Frank Loesser wrote “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” and Ms. Whiting recorded it in 1947. It wasn’t intended for a musical or movie, but it’s become a classic. It’s one of some 700 songs for which Loesser wrote lyrics. He died of lung cancer in 1969; he was only 59 years old.
Someone had a helluva lot of fun putting together this video of Easter Eggs he found (or thinks he found) in Rogue One. If you haven’t seen it yet, DO NOT WATCH THIS! I’m sure there were tons of symbols in the movie that I missed, but one I saw and wondered about was the …
You’ve heard of Manchurian candidates, people brainwashed into treason and successfully running for high office. I don’t think Trump has been brainwashed (for one thing, his brain…no, no, never mind), but I am really beginning to seriously wonder about his affinity for Putin and Russia. I think despite his birth in this country he’s actually …
Tom Friedman has been an Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times for a long time. As early as 11 years ago he was being ridiculed (see picture) by the more irreverent members of the blogosphere for his certainty that he was the holder of all truths, even when those truths had been invalidated convincingly. …
I remember reading “Watership Down” in high school. I’m a little surprised that its author, Richard Adams, was still alive. He passed away today at 96. In his honor I’m going to use a word from his most famous book to describe how we on the liberal side of America have felt since it became …
Jo Walton is a poet, a science fiction author and an essayist. 12 years ago she wrote this story about a man named Joseph. It’s wonderfully imaginative, and I’ve loved it since the day I read it years ago. Enjoy!
Merry Christmas to All! Note: This entry was originally published December 24, 2003. From the Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897 We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun: I am 8 years …
It is indeed the Night Before Christmas, so let’s listen to Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians perform the song. This rendition was first aired on December 23, 1951 on Waring’s eponymous CBS radio show. Waring became a bandleader at an early age: he started a group called Fred Waring’s Banjo Orchestra while still a teenager. …
For years the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “As It Happens” program has broadcast Alan Maitland’s reading of Frederick Forsyth’s “The Shepherd” on or about Christmas Eve. Here’s the story behind the tale: Forsyth created this original work as a Christmas gift to his first wife Carrie after she requested a ghost story be written for her. …
Here is Sting playing “I Saw Three Ships” with a whole lot of help, performed live at Durham Cathedral in England in 2009. The entire performance is on a DVD cleverly titled “Sting: A Winter’s Night…Live from Durham Cathedral.” The song itself is very old, first printed in the 17th century. The reference to ships …