I’m a pretty massive Planet of the Apes fan, even though I’m never able to watch an entire Planet of the Apes movie without reading a magazine. It’s definitely my favorite film franchise that’s 80 percent boring. I really, really love the first 20 minutes of the 1968 original film, and I’ve probably rewatched that opening sequence a dozen times: I relate to Charlton Heston’s character2 and adore the idea of gorillas riding horses while playing instruments that remind me of Jonny Greenwood’s solo album. There are numerous scenes in this film that can be watched repetitively (I still get psyched whenever the orangutans use Robert’s Rules of Order), and Nova remains a compelling romantic companion (assuming you only go on dates in public libraries). But still — those last 40 minutes tend to drag. In general, I enjoy reading and talking about the Apes movies more than I enjoy experiencing them.
"Do you want a bigger stimulus? The President can’t do that without Congress. Want Elizabeth Warren to run CFPB? The President needs a Congress who will confirm her when he nominates her. Want to put a public option back into the healthcare debate? Elect a Congress that will take up that bill and the President will sign it gladly. Want reform of unionbusting laws and policies? So does the President, but good luck getting it through this Congress. Want a bill that will reduce carbon pollution and move us toward a cleaner, safer, and more economically secure future? The President’s with you, though didn’t fight as hard for that as he probably could have on that bill, but it was wussy Senate Democrats who killed it, and you need a much better Congress before you’ll get anything real on that front (and if it had a shot in Congress, you bet the President would have been more involved). "
"To begin with, the Overton window is an atheoretical, poorly substantiated notion dreamed up by an anti-public education activist and popularized by Glenn Beck. It is often invoked as a magical salve that justifies any form of extreme rhetoric. But when people try to really dig into the underlying dynamic that Overton was trying to describe, that simplistic approach doesn’t work."
"2.Yes, I know your parents still talk about when the recommended percentage used to be 15 percent, and that the practice is considered barbaric in Japan. But it’s not 1973, and you’re probably not in Osaka at the moment. 20 percent.
3. Yes, this includes the cost of the wine.
4. And extends to tipping the delivery guy if you order in – he’s supposed to get less because he drove six miles to your house in a decaying, gas-gulping SUV?"
"The tragedy of Jim Theis is that he got just enough success to be held to professional standards when he was simply too young to meet them. Another sixteen-year-old might have more sentence-level polish or the makings of a more graceful prose style, but no sixteen-year-old can be expected to have a mature relationship with the authors who influence him; the biggest problem Theis had that couldn’t have been fixed by a modern word processor’s spell check function is actually his immature relationship with Robert E. Howard’s influence.
Had Theis been a student of mine and handed me “The Eye of Argon” as an assignment, I would have been thrilled. Here’s a partial list of the virtues the story displays that cannot be counted on in stories by high school students:"
You have no idea how weird the US tipping system is, seen from the other side of the Atlantic. I feel much more comfortable knowing that everyone working at the restaurant (not just the waiters, but also cooks and cleaning staff) gets a reasonable income and the same (minimal but working) healthcare and retirement plan I do. I’m a bleedin’ heart socialist, that’s what I am.
[I do tip in the US, what else can you do? But I try not to be there too often, or too long. I draw the line at 15% before tax, though. Enough is enough.]
Not only in Japan. This tipping business has been considered barbaric in every country I have ever lived in (mostly Australia and NZ).