It wasn’t work-of-genius good. In fact La La Land shouldn’t be rated on a four-star system because three and a half stars is ambiguous, but the movie was definitely four stars out of five ****o. Other write-ups say, often flatteringly, that the stars’ dancing was good, very good even, but not great. That’s the wrong angle. Leads Ryan Gosling […]
Categories
Canopy Cassoulet
As a volunteer with the refugee resettlement group Canopy Northwest Arkansas, I made a family’s first meal in their new home. The mom and dad, ages 30 and 28, have been living in camps since fleeing Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003. Their son just turned 6. Who knows what they’ve been eating all this time. A recipe, […]
Categories
An Ajar Letter to Arkansas Electors
To the Honorable (Arkansas elector) Dear M-. _______, I am a native of our state, now living in Northwest Arkansas. This letter is to request you vote for any presidential candidate besides Donald J. Trump when the state’s electors meet Monday, Dec. 19. This request does not come from partisanship but from consideration of the […]
Categories
Cloakroom Talk
Endorsing Conner Eldridge for U.S. Senate Let’s leave the 2016 presidential race a moment. It’ll continue without us. Let’s consider Congress. From an Arkansas view. The Republican Party has had majorities in the House and Senate the last two years. The party has worked hard to oppose most of the Democratic president’s agenda for both […]
Categories
Will Rogers. For President?
TULSA — Somewhere in the mist of the beginnings of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists arose two icons, Ernie Pyle and Will Rogers. NSNC has other now-ghostly mentors, including Erma and Molly and Art, but these two men from the first half of the 20th century are the modern mentors of columns. It’s taken me years […]
Categories
Basket of Responsibles
It’s only Oct. 1, and my prescription for Damnitol is nearly out. I may not have any more refills authorized. Dr. O’Connell probably thinks I’m popping them like peppermints. Maybe I am. This week, though, I’ve figured out a drug-free solution, maybe even drub free: Form a club: the Basket of Responsibles. This is a third […]