Archive for 2015
Good fences?
FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#730) “Good fences?” by David Benjamin “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall…” — Robert Frost MADISON, Wis. — The only fence I ever loved was here in Madison, erected around an immense construction site for what became the Elvehjem Art Center. Known modestly as the University…
Read MoreSour grapes
TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#728) Sour grapes by David Benjamin “Never hurts to give us a crack at something… but we’re not going to publish a book narrated by a dog who ‘discourses on human/dog relations and canine theology while debating dog ethics with a poodle named Cupcake.’ That’s just not us…”…
Read MoreWhen Oliver Stone mishandled Michael Caine
TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#727) When Oliver Stone mishandled Michael Caine by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — In my newspaper days as editor of a Massachusetts weekly, the Mansfield News, I probably had too much fun. There was, for example, a summer day in 1981 when I needed to fill space in…
Read MoreThe prebuttal imperative of the “liberal media”
TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#726) The prebuttal imperative of the “liberal media” by David Benjamin PARIS — I thought I’d coined the word “prebuttal” until today when, in the New York Times, I found Paul Vallely using it in an op-ed piece about Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical, Laudato Sii. Vallely was citing…
Read MoreKnow thy caliber, know thyself
MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#725) Know thy caliber, know thyself by David Benjamin PARIS — In the wake of the vicious killings at the Emanuel AME Church, Americans can take some solace in the embrace of psychology — by the National Rifle Association and the Caucasian Caucus of the Republican Party —…
Read MoreBistro nights
MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#724) Bistro nights by David Benjamin PARIS — A while ago, I sent a New York editor to one of my favorite Paris bistros, a rustic meat-and-blettes eatery called Chez René. I warned her that the head waiter, Michel, would be scary. Sure enough, Michel intimidated Katie and…
Read MoreThe ancient tarts of rue St. Denis and the Marcel Proust of tennis elbow
MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#722) The ancient tarts of rue St. Denis and the Marcel Proust of tennis elbow by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — One of my favorite Paris expeditions starts in the heart of the city and heads due north on rue St. Denis. This venerable street isn’t one of…
Read MoreThis dog has had its day
FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#721) This dog has had its day by David Benjamin “Are you really willing to give up your liberty for security?” — Sen. Rand Paul MADISON, Wis. — Rand Paul and the anti-government anarchists who live in cinder-block bunkers with a ten-year stash of flashlight batteries and Cheez…
Read MoreDa Pats
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#720) Da Pats by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — It’s one of the ugliest scenes in the history of professional football. On 12 August 1978, in a desultory pre-season National Football League game between the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots, Pats quarterback Steve Grogan threw an off-target…
Read MoreLook, Ma! No hands!
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#719) Look, Ma! No hands! by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — They’re bandying phrases now like “autonomous car” and “hands-free motoring.” What this means is that if you’re one of those dreamers who’ve always yearned to eat a big plateful of buttermilk pancakes, or crochet a granny-square afghan…
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