Upcoming Events:
Wednesday, 8 July, noon - Book Talk, An Apartment in Paris, Mount Horeb Rotary Club, Mount Horeb, Wisconsin
Monday, 13 July, 11:15 am - Book Talk, An Apartment in Paris, Verona Community Center, 108 Paoli Street, Verona, Wisconsin
Tuesday, 14 July, 7 pm - A Dialog on Writing with Dave Wood, Whitehall Public Library, 18560 Scranton Street, Whitehall, Wisconsin.
The Weekly Screed
“… in the service…” By David Benjamin “We were just doing our jobs, helping our country win the war.” —Lt. Col. Richard Cole, one of the Doolittle Raiders MADISON, Wis. — Sister Caritas had no idea she was creating a monster. One day in sixth grade, she threw down a gauntlet I could not resist.…
Bob Mueller and me By David Benjamin “I think it is a mistake to believe that Trump’s supporters don’t see his lying or corruption. They do. But, to them, it is all part of the show and the lore.” —Charles M. Blow, New York Times MADISON, Wis. — This week, I was in DeForest, Wisconsin,…
“A vast symphony in stone” By David Benjamin “Someday, the fire of 2019 may fade into the history of Notre-Dame. It may take many years to repair the damage. But the great cathedral will reinvent itself…” —Michael Kimmelman, New York Times MADISON, Wis. — Much of the breathtaking majesty of Notre Dame de Paris derives…
Mick and Goofy put on a show By David Benjamin “Mickey’s a mouse. Donald’s a duck. Pluto’s a dog. What’s Goofy?” — Gordy Lachance (Wil Wheaton), in Stand By Me MICK: You look a little pale and woebegone, sir. Perhaps an hour or two on the tanning bed will perk you up. Now, where did…
Mechelle, Anita and Uncle Joe By David Benjamin “I said, ‘I don’t want to go to bed with you’ And he says, ‘Just like I hired you, I’ll fire you. Just like I made you, I’ll break you, and if you don’t do what I say then I’ll have you killed.’ … And that’s how…
“… Much more beautiful, much more beautiful…” By David Benjamin “I always hear ‘the elite, the elite.’… I have a better education than them, I’m smarter than them, I went to the best schools, they didn’t… Much more beautiful house, much more beautiful apartment, much more beautiful everything. And I’m president and they’re not, right?”…
Antisocial media By David Benjamin “Your ad isn’t approved because it doesn’t comply with our Advertising Policies. your ad was stopped because it was determined to be related to politics or an issue of national importance.” — Facebook MADISON, Wis. — Recently, Facebook encouraged me to “boost” one of my “Weekly Screeds.” A half-hour later,…
The sandwich with a thousand faces By David Benjamin “Maybe we shouldn’t be eating a hamburger for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” — Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez MADISON, Wis. — There are Congresspersons warning us lately that the embryonic and nebulous Green New Deal portends the abolition of the hamburger. This threat stands alongside such fanciful right-wing…
“It’s not a secret!” (but we’re not telling) By David Benjamin “Why do people hide things? Why do people keep secrets? Because they have something to hide.” — Andrew D. Goldstein, lead prosecutor, Office of the Special Counsel BARCELONA — I tried. Honest. Last Tuesday morning, dispatched by my EE Times editor, I shlepped to…
The caravan of the living dead by David Benjamin “This is the part in the movie where that guy says, “Zombies? What zombies?” just before they eat his brains. I don’t want to be that guy.” — Holly Black (Two senior staffers overheard in a White House toilet.) STEVE: (Indicating a video on his phone)…