Veterans Day

[From “Armistice Day.” Editorial. The New York Times, November 11, 1920.]

Then and now: the need to reinstate the United States “in the esteem of the world” by means of significant alliances.

I found this editorial a welcome contrast to the language of “swift triumph” and “unconquerable spirit” that ran through the observances of Armistice Day 1920.

Gillian Welch, Pessoa reader

Gillian Welch, talking with The New York Times:

“About a month ago, my eye was drawn to a book that has sat mostly unread on my shelf for some time, The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa. I picked it up and randomly read a passage of such beautiful poignancy, such exquisite human precision, that the wonderment of creative expression flooded me. I told no one about it, but kept it to myself, and the impulse to write, the need to grapple with this moment has returned to me and grown from that little seed.”

Thanks to Stefan Hagemann for pointing me to this passage. Stefan guest-wrote an OCA post that still pulls in readers, How to answer a professor.

Related reading
All OCA Pessoa posts (Pinboard)

The ballpoint pen

“On 29 October 1945, the New York City branch of Gimbels department store unveiled a new product. Billions upon billions would follow in its wake”: the BBC tells the story of the ballpoint pen.

The fountain-pen expert Frank Dubiel used to call the Bic the most reliable pen of all. But he was devoted to fountain pens. And in truth, fountain pens require only modest care and occasional feeding to work well.

Related reading
All OCA pen posts (Pinboard)

Enlightenment value

“We’ve spent the last four years debating the value of the Enlightenment with a reality-show host”: Stephen Colbert, last night.

A Vivaldi for our time

[Click for a bigger joke.]

Elaine noticed the cover of a remarkable musical score in the wilds of Facebook. The name that goes with this cover is Stephanie Michele Ruddy, but I don’t know whether Stephanie is the creator or the sharer or both. Perhaps she is both, just as Four Seasons is both a hotel and a total landscaping company. At any rate, I thank her. And Elaine.

Just say no to interregnum

The word seems to be everywhere on cable news and Twitter. Merriam-Webster’s definitions:

1 : the time during which a throne is vacant between two successive reigns or regimes

2 : a period during which the normal functions of government or control are suspended

3 : a lapse or pause in a continuous series

There is no throne. There is never not a president. And we don’t (yet) have a declaration of martial law.

Wirecutter ’s "best” pencils

The New York Times Wirecutter picks the “best” pencils for writing and schoolwork. The picks are, let’s say, idiosyncratic.

Some pencil brands have been excluded as “less widely available” (a little odd in the age of the Internets), but several of the pencils under review I’ve never seen in stores. Brands that the average shopper is likely to see in stores (Paper Mate, Staples) aren’t here. I’m not sure that two of the top three Wirecutter picks are widely available in stores. And I’m disappointed that those two top picks are manufactured by a company whose ethics are shoddy, shoddy, and shoddy. No doubt no one at Wirecutter knows the history there.

With the pencils under consideration, at least one judgment of quality seems dubious: Wirecutter deems the blue Staedtler Norica “one of the most expensive pencils we tested, as well as one of the worst performers.” I haven’t used the blue Norica, which seems not especially expensive and is well reviewed ($6.85 a dozen and 4.5 stars at Amazon). I do know Staedtler’s black Norica. It’s a bargain, and it too is well reviewed ($4.49 a dozen and 4.5 stars at Staples). I wrote a rave review five years ago.

Long story short: I don’t find Wirecutter particularly helpful or reliable on pencils.

When my children were tykes, back-to-school shopping was a happy summer ritual. Choosing pencils for the year was always a big deal. (Dad’s a fanatic; humor him.) A sad truth that my kids broke to me long after their school days were over: all supplies were pooled for class use. So when you buy a dozen good pencils, you might want to buy another dozen for your child’s private stash — along with a pencil case.

And keep any pink perfect-attendance pencils in a secure location.

Related reading
All OCA pencil posts (Pinboard)

Ellington at Fargo

Eighty years ago yesterday, the Duke Ellington Orchestra played a dance at the Crystal Ballroom, Fargo, North Dakota. Two fans recorded the proceedings. Ulf Lundin tells the story here.

Fargo 1940 is one of the great moments in music. The best way to hear it today: as a 2-CD set from Storyville Records. Here’s one number from late in the evening, a killer “St. Louis Blues,” featuring Ray Nance, Barney Bigard, Ellington, Ivie Anderson, Ben Webster, Joe “Tricky Sam” Nanton, and Rex Stewart.

Related reading
My take on Fargo 1940 : All OCA Ellington posts (Pinboard)

Joe and Kamala

I’ve had to remind myself several times today: it’s not just that Donald Trump* lost; it’s that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won. As I watched them speaking tonight from Wilmington, Delaware, I kept thinking of them as Joe and Kamala. I’d never before thought of a president and vice president as a pair of first names. Barack and Joe? Uh-uh.

The best way I can explain it to myself: after the psychopathy and sycophancy of the past four years, the sight of well-adjusted, apparently authentic humans prepared to assume positions of leadership is nothing less than giddying. They’re just like us, sort of, but with a great deal more courage.

Hurry, January. Joe and Kamala are ready.

Edged in black

[CNN and The New York Times have called it.]


Mistah Trump* — he not dead, but he lost, and he is lost, in a bronze-tinted fog of rage, denial, self-pity, dishonesty, grandiosity, and conspiracy-mongering. To hell with him.

Now more hard work awaits, to counter his toxic effect on truth, justice, democracy, and public health, an effect that promises to endure.

And see? Even this post, rather than celebrating a Democratic and democratic victory, mocks the autocrat’s defeat. (It’s always about him.) So I’ll also say: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, you did it. And to everyone who voted, donated, and volunteered: we did it.

[I’m borrowing from Joseph Conrad, of course, but also from Virginia Heffernan, whose “Mistah Trump” approximates Michael Cohen’s pronunciation of the boss’s name. The asterisk is mine.]