Erictheblue

LATEST ARTICLES ( 375 )

• The Archbishop Writes

  On the editorial page of today's Star Tribune newspaper, John Nienstedt, head of the Catholic Church's local subsidiary, criticizes this editorial cartoon in a... Read more

  Posted on 06 May 2012 RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Driving Home with Our 4-year-old

  This evening I was standing around with some other parents, waiting for our 4-year-olds at their "school," when they marched in from the playground with their... Read more

  Posted on 04 May 2012 DEBATE, SELF EXPRESSION

• William Shakespeare

  was christened on April 26, 1564--the year of Michelangelo's death, and Calvin's--at the Church of the Holy Trinity, in Stratford-on-Avon, a small market town i... Read more

  Posted on 29 April 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Useless

  The "humanities" fill US News and World Report's "gallery" of "the 13 most useless majors." English (my long-ago major) comes in at #7, a notch less useless tha... Read more

  Posted on 24 April 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Toilet Reading

  Charles Simic fixes his high beams on one of my pastimes, toilet reading. His is apparently pursued in private residences, when for example he feels the need... Read more

  Posted on 22 April 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Lane Pryce Rebounds; Others Moving in a Different Direction

  I like to write about "Mad Men" from time to time, but Salon's Nelle Engoran is on the beat, and who wants to invite invidious comparisons? Her commentary on... Read more

  Posted on 17 April 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Heroism in Jersey

  

  By now, you know about how Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, ran into the burning house of a neighbor and rescued her. He burned his hand and suffered symptoms... Read more

  Posted on 15 April 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Recommended

  Last night, I got sent our for a few grocery items. The car radio was set to NPR--yes, yes, I drink lattes from Starbucks and vote for the Democrats, too--so I... Read more

  Posted on 12 April 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Bear Free and Patient Thoughts

  King Lear: the commentary, if it does not swoon over Lear's "redemptive suffering," discovers a statement of bottomless nihilism. Read more

  Posted on 10 April 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Want Ad

  Eric the Blue is looking for side jobs. (Times are tough!) I can write newsletters, fliers, technical instructions, blog content, and other business copy.... Read more

  Posted on 08 April 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• A Stray Word on Othello

  Othello, holder of the lowest profile among the famous four (being the four taken up by A.C. Bradley in Shakespearean Tragedy), has been my recent coffee-shop... Read more

  Posted on 03 April 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Health Care in Court

  It seems that all the mind-readers on the Supreme Court beat are sure the Affordable Care Act is just a few months away from being deemed "unconstitutional. Read more

  Posted on 01 April 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Romney Surveys the Vice-presidential Landscape; Journalists Crack up Eric the...

  I don't read every word of the newspaper, even on weekends, but without a doubt the funniest line in today's Star Tribune occurs near the end of an article abou... Read more

  Posted on 31 March 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Mad Men, Season 5, Episode 1

  I'm listening to Terry Gross interview Matthew Weiner about--what else?--last night's two-hour season premier of "Mad Men." It ends with SCDP's reception area... Read more

  Posted on 27 March 2012 ENTERTAINMENT, POLITICS, TV & VIDEO

• Netflix: 50/50

  A funny movie about cancer, which necessarily involves giving short shrift to some of the details. I hope it requires no spoiler alert to note that, in the... Read more

  Posted on 25 March 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Across the Fence

  Here is the text of a letter to the editor printed in Thursday's Star Tribune: As a political independent, I sometimes shake my head in disbelief by the antics... Read more

  Posted on 24 March 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Weather and Climate

  It's been so warm in Minnesota for so long--we had no winter to speak of--that the only locals not talking about the weather are the global warming deniers. Read more

  Posted on 22 March 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Netflix: True Grit

  You won't go wrong with the Coen brothers, and this is another good one. It's been a frequent subject of redaction criticism, since it's based on a novel (by... Read more

  Posted on 19 March 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Probability and the Outcome of Games

  My sister, a professional geek, meaning in her case that it's her job to teach chemistry to young people, recently let drop that a recent test included the... Read more

  Posted on 18 March 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Hamlet Talks with the King

  You've heard of the nice lady who loved Hamlet because it has so many famous sayings. I've been re-reading it and came today to a passage that the nice lady... Read more

  Posted on 13 March 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY