Yes, anti-matter does exist at the New York Times. In fact, the Times conceals within itself an anti-New York Times! Its name is John Tierney, who quite shockingly argues here that you don’t have to do anything those dumb environmentalists tell you to do! OK, it’s not quite that sweeping, but it’s bad enough. Among…
Author: Alan Vanneman
Lester Young—“Jammin’ the Blues”
Filmed back in 1944, this is simply the coolest jazz video ever, starting out with an opening shot of Lester Young’s pork pie hat. (Sorry, but if I had to tell you, you’re not quite as cool as you might be.) Lester Young is the coyest, least satisfying of the great jazz musicians. He broke…
To the guy who gave me the finger at Tyson’s Corners last week
Yeah, it was my fault. I got in the wrong lane and refused to move. So, you were right to honk. Rather than lose ten minutes from my busy schedule I made you lose thirty seconds from your busy schedule. But why did you start honking when the light changed and the cars in the…
American Women: Poor and Oppressed, or Smart and Rich?
It’s tough bein’ a sister, livin’ in the USA. As the New York Times tells it, “Across the country, women in their prime earning years, struggling with an unfriendly economy, are retreating from the work force, either permanently or for long stretches.” In an “above the fold” July 22 story, “Women Are Now Equal as…
Richard Cohen has no penis
It’s official. In his latest column, Richard Cohen, who made his bones at the Wash Post by helping take down Spiro Agnew, treats the fad for tattoos among the young as a sign of the general fuckedupedness of modern America, addresses young women as “sweeties” and makes smart remarks about their “tummies,” bemoans the fact…
At Last! My take on that New Yorker cover
Well, it is the law, you know. I dodged them as long as I could, but when the Thought Police caught up with me and gave me the choice of sixty days in the hole or posting a comment, I buckled, so here it is: The New Yorker’s Obama cover was smart-alecky, pretentious, and condescending,…
Emails on my mind
I kind of miss the good old days of spam—just a little. It was like all America was one big, happy trailer park: Bigger breasts! Bigger penis! Cleaner septic tank! That’s what everyone wants, right? The under-the-counter drug ads were an additional delight: Get your meds from Mexico! Hey, hey! Excellent Zanax! Okay, getting twenty…
Joe Lovano
Tenor sax man Joe Lovano, one of the leaders in “post-Ornette” jazz, is shown here in 1995 with George Mraz on bass and Al Foster on drums. Two years later, Lovano made one of the greatest free jazz albums ever—Trio Fascination*—with Dave Holland on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. *Trio Fascination (edition one) to…
Kathy Griffin’s My Life on the D-List—I can’t stop watching! Oh, wait, yes, I can.
I was always a fan of Kathy Griffin, dating back to the days of the Suddenly Susan TV show. Susan got terrible reviews, but I was a devoted fan, sticking with the show even through the last, stumbling season, or at least the first half. I even watched the show in reruns for awhile, before…
George Russell
Back in the fifties, the heyday of “intellectual jazz,” George Russell was perhaps the most cerebral of them all, not that it netted him much at the box office. But he did get on the tube now and again, on those Sunday afternoon “public service” broadcasts the networks put on to satisfy the FCC and…