Upcoming Events:
Monday, 9 June, 10:30 am
Book Talk, An Apartment in Paris, Fitchburg Community Center, 5510 Lacy Road, Fitchburg, Wis.
Saturday, 14 June, 1-3 pm
Meet & Greet, Barnes & Noble, West Towne, Madison
Thursday, 19 June, 10 am
Book Talk, An Apartment in Paris, Middleton Community Center, 7448 Hubbard Ave. Middleton Wis.
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The Weekly Screed
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 More...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 More...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 More...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 More...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…
Read More...THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#718) The ministrations of fear by David Benjamin “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance…” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First…
Read More...THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#717) Weak in Review by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — My conservative friends think that liberals worship the New York Times — oops. It’s The New York Times, right? (Talk about pretentious!). But reading the Gray Lady is more like meeting an old friend every morning at the…
Read More...FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#715) “I came… for the waters” by David Benjamin KOWAKIDANI, Japan — You don’t have to go far in Japan — maybe 100 yards in any direction — to find something weird. On our way here, we passed by the alleged cradle of the kamaboko, the classic Japanese…
Read More...FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#714) Landfills I have known, B&E’s I’ve committed by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — Whenever I’m up in my old hometown, I get flashbacks driving through a broad stretch of manicured parkland on Monowau Street, where it crosses Council Creek. Gravel piles now occupy one side of the…
Read More...FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015 The Weekly Screed (#713) The ‘right to work’ for nothing by David Benjamin “You got me workin’, boss man, /Workin’ ‘round the clock. /I want a little drink of water, /But you won’t let Jimmy stop…” — Jimmy Reed MADISON, Wis. — The relationship has rarely been amicable between dedicated American…
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