On Hobbits in print and on film, An unusual Inn, Jabberwock puppets, Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate, Classical Music and Other Winter ComfortsSo hunker down with a nice warm drink and ignore the news for a while.
Hunter At Random
"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg
"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"
“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Sunday, January 10, 2021
What's New at Green Man Review
Friday, January 08, 2021
Backlash
After encouraging his supporters to march to the Capitol on Wednesday, triggering an insurrection inside the halls of Congress as he sought to overturn the election result, the president turned to social media after being suspended from his accounts.Meanwhile, there are calls from all sides of the political spectrum for his immediate removal from office. Twelve more days. Wonder what he'll try next, or whether his staff will be able to resdtrain him.“Like all Americans I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem,” he said in a brief video message, days before the end of his one-term presidency as lawmakers prepare to remove him from office.
He said that the rioters “who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy."
Wednesday, January 06, 2021
Culture Break: Ravel: Bolero: Two Versions
A Note on Posting
1. Politics at thi point (whih is mostly what I comment on) has turned into kabuki: lots of posturing, not much subtance. Let it suffice to say that the REepublicans, after working toward this point for the last forty years or so, are openly trying to destroy American democracy.
2. The last month has been difficult because of a couple of health-related issues. Fortunately, they are under control, for the mot part, except that my vision has deterioritaed due to glaucoma and complications from the other issues. It's especially hard to work at the computer -- a matter of most web pages being low contrast (something you don't notice until it hits you in the face, so to speak), which is the most difficult condition for my eyes to deal with. This had to happen, of course, right after I got new readng glasses. We'll see if stronger lenses can help.
So that's why I've been silent for so much of the past month or so. I am recovering, so we'll see if I can get back up to speed soon.
Monday, January 04, 2021
Random Note
Friday, January 01, 2021
Happy New Year?
Monday, December 28, 2020
What's New at Green Man Review
Sunday, December 13, 2020
What' New at Green Man Review
An Appalachian Mystery, a Most Unusual Fox, Chicago’s Own Wizard for Hire, Iceland, a Family Christmas, Boiled in Lead, Fairport, and much, much moreClick on over and hunker down with a nice cup of hot cocoa and enjoy.
Today's Must-Read: What We Say, What They Hear
I came across this comment by a commenter named peacerme over at Emptywheel (reading this piece.) I thought it was a good way to think about the problem of prosecuting Trump.There's more, of course, but my own summation, given the history of Democrats' reaction to the excesses and outright lawlessness of Republican administrations, is simply this: We say "We're better than this. It's time to move forward and leave this behind us." What they hear is "You got away with it, so you can do it again and nothing will happen to you."I truly fear the codependent belief that Dems have acted out for years, that taking the moral high ground is the moral equivalent of letting bygones be bygones. This would be what happens in domestic violence when he/she or they forget about the beating last night and move on hoping it will never happen again.Ignoring the broken laws of the Republican Party. From Iran contra, to Plame, to Iraq war, to Russian interference in our elections, to literally torturing children on the border in a way that will alter their brains for life. Dems behave with this moral superiority that is really just codependency.
I think it's way past time to remind the Republicans that the rule of law includes punisment for transgressions, anr "moral high ground" be damned.