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ANGELS AND MEN
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.
― James Madison, The Federalist Papers
The painting of James Madison is by Gilbert Stuart.
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A MOVIE POSTER FOR TODAY
A LIGHTHEARTED MOMENT
At their recent meeting in Palm Springs, Barack Obama and Xi Jinping, leaders of the world’s two largest police states, exchanged jocular remarks about keeping citizens in line when they complain about massive surveillance procedures. “Like unruly teenagers,” said Xi Jinping. “Sometimes they just have to be grounded,” said Obama, to which Xi Jinping replied, “Drone ground them fast!” The two leaders chuckled and then walked off out of the hearing of reporters and photographers.
BEFORE IT WAS DAN TANA’S
. . . it was Domenico’s, but it’s still the same little shack on Santa Monica Boulevard. I’ve spent more happy nights in that shack than I could possibly count.
IN THE DARKEST OF TIMES
. . . heroes arise.
HIGH WATER
This is the theme song for our time. It’s hard to convey how great it is, as a contribution to American culture. I think if you set this single song, about four minutes in length, against the collected works of William Faulkner (which I admire extravagantly), the collected works of Faulkner would look small by comparison.
MAYHEM
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A NEW REVIEW
. . . of my book Fourteen Western Stories by Jan McClintock on her book blog We Need More Shelves:
The description from Amazon.com:
“Fourteen Western tales, by turns boisterous, bawdy, shocking, sentimental. They’re not for kids—there’s a fair amount of adult content here—but a treat for anyone else who likes old-fashioned stories with new twists and turns, written by someone who loves the West, past and present.”
That’s an excellent description of this little treasure of a collection. I found each of the stories well-written and interesting. The author did include some stereotypical characters, but he’s a screenwriter, after all, and fond of pulp fiction (wink). He added a new slant to some stories to keep things hopping. Definitely not for the squeamish or prudes.
Recommended for short-story lovers, those who like westerns, and anyone who falls in between.
AN LP COVER FOR TODAY
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A HOWARD TERPNING FOR TODAY
Original poster art for 55 Days At Peking.
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A MOVIE POSTER FOR TODAY
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SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL
Rock and roll, 1954 — ground zero . . .
NSA
AN LP COVER FOR TODAY
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