Bulldog: The Characters
In reading fiction, especially fiction of the lighter sorts, readers are tempted to see the characters in abstract terms as straw men or lay figures invented to play a part or represent an idea, a virtue, or a vice.
Category: Fleming
Bulldog: The Plots
McNeile’s plots follow the well-worn highway of adventure fiction, The plot of the first is particularly formulaic.
Other People, An Essay
“L’enfers c’est l’autre.” Whatever Sartre meant by “Hell is other people,” he was certainly right about the people he liked to refer to as “salaud”—the scum who think only of their own interests and reduce the universe to their own dimensions, in other words, people like Sartre and his friends.
Book of the Week: Bite of the Bulldog
And now for something completely different! Since Polish novelists and ancient historians have proved to be too daunting or time-consuming for most readers, I am taking a different tack and devoting a few days to Bite of the Bulldog (initially titled simply Bulldog Drummond), a short thriller in which the reader meets one of the great pop fiction heroes of the last century, Bulldog Drummond.
From Abraham to Napoleon: Conclusion
The empire of the Babylonians was not fated to last, and Cyrus the Persian, after entering the city in triumph in 539, promulgated an edict authorizing the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. It has been conjectured that the Persians were rewarding Babylonian Jews for their covert assistance in the defeat of Nabonidus, the last Babylonian king, but, there is no need to posit such a special relationship.
Anti-Vaccers Unite! You Have Nothing to Lose Except Your Liberty
A number of people opposed to the new flu shot are complaining about the language being used to characterize their position. In particular, they reject the word “refuse.” Of course they are right, but, if they would only consider what they are up against, they might have second thoughts.
Charlie Rich
An FB friend posted a Charlie Rich lyric.. It took me back a few years. I was a bit late in learning to appreciate Charlie.
The Doctor is In: Defending the Empire
What are we going to do about China’s threats against Taiwan? More importantly, what are we going to do with the tacky music at the end? Someone place tell me who sang this monstrosity.
Who Killed Roger Rabbit and Started Gulf War II?
My remarks on the late Don Rumsfeld sparked a set of responses that evolved into discussing the cause of the Second Gulf War. It may be worth a little time to wonder if such explanations are of any value.
