Archive for April 2018
Suckered by the rich guy
Suckered by the rich guy by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — For a while in grade school, I was friends with a kid named Fat Vinny. He wasn’t friends with me. Fat Vinny had no friends. He was the most hated kid in school — no. In the whole town. Other kids despised Fat Vinny so…
Read MoreA Trailing spouse
A trailing spouse by David Benjamin “He LIED! LIED! LIED! McCabe was totally controlled by Comey — McCabe is Comey!! No collusion, all made up by this den of thieves and lowlifes!” — Donald Trump, 13 Apr. TAIPEI — Too often, we tend to measure our lives by our irritations. We have, for instance, a White…
Read MoreRules for well-fed romantics
Rules for well-fed romantics by David Benjamin “Paris is a place where, for me, just walking down a street that I’ve never been down before is like going to a movie or something. Just wandering the city is entertainment.” — Wes Anderson PARIS — Lisa, who’s much younger than I and naturally contrarian, leans toward…
Read MoreHail, hail Freedonia
Hail, hail Freedonia! by David Benjamin “The last man nearly ruined this country./ He didn’t know what to do with it./ If you think this country’s bad off now,/ Just wait ’til I get through with it!” — Rufus T. Firefly PARIS — The latest burst of palace intrigue in the Trump White House sent…
Read MoreHow it should be done
How it should be done by David Benjamin “Real life is slow; it takes professionals time to figure out what happened, and how it fits into context. Technology is fast. Smartphones and social networks are giving us facts about the news much faster than we can make sense of them, letting speculation and misinformation fill…
Read MoreAlone and palely loitering, among the deviceniks
Alone and palely loitering, among the deviceniks by David Benjamin “The spread of automation could cause some Asian countries to lose eighty percent of their textile industry jobs. What on earth are they going to do? How will they support their families? What will they do with their time?” — Jim Yong Kim, President, World…
Read MoreGet out of the kitchen
Get out of the kitchen by David Benjamin “Can you see why some of us are whispering? It is the sense of viciousness lying in wait, of violent hate just waiting to be unfurled, that leads people to keep their opinions to themselves, or to share them only with close friends.” — Katie Roiphe PARIS…
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