Interest, The Outer Loop

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Ta-Nehisi Coates, writer for The Atlantic, author of Between the World and Me and The Beautiful Struggle, and someone who always seems to have something of value to teach, just wrote a lengthy (17,000 words) article in the upcoming Atlantic.

Entitled My President Was Black: A History Of The First African-American White House And Of What Came Next, it is, for me, the best article I’ve read about the Obama presidency and the 2016 election results. While it will certainly take years to fairly evaluate President Obama’s legacy and untangle the meaning of the 2016 election, Coates certainly opens the discussion.

Coming just after I finished Michelle Alexander’s superb 2010 book The New Jim Crow, which has opened my eyes in a way nothing else has in the last few years (more on this in a later post), Coates’ thoughts and views on the meaning of Obama’s presidency continue to instruct.

See what you think: My President Was Black.

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Post Election Reading

22 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by in Articles of Interest, The Outer Loop

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In previous posts, I indicated it was time to “listen” to what the election was telling us. Mostly, I have stopped spending so much time on social media (particularly Twitter and Facebook) and also have largely been staying away from some of the more mainstream media which was so inaccurate leading up to election.

I am posting below links to a number of articles of varying lengths and on various topics that have caught my attention and interest.

The End of Identity Liberalism, by Mark Lillanov, NYTimes, Nov. 18, 2016.  A short article that speaks to one area the Democrats need to consider. Bernie Sanders said something similar to this yesterday.

How Democrats Killed Their Populist Soul, Matt Stoller, The Atlantic, Oct. 24, 2016. A lengthy article that I think Democrats need to read and discuss as they/we consider how to rebuild a party that has lost what it once stood for. (Stoller once worked with Ellen at the Sunlight Foundation, and I invariably find his thinking and writing thoughtful and valuable.)

Behind the “Make America Great” the Koch Agenda Returns with a Vengence, By Theda Skocpol, Alexander Hertel-Fernandez and Caroline Tervo, Talking Points Memo, Nov. 21, 2016. Not as lengthy as the article above but useful in understanding that money did influence this election and that what is ahead is worrisome for those who have concerns about the Koch agendas.

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis, by J.D. Vance, 272 pages, Harper, June 28, 2016. This memoir has received a lot of attention as Vance writes from the “inside” about a part of our country that only now is getting significant attention. Vance grew up in the Middletown OH (the Rust Belt) and in Johnston, KY (an Appalachian town) and writes with intimate knowledge of one portion of America that has deservedly gained much attention in this election. Both Ellen and I found the book valuable.

J.D. Vance, the False Prophet of Blue America, by Sarah Jones, New Republic, Nov. 17, 2016.  A very short article calling into question some of the conclusions Vance draws in the book mentioned above.

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A Novel and A Memoir: Each Tells a Story Worth Discussing

21 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by in Escapes and Pleasures

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Here are two books that consumed me in the past week. I read them back to back and think there is good reason to read them together. They are very different in major ways, one being a novel that takes place in the 1950s and the other being nonfiction, a letter to the writer’s son, written this year. Both are short and both deal with issues of family, race, and society in our country.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, 288 pages

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Our Increased Life Expectancy: Two Views

20 Saturday Sep 2014

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The October 2014 issue of The Atlantic has two articles that focus on the issues raised by our increased life expectancy. Though they seem to come to different conclusions, each author and article gives the reader much to consider:

Gregg Easterbrook: What Happens When We All Live to 100:  If life-expectancy trends continue, that future may be near, transforming society in surprising and far-reaching ways.

Esekiel J. Emanuel: Why I Hope to Die at 75: An argument that society and families—and you—will be better off if nature takes its course swiftly and promptly.

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Sluggers’ Slump: What’s Going on Here?

18 Thursday Sep 2014

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(Jacob deGrom Ties MLB Record, Strikes Out 8 Straight. Pix-USA Today)

Have you noticed how it seems hitting has been trumped by pitching in baseball, not only this year but for a number of years now?

With Red Sox in last place, 26 games behind the AL East winner Orioles, I have had a good deal of time to think about more than just my beloved team and their miseries. While I have enjoyed the Nats’ good season, it’s not the same as rooting for Boston.

Looking at some box scores a few weeks ago, I was struck by what seemed to me to be low batting averages, even of the best players for the best teams in baseball. In fact, when I looked at the six leading teams in all the MLB Divisions, only two clubs had anyone hitting over .300 (one of those two teams just had one player hitting .301, and he is now below .300).

I began looking at other statistics, going back as far as 2000. Here are just some of the things I found when I looked at every year from 2000-2014 (being retired and having a losing baseball team allows for spending time on such matters):

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