FreeThinker

One of my favorite actors of all time has passed away. Edward Herrman was a gentleman, a kind and decent man who was generous and respectful of others. I first came across him in high school when he appeared in the Harvard Law School movie The Paper Chase. He was nominated for an Emmy twice in the 1976 and 77 mini-series Eleanor and Franklin, He was a frequent narrator of documentaries on The History Channel--back when they actually showed history on the History Channel. Younger readers will know him from The Lost Boys and the program The Gilmore Girls--which I have never watched. He was also the headmaster in the 80's mini-series The Lawrenceville Stories, which are dear to Cole's heart. You could often hear him, also, in a number of Ken Burns' documentaries But I will always remember him for The Paper Chase and Eleanor and Franklin. He was a gentleman and unpretentious, but scholarly and decent. I will miss him.

I hope you realize I was teasing because of the nature of Arthur Rimbaud's poetry. :-)

I have trouble imagining anyone named Rimbaud being a prude.

In 1969, my grandmother named her Chinese pug Wee Chu.

It seems that over the last five years, the quintessentially American holiday of Thanksgiving Day is gaining popularity in the UK.One in six Brits celebrate our holiday, mostly because of expat Americans, because of being married to an American, or having been exposed to it while visiting or working in the US. Maybe we in America should turn the tables and start celebrating Guy Fawkes Day! http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/nov/27/britsgiving-one-in-six-britons-celebrate-thanksgiving

I am hesitant to post in political threads, but I feel very motivated by this one. A recent article listed the 16 top donors to Super PACs and other campaign organizations. 13 of them were Republican and the totals received by Republican organizations were greater than Democratic organizations and campaign. When you are talking about an advantage of hundreds of millions of dollars--and this is not an exaggeration, this isn't democracy. This is plutocracy. And money is NOT speech, despite what the Republican puppets on the Supreme Court may say. Also, anytime a progressive mentions the billionaires who fund the Republicans, conservatives always mention George Soros. Gee, so we have Tom Steyer and George Soros. And yet no conservatives are offended by the following list of THEIR oligarchs (source- the communists at Forbes magazine ) Sheldon Adelson Harold Simmons Peter Thiel Richard DeVos Charles Schwab Steve Wynn Ken Griffin Vince and Linda McMahon Paul Singer James Simons Philip Anschutz Charles and David Koch Art Post Richard Mellon Scaiffe And these are just the ones we know. What about the secret donors of dark money in the so called "social welfare" organizations that don't have to report their donors. Whine and moan and bitch about George Soros all you want. The amount he donates to progressives is a pittance compared to the enormous, galactic donations the Republicans receive.

Now, that's scary as hell... Maybe there's hope for me to live to collect Social Security after all.... You go, Keith!

I saw this hilarious picture on Facebook.

Tim Cook, Steve Jobs successor as Apple CEO, was never actually in the closet, but he has now officially confirmed in an interview with BusinessWeek that he is gay! As far as I know, he is the highest profile CEO to admit being gay. Its about time and good for him! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/30/tim-cook-gay_n_6074016.html

Excellent story. Very suspenseful. Darker than the usual Cole story, but its very effective. I strongly recommend it!

In 2001, following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, people all over the world played and sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" in solidarity withe the people of the United States. Last night, in Pittsburgh, at a hockey game between two American teams, the audience sang Oh Canada to show our solidarity with our friends and neighbors to the north after this shocking case of terrorism. I'm glad they did that. Sometimes I think Americans take Canada for granted, but Canadians have a long and proud heritage of supporting freedom and human rights. They welcome immigrants to their country with open arms and they respect diversity. We in the States can learn a lot from our friends and I applaud the Penguins' fans for showing such respect and friendship to our Canadian neighbors, (or, in this case, should I have spelled that "neighbours?) :-) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/23/us-hockey-fans-sing-o-canada_n_6038122.html

For those who love the Comic Sans font... http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/18/living/comic-sans-typewriter/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 The problem is... I've forgotten what a typewriter was.

Iain Armitage may be the world's youngest theater critic and he has quite a following on the Internet. Here's a report from CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/for-6-year-old-critic-theater-reviews-are-childs-play/

So far, I've read the first two chapters and the prologue and I must say this is one of the best stories I've read this year. Well written, amazing detail. It is an achievement to write from the POV of someone who experiences the world in a completely different way. I had a friend once with twin boys who were high-functioning and I can attest that each person experiences the world differently. Even twins. This is a marvelous story!

A reader and friend sent me this link for the video of the great David Hallberg's audition at the age of sixteen for the Paris Opera Ballet School. It is absolutely amazing and he is beautiful. David Hallberg is a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater and the first American to be named a principal dancer with the Bolshoi. He is now in his thirties.

Yes! This is a great story. I love the characters and the setting.

Thank you, Gee, for quoting that Whitman poem for us. How dreadfully appropriate. Dead Poets' Society was the movie of Robin's that affected me most painfully and deeply. Robin Williams was a comedic genius and a gifted dramatic actor, as well. The Fisher King and The Night Listener were two of his most amazing movies, though its hard to rank them. They're all amazing. James Lipton recounted to Lawrence O'Donnell Robin Williams answer to the famous question Lipton asks all his quests, "When you get to Heaven, what do you want to hear God say?" Robin's answer was, "Two Jews go into a bar..." I hope that's what God said when he met Robin Williams this morning.

Thank you, Chris. I followed your link and it was, indeed, the TED Radio Hour. It was the final segment of the program and the speaker was author Andrew Solomon. The entire segment is worth listening to. I have listened to the TED talks in the past and they are always fascinating and thought-provoking.I urge everyone to follow the link in Chris's post and check them out. Thank goodness for National Public Radio, where profit isn't the only determinant of value.

I was driving through town this afternoon and listening to something on NPR, I'm not sure what, but a gay man was speaking before an audience and describing how he was grateful for what he had learned from the years of abuse and prejudice he had experienced because it made him find the ecstasy in ordinary joys-- a wonderful thought. He then told the story of his fiftieth birthday party at which his four-year-old son told the man's husband that he wanted to give a speech. The husband brought the son to the microphone, made a big to-do about the boy wanting to speak and then held him up to the microphone, whereupon the four-year-old said, "I'm glad it's Daddy's birthday. I'm glad we have cake. And, Daddy, if you were little, I'd be your friend." I got tears in my eyes when I heard that.

I enjoy watching news programs and reading articles from the past. I like to see how people thought and acted at different points in our history. I should have been a cultural anthropologist. While researching a story I am considering that is set in the Bicentennial summer of 1976, I found this article in the archives of New York magazine published June 2, 1976, a fascinating look at ME, or rather my age cohort- eighteen year-olds in 1976, specifically in New York City. It was amazing to compare what he has to say at the time about young people then. A fascinating snapshot of another time in our history. I love stuff like this. http://nymag.com/nightlife/features/45933/

Those pictures look like a typical spring day in Oklahoma.

A reader of my stories who has become a good friend forwarded this to me. Australia has much to be proud of and America could learn a lot from our friends down there! There's a lot to admire about Australia, especially if you're a visiting American, says David Mason, a US writer and professor, and poet laureate of Colorado. More often than you might expect, Australian friends patiently listening to me enthuse about their country have said, ''We need outsiders like you to remind us what we have.'' So here it is, - a small presumptuous list of what one foreigner admires in Oz. He is an avid traveller and appreciates quality of life. He wrote this on a tour of OZ. DOUG 1. Health care. I know the controversies, but basic national health care is a gift. In America, medical expenses are a leading cause of bankruptcy. The drug companies dominate politics and advertising. Obama is being crucified for taking halting baby steps towards sanity. You can't turn on the telly without hours of drug advertisements - something I have never yet seen here. And your emphasis on prevention - making cigarettes less accessible, for one - is a model. 2. Food. Yes, we have great food in America too, especially in the big cities. But your bread is less sweet, your lamb is cheaper, and your supermarket vegetables and fruits are fresher than ours. Too often in my country an apple is a ball of pulp as big as your face. The dainty Pink Lady apples of Oz are the juiciest I've had. And don't get me started on coffee. In American small towns it tastes like water flavoured with burnt dirt, but the smallest shop in the smallest town in Oz can make a first-rate latte. I love your ubiquitous bakeries, your hot-cross buns. Shall I go on? 3. Language. How do you do it? The rhyming slang and Aboriginal place names like magic spells. Words that seem vaguely English yet also resemble an argot from another planet. I love the way institutional names get turned into diminutives - Vinnie's and Salvos - and absolutely nothing's sacred. Everything's an opportunity for word games and everyone's a nickname. Lingo makes the world go round. It's the spontaneous wit of the people that tickles me most. Late one night at a barbie my new mate Suds remarked, ''Nothing's the same since 24-7.'' Amen. 4. Free-to-air TV. In Oz, you buy a TV, plug it in and watch some of the best programming I've ever seen - uncensored. In America, you can't get diddly-squat without paying a cable or satellite company heavy fees. In Oz a few channels make it hard to choose. In America, you've got 400 channels and nothing to watch. 5. Small shops. Outside the big cities in America corporations have nearly erased them. Identical malls with identical restaurants serving inferior food. Except for geography, it's hard to tell one American town from another. The ''take-away'' culture here is wonderful. Human encounters are real - stirring happens, stories get told. The curries are to die for. And you don't have to tip! 6. Free camping. We used to have this too, and I guess it's still free when you backpack miles away from the roads. But I love the fact that in Oz everyone owns the shore and in many places you can pull up a camper van and stare at the sea for weeks. I love the ''primitive'' and independent campgrounds, the life out of doors. The few idiots who leave their stubbies and rubbish behind in these pristine places ought to be transported in chains. 7. Religion. In America, it's everywhere - especially where it's not supposed to be, like politics. I imagine you have your Pharisees too, making a big public show of devotion, but I have yet to meet one here. 8. Roads. Peak hour aside, I've found travel on your roads pure heaven. My country's ''freeways'' are crowded, crumbling, insanely knotted with looping overpasses - it's like racing homicidal maniacs on fraying spaghetti. I've taken the Hume without stress, and I love the Princes Highway when it's two lanes. Ninety minutes south of Batemans Bay I was sorry to see one billboard for a McDonald's. It's blocking a lovely paddock view. Someone should remove it. 9. Real multiculturalism. I know there are tensions, just like anywhere else, but I love the distinctiveness of your communities and the way you publicly acknowledge the Aboriginal past. Recently, too, I spent quality time with Melbourne Greeks, and was gratified both by their devotion to their own great language and culture and their openness to an Afghan lunch. 10. Fewer guns. You had Port Arthur in 1996 and got real in response. America replicates such massacres several times a year and nothing changes. Why? Our religion of individual rights makes the good of the community an impossible dream. Instead of mateship we have ''It's mine and nobody else's''. We talk a great deal about freedom, but too often live in fear. There's more to say - your kaleidoscopic birds, your perfumed bush in springtime, your vast beaches. These are just a few blessings that make Australia a rarity. Of course, it's not paradise - nowhere is - but I love it here. No need to wave flags like Americans and add to the world's windiness. Just value what you have and don't give it away. David Mason is a US writer and professor, and poet laureate of Colorado.

Cole Parker is hitting another home run with "A Summer Romance." It is a wonderful story that keeps the reader wondering what will happen next. It's a beautiful setting for a story and, as he always does, Cole gets into the head of his protagonist with realism and sensitivity. I urge all to read this story of a teenager's first romance.

My contribution today to the discussion of differences between Britain and America. I have found a web site that translates British Slang into American. It is written by an Englishman who lives in Texas. Actually most Americans could use a site that translates Texan into American, but that's a different subject (especially in politics. There's crazy and then there's Texas Crazy. Texas is a whole different breed of crazy). But I digress (again). Here it is. British into American: http://www.effingpot.com/slang.shtml

Here's one old progressive who gets choked up listening to the "Stars and Stripes Forever" while watching the fireworks over the Capitol and the Washington Monument. Conservatives don't have a monopoly on love of country. Then I was amazed when I switched from PBS to NBC and saw New York City shoot them off the Brooklyn Bridge! That was KEWL, watching the fireworks reflected on the glass towers of Lower Manhattan and everyone reciting the Pledge of Allegiance before singing the Star Spangled Banner! I cried like a baby. The only thing cooler would have been if they had shot them off around the new Freedom Tower! Every Fourth of July morning, NPR's Morning Edition reads the entire Declaration of Independence. I listen to it every year as I am driving home from work (I work an overnight shift) and it is one of the most moving things to hear. I think every American, liberal or conservative, should listen to that. Its wonderful. Here's a link if you wish to listen. http://www.npr.org/2014/07/04/328204572/reading-the-declaration-of-independence-a-tradition-continues Happy Fourth of July!