Categories
Archives
-

-
Recent Posts
- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- “I don’t represent anything.” — Liz Phair
- “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- “Some syllables are swords.” — Metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan
- “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- “All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.” — Charlie Chaplin
- “As a cinematographer, I was always attracted to stories that have the potential to be told with as few words as possible.” — Reed Morano
- “Even though I’m writing about very dark material, it still feels like an escape hatch.” — Olivia Laing
- “It’s just one of the mysteries of filmmaking that sometimes you do something that you don’t even think it’s important, then it turns out to be.” — Lili Horvát
- “Ballet taught me to stay close to style and tone. Literature taught me to be concerned about the moral life.” — Joan Acocella
Recent Comments
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Scott Abraham on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Scott Abraham on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on March 2026 Snapshots
- sheila on “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- Jessie on March 2026 Snapshots
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Maddy on “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- sheila on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Joseph Pedulla on Susan Hayward Sleeps Raw
- sheila on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- P Nickel on “The realization of ignorance is the first act of knowing.” — Jean Toomer
- Melissa Sutherland on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
-
Tag Archives: Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self-evident”
Excerpt from David McCullough’s John Adams [Jefferson] worked rapidly [on writing the Declaration of Independence] and, to judge by surviving drafts, with a sure command of his material. He had none of his books with him, nor needed any, he … Continue reading
Posted in Founding Fathers
Tagged David McCullough, Declaration of Independence, John Adams, John Locke, politics, Thomas Jefferson, war
2 Comments
“I am obnoxious, suspected and unpopular. You are very much otherwise.”
Conversation between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, regarding who should be the author of the Declaration of Independence. (This is how Adams remembered it occurring, years later. Jefferson had no such memory.) John Adams insisted that the author be Jefferson. … Continue reading
Posted in Founding Fathers
Tagged Declaration of Independence, John Adams, politics, Thomas Jefferson
Leave a comment
“The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America”
And here is Johnson’s discussion in A History of the American People of the Declaration itself. It is my favorite passage in the entire 1100 page book. I think I like it so much because Johnson doesn’t just deal with … Continue reading
Posted in Founding Fathers
Tagged Benjamin Franklin, Declaration of Independence, John Adams, politics, Thomas Jefferson, war
1 Comment
On Thomas Jefferson: Setting Up the Ideological Battle
The following lengthy excerpt, on Thomas Jefferson, and the writing of the Declaration of Independence, comes from Paul Johnson’s book A History of the American People (a spectacular read). Read the excerpt, when you have time. It goes into Jefferson’s … Continue reading
Posted in Founding Fathers
Tagged Declaration of Independence, John Locke, politics, Thomas Jefferson
Comments Off on On Thomas Jefferson: Setting Up the Ideological Battle
Declaration draft
[Thomas] Jefferson produced a superb draft [of the Declaration of Independence], for which his 1774 pamphlet was a useful preparation. All kinds of philosophicaland political influences went into it. They were all well-read men and Jefferson, despite his comparative youth, … Continue reading

