Oh well, we tried. We really tried. Finally successfully completed the annual Christmastime journey from V+V HQ to New England and looking forward to some solid carousing down at the V+V Boston Office this weekend. From all of us at Verities and Vagaries, however you celebrate, we hope the best for your wintertime festivities (or solemnizations).
Continue reading...Make It So
It’s getting to be that season again, so make it so, make it so, make it so.
Continue reading...Writing Fads That Need to Die, Part 1
Welcome to a new series (maybe), in which we explore some ways people are killing the written language. 1. Using the word “because” purposely without “of.” “The world works. Because science.” This is dumb. Replace with “Because of science.” Although that’s pretty dumb as well, but at least it’s grammatically correct. 2. The use of capitalized letters on fake proper nouns to “make some kind of point.” This kind of shit is popping up everywhere. Like: “It was a Totally Big Deal, or at least he thought it was.” Stop that. That is not a proper noun or...
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist Line of the Day – 12 November 2014
If you frequent this here premier “web log,” there’s a good chance you may once or twice have read the New York Times op-ed page. You might even recognize the names of the columnists, who every day spout the most conventionally wise of the conventional wisdom. This is a feature that is dedicated to these folks, highlighting one line that is either funny, ridiculous, strange, or actually intelligent or well-written. Today’s is yet another from Thomas Friedman, who in his column today, “Freud and the Middle East” (oh brother), writes: Just as there is a little bit of West Bank “Jewish settler”...
Continue reading...Book Review: Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England, by Corin Hirsch
Before pilsners and whiskeys were the tried and true choice of Americans, those in the New England colonies put their lips around a wide collection of concoctions to keep things loose through the day. In Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England, Corin Hirsch explores not just what we used to drink but how we drank it. And drink we did. Bitters before work was a morning ritual, cider at each meal was thought to keep one hydrated while avoiding polluted water, and if there wasn’t rum in your cup each night then good luck keeping pace with...
Continue reading...So what’s next?
This morning, we went over the preordained Republican takeover of the Senate. So, other than having to hear “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says” over and over, what will the next two years look like? For the most part, you’d be correct in assuming that it’d look a lot like the last four years: With Democrat Barack Obama still the president, and a Republican-controlled House and Senate, it’s going to be a loud not much. Yet even with that caveat, we can still look into what a unified legislature is going to at least try, and perhaps...
Continue reading...Voters decide the government is doing too much to help them
A hearty number of column inches (so anachronistic!) are being devoted today to explaining various reasons Democrats lost yesterday and Republicans won. It’s the long-running day-after tradition, and it’s rarely illuminating. But, you got to fill the papers, they say. Truth is, we all knew this was going to happen two years ago. Hell, we were all pretty sure even six years ago, when this class of senators was elected. Without a presidential election to buoy them, these unlikely Democratic faces representing deeply conservative states would not be long in their seats. The reason why is not surprising....
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist Line of the Day – 4 November 2014
If you frequent this here premier “web log,” there’s a good chance you may once or twice have read the New York Times op-ed page. You might even recognize the names of the columnists, who every day spout the most conventionally wise of the conventional wisdom. This is a feature that is dedicated to these folks, highlighting one line that is either funny, ridiculous, strange, or actually intelligent or well-written. Today’s is from David Brooks, whose whole column today, “Death by Data,” could just be the line of the day, brings us this nugget: They’re not asking: How can I guarantee affordable contraception? OH...
Continue reading...Sports in the Courts: Jeff Wilpon answers the allegations
It has been seven weeks since former Senior VP of Ticket Sales for the Mets, Leigh Castergine, accused her former boss of discriminating against her for being pregnant and unmarried. The team’s Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Wilpon, was accused of numerous disparaging comments. Today, Wilpon and the Mets filed their answers in federal court in response to Castergine’s complaint. You can read Wilpon’s answer here; the answer filed on behalf of the Mets makes the same response. The same law firm is representing both defendants. Wilpon’s response in short, “[none of it is true].” Above all, Wilpon...
Continue reading...Little girl is super sad that George Washington is not our current president
Sick of campaign ads? Disgusted by the DC insiders and/or Tea Party outsiders running for office? This four-year-old girl, who just finished learning about early American history and became very enamored of our first president, feels your pain.
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