Links gone wild!
One of the great truths about writing, be it journalism or fiction or whatever, is that the last line is damn near as important as the first. A good start to a piece of writing is what keeps you reading. A good finish is what causes you to remember it when you’re done. This essay from New York magazine has one of the best last lines I’ve seen in a long time — succinct, funny and perfectly appropriate to the subject matter. The writer makes the case that we’ve become absurdly intolerant to contrary viewpoints, and way too prone to seek to have them silenced. It is one of the few truly bipartisan issues: Left and Right alike want the other side to be made to shut up. (Personally, I think the Left, with its dogmatic embrace of political correctness and “hate speech” prohibitions, is much scarier in this regard if only because of the Marcusian righteousness behind it.) In any event, the last line in this piece would make a good mantra for life in general.
The link to this next item requires some explanation. No, that’s not exactly right. It requires a confession. I know about this video only because I was watching “Inside Edition” one night. That’s the confession. The explanation is that “Inside Edition” immediately follows the CBS News (which I faithfully watch and during which at least once a night say, “Oh, Katie, you’re just so doggone cute!”), and I’m generally too lazy to switch the channel. There’s not much else on that time of night, anyway. “Inside Edition” reported that the high school teacher who’s seen in the video was suspended for this bit of quasi-provocative silliness. Was that an overreaction? Beats the hell outta me. I report, you decide.
Finally, here’s a link passed along by a WAW reader whose only comment was: “Good eatin’, though.” The video will either confirm your opinion that Southern country boys are genetically prone to bizarre behavior, or keep you from ever swimming in muddy rivers — considering what’s in the water. I’d heard about this practice of snagging catfish with your bare hand, but half-believed it was an urban legend. Here’s the proof that it’s not.