Joe Queenan's no-holds-barred satirical writing is not for every palate. He jabs, stabs, pokes, prods, and otherwise mangles various aspects of American culture (not to mention European culture and Third World culture) like a dentist performing a root canal without an anesthetic or a disgruntled postal worker creating balloon animals. It's often not pretty, but is certainly … [Read more...] about Sardonic Joe
Issues
A Day in Capitan Sarmiento
The alarm clock rang. My consciousness slowly roused. 5:30, the illuminated digital figures hazily proclaimed. I steadily regained my faculties after what amounted to about four hours sleep. What in God's name was I doing getting up at this unearthly time? I was supposed to be on vacation. Forty-five minutes later, following a tepid shower and a breakfast consisting of coffee … [Read more...] about A Day in Capitan Sarmiento
Northern Ireland in Crisis?
The more things change, the more they stay the same, was one cynic's response to the election results in Northern Ireland on November 26, which resulted in overwhelming victories for Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Gerry Adams's Sinn Féin Party. Other, less cynical observers point out that the majority of voters, 70 percent, chose to support pro-Agreement … [Read more...] about Northern Ireland in Crisis?
Roots: Cummins (Cummings, Commons, Comyns, Hurley)
The original Irish name is ÓCoimín and its variations are numerous in every part of Ireland. The name lends itself to many interpretations. Some say it comes from the Irish word cam, meaning crooked, while others incorrectly believed the name derived from the word camán, which means a hurling stick. This interpretation gave rise to the anglicized name Hurley. Other anglicized … [Read more...] about Roots: Cummins (Cummings, Commons, Comyns, Hurley)
Songs of the Civil War
David Kincaid talks to Jamie Dawson about his albums of Irish songs from the Civil War. ℘℘℘ Irish-American musician and Civil War historian David Kincaid moved from Seattle to New York in 1985, leaving behind him not only the West Coast he'd been rooted in since birth -- he was born and raised in Los Angeles, the son of an oft-transferred Navy father -- but also the Seattle … [Read more...] about Songs of the Civil War