Bob Collins
Seinfeld fairly nails it when he notes that when the ’63 Stingray came out, America did things without having a reason to do it and a knowledge how.
That was back in the day when it could also have an occasional chuckle.
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MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Archives for December 2015
None of these will make the news, although they reveal the nature of us. We put one foot forward, then the other, and exhibit a quiet dignity and strength whether we succeed or whether we fail. That alone is uplifting and worthy of our attention and gratitude. Read more →
It’s not every day that a Vatican entity longs for more evil in the world. Read more →
When I started NewsCut eight years ago this month, one of the things I wanted to do was provide the occasional behind-the-scenes look at MPR News, an area most people never get to see unless you take one of my patented two-hour in-person tours.
I never got around to it but being called out of radio talk-show retirement in the last couple of weeks to fill in for Kerri Miller reminded me again that radio is an iceberg, most of which lies beneath the surface. Read more →
Ten years ago today, Daniel Jay (apparently not his real name) went to a Christmas party, got drunk, then hit the road. Then he hit Emily Pothast’s parents. Her mom died instantly. Her dad bled to death in the hospital.
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Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Whalen suffered a massive and sudden stroke in Dallas. He couldn’t be saved, but he was kept alive so that his organs could be donated to someone else. Read more →
Oh, nothing. Just goofing off at work on a slow news day watching Aaron Rodgers being all Aaron Rodgers. You? Read more →
Bruce Hagen, the mayor Superior, Wisc., is in trouble with some of his constituents for making a personal opinion on his Facebook page, adding more fuel to a growing debate in America: What link should there — or shouldn’t there — be between someone’s personal opinion (no matter how insipid) and their public role? Read more →
This is my final day filling in for Kerri Miller on her MPR talk show and, I suppose, we’re not going to exactly ‘leave ’em laughing.’ Read more →
If we can defend the right to burn a cross in St. Paul, we can surely defend the right to post a message on Facebook, or to be compelled by the government to post something on Twitter. Read more →
Just a week after he was diagnosed with lung cancer, Billy Glaze died this morning, the Star Tribune reports. He was convicted of a series of murders of American Indian women in Minneapolis in the 1980s. But he may have been an innocent man. Read more →
CBS News anchor Scott Pelley reminds us that if some people didn’t get in the line of fire, the public might never know what happened. Sixty-nine journalists have been killed in 2015. Read more →
The more pages I read in Mary Norris’ book (Mary would insist I add an ‘s’ to that, but I refuse, in deference to the Taylor sisters), the more I want to ask the people who made up all of these rules of our language one question: Who hurt you? Read more →
This is the time of year when the small mysteries of winter can occupy us for literally minutes at a time. Read more →
Space and technology can still provide a few ‘gee whiz’ moments and SpaceX’s effort to create a reusable rocket finally paid off last evening when the Falcon 9 rocket landed perfectly upright, ending a short string of spectacular disasters in previous attempts.
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