Having written and thought a lot about the 2018 United States (US) midterm elections, the first things I read each day (after my e-mail) are Taegan Goddard’s invaluable Political Wire and, of course, FiveThirtyEight. On May 19, 2018, Goddard linked to this commentary by Washington Post columnist Paul Waldman. Waldman argues Democrats should abandon the … Continue reading Manifest(o) Identity
Category: My life
Why I chose…Dynamics of the Party System
In my two previous posts, I began to explain my choices for the Facebook book challenge I completed May 16 (seven covers over seven days, no explanations), addressing my interest in crime, both fictional and real. I now turn away from crime (fictional and otherwise) and toward something far more sinister and horrifying. Politics. ********** … Continue reading Why I chose…Dynamics of the Party System
Why I chose…Murder, Inc.
In my last post, I described the Facebook seven-day book challenge I completed May 16 (seven covers over seven days, no explanations). Freed from the challenge rules governing, however, I now explain my choices. In this post, I explore my fascination with true crime by discussing… Fictional crime has fascinated me since I was seven … Continue reading Why I chose…Murder, Inc.
Why I chose…The Big Knockover
I am not generally a fan of Facebook “challenges.” Nonetheless, when my friend Rebecca nominated me for the seven-day book challenge, I accepted. The rules were simple: on each of seven consecutive days, post a book cover, with no explanations, while also nominating another person for the challenge. On May 16, 2018, I completed the … Continue reading Why I chose…The Big Knockover
Two worlds collided…
(with apologies to INXS). One of the unanticipated pleasures of writing my book is that I get to spend hours reading old newspapers. This is an amateur historian’s idea of heaven. Last August, I introduced a key character in my book: a powerful Philadelphia attorney named Herman M. Modell. Modell, who knew my father and … Continue reading Two worlds collided…
Questions of identity
Since my previous post (March 31), I have been singularly focused (perhaps even obsessed) with on-line detective work: constructing family trees for my genetic family. As I explained last July, I was adopted in utero; my “legal” parents, David Louis and Elaine Berger, brought me home to Havertown, PA when I was four days old. … Continue reading Questions of identity
A Musical Mosaic
When I enrolled at Yale in the fall of 1984, I was undecided between majoring in political science or mathematics. A less-than-stellar experience in Math 230—required for freshman mathematics major—quickly decided me: political science, it would be. Luckily, two courses I took sophomore year taught by Professor Edward Tufte—Data Analysis for Politics and Policy and … Continue reading A Musical Mosaic
The Smithereens: Film Noir where you least expect it
I have previously described how I manipulate mix tape/CD/iTunes playlist data to generate lists of favorite tracks (a term I prefer to “songs”), albums and artists, organized by year, musical “genre,” etc. Being a meticulous (obsessive, even) organizer of data, no sooner had I started using my current version of iTunes in January 2013 (when … Continue reading The Smithereens: Film Noir where you least expect it
NOIR CITY 16: A photographic epilogue
In this follow-up to the chronicling of my recent trip to NOIR CITY 16 in San Francisco, I take considerable artistic license with photographs of San Francisco. To read the entire series, please start here (or with this related, more analytic post). It is an open question whether I would have grown so inordinately fond of … Continue reading NOIR CITY 16: A photographic epilogue
NOIR CITY 16: An unexpectedly Super ending!
This is the ninth—and last—in a series of posts chronicling my recent trip to NOIR CITY 16 in San Francisco. I base these posts on 102 pages of notes in my little black Moleskine notebook, 254 photographs and my memory (supplemented as necessary). In this post, the festival ends in a Super way, and I … Continue reading NOIR CITY 16: An unexpectedly Super ending!
Just Bear With Me... 