Archive for April 2025
Behind closed doors at the Conclave
by David Benjamin THE VATICAN, 29 April—The first day of the conclave of cardinals to choose a successor to Pope Francis has ended in traditional disarray. Afterward, two furtive figures, recognizable as a Monsignor O’Malley and Cardinal Bellini, an American prelate who bears an eerie resemblance to Stanley Tucci, enter the Chapel men’s room. Msgr.…
Read MoreThe power and peril of preconception
by David Benjamin “That the Jester should be brother to the Sage may sound like blasphemy, yet our language reflects the close relationship : the word ‘witticism’ is derived from ‘wit’ in its original sense of ingenuity, inventiveness. Jester and savant must both ‘live on their wits’…” ―Arthur Koestler, The Act of Creation MADISON, Wis.—Every……
Read MoreField of miscreants
by David Benjamin “Growing up is a ritual, more deadly than religion, more complicated than baseball, for there seem to be no rules. Everything is experienced for the first time.” ― W.P. Kinsella, Shoeless Joe MADISON, Wis.—In the Wisconsin town where I lived ’til I was thirteen, there were two “official” baseball fields, complete with…
Read MoreThe deep end of the no-talent pool
by David Benjamin “[Peter] Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks.” — Elon Musk MADISON, Wis.—My friend Smedley has survived for decades as a Washington D.C. “insider.” The secret of his success is a chameleonlike knack for adjusting to the ebb and flow of the ideological tides in American politics. He keenly predicted, during…
Read MoreThe pitfall of expert advice
by David Benjamin “The real trouble with the writing game is that no general rule can be worked out for uniform guidance.” ― Erle Stanley Gardner MADISON, Wis.—A while ago, during my futile search for new literary representation, I got rejected by a New York agent named Peter, whose full name I won’t reveal. Peter……
Read MoreThat’s the way you do the Varsity Drag
by David Benjamin “You gotta do the Black Botton/ Gotta do the Shag/ And the Charleston/ And the Varsity Drag/ Oh, how I love the ladies/ Wear collegiate, collegiate clothes/ We’re so collegiate/ Rather be a ladies/ Rather be a ladies man…” —Good News MADISON, Wis.—When I was sixteen, I added about two pounds to…
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