PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Museum of Art had a special exhibit of the calligraphy of the 17th-century Japanese artist Ike Taiga, as well as his wife, Mamie. As is customary, he illustrated the words with scenes of woods, mountains and a few people here and there. Often Taiga and Tokuyama Gyokuran (his wife, really) used […]
Tag: columnist
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Down to the Wire
PHILADELPHIA — The final sessions of the 2007 conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists were the most traditional. In panel discussion format, largely avoided until this morning, perennial subjects were again addressed: techniques, ethics, books and technology. This will be brief, a note or two on each. After all, three panelists and a […]
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Dave Barry, But Seriously
PHILADELPHIA — Amazing speakers addressed the opening morning of the 31st annual conference of the National Conference of Christians and Columnists, er, National Conference for Columnists and Justice, er, National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Time, and the potential for flagging interest (mine or readers?), prevents a full transcription of today’s notes. So, Dave Barry or […]
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Prick Him, He’ll Bleat
Here I am, a James Lileks fan, and I can’t think of a thing to say that hasn’t already been written about his predicament. Maybe I shouldn’t have read all of the articles and a number of the blogs on his, er, transfer. “Transfer.” Lileks has been a humor columnist for the Star Tribune of […]
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National Columnists’ Day
On April 18, 1945, a Japanese sniper took out Ernie Pyle during a Pacific Island skirmish. Pyle was a beloved newspaperman, whose columns were anticipated by millions of readers of hundreds of newspapers. You couldn’t say that about a lot of journalists then, much less now. Most war reporting was conducted at the officer level, […]
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All Their Fits Are News
The New Republic (subscription-only) reports that humorist, memoirist, monologist David Sedaris embellishes. A number of otherwise sensible commentators, like Slate’s Jack Shafer, jump on the fellow. Their point: If you laugh, it’s not journalism. If it has a coherent beginning, middle and end, it’s too good to be true. [Casablanca: Captain Renault: “I’m shocked, shocked […]