Batman Adventures Volume 2 DC Comics Written by Kelley Puckett Art by Mike Parobeck and Rich Burchett If you were to ask me who my three favorite Batman artists were, you could make a decent guess at my age. Or at least, when I was really reading comic books. Those three artists would be JimContinue reading “Things I’ve Been Reading: Batman Adventures Volume 2”
Monthly Archives: May 2015
Lost Scenes from a Doctor Who Story
I found something unexpected on my hard drive yesterday, working scenes from my first draft of “The Spindle of Necessity.” “Spindle,” as you may know, is a Doctor Who story I wrote for a Big Finish Short Trips anthology in the spring of 2007 in which the sixth Doctor goes on an adventure with theContinue reading “Lost Scenes from a Doctor Who Story”
Jeb Bush and Reckoning with the Iraq War
Now that the Iraq War — and why it happened — has been put back on the radar thanks to Jeb Bush, we need to keep an important fact in mind about how it happened. The whole “if we knew then what we know now” formulation that various Republicans are trying to flaot is besideContinue reading “Jeb Bush and Reckoning with the Iraq War”
Francis Scott Key and the War of 1812: Diane Carey’s novel Banners
Over the past few days, I read Diane Carey’s Banners, a novel about the War of 1812, published last year by Koehlerbooks, presumably to commemorate the 200th-anniversary of the attack on Fort McHenry and the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Last night I finished the book. Carey was a prolific Star Trek novelist, publishing twoContinue reading “Francis Scott Key and the War of 1812: Diane Carey’s novel Banners”
The Republican Veneration of the Undead Reagan
Over the weekend, a reporter for CNN asked several actual and potential GOP presidential candidates a simple question — Who is the greatest living president? Let’s look at our choices. Which former presidents are still living? Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush. Who did Bobby Jindal, Ted Cruz, and Donald TrumpContinue reading “The Republican Veneration of the Undead Reagan”
Meet the Peanuts Gang
This October marks the sixty-fifth anniversary of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, and the following month we’ve see the release of the first Peanuts movie in thirty years. I’ve noticed this year that there’s a concerted effort at releasing Peanuts books and collections, probably to both tie in with the anniversary and the upcoming film. One suchContinue reading “Meet the Peanuts Gang”
More on Frum and the GOP in 2016
On Saturday, I wrote about a piece David Frum wrote for The Atlantic in whihc he discussed the lessons the can learn from David Cameron and the Tories. I called Frum’s piece “misguided,” as it seems to have been written in complete disregard for who today’s Republican Party is. “It’s as though Frum has neverContinue reading “More on Frum and the GOP in 2016”
David Frum on David Cameron and the GOP
David Frum, the former George W. Bush speechwriter, wrote a piece for The Atlantic about David Cameron’s general election victory and the lessons today’s GOP can take from it. I found the article misguided and unintentionally funny. Frum’s argument is that the GOP needs to make peace with Obamacare, reject politics of racial resentment, pursueContinue reading “David Frum on David Cameron and the GOP”
Paul Krugman, Baltimore, and Portents of the Future
In the last week, when considering the riots and protests in Baltimore, a recurring thought came to me. “This is what we all have to look forward to. This is a sign of the future.” What prompted this thinking was an interview with libertartian economist Tyler Cowen on an NPR program a few years ago.Continue reading “Paul Krugman, Baltimore, and Portents of the Future”
The Ben Carson Campaign
Thursday morning, on York Road, I saw a Cadillac slightly ahead of me bearing a “Ben Carson 2016” bumper sticker. If I could have jumped out of the Beetle, knocked on the window, and engaged the driver, a man of retirement age, in conversation, I would have asked him, “Why Ben Carson? What is itContinue reading “The Ben Carson Campaign”