Celebrity

Tuesday

Alex Massie

Deparment of naivete

The anti-land mines brigade are claiming victory (of a sort). The NYT's The Lede is too charitable by far: No one gets into arms control for the glamor and the primetime awards shows, but the International Campaign to Ban Landmines just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to celebrate their 10th anniversary punctuated with a pragmatic rejoinder: “Success in progress.” Emphasis added of course. Equally obviously, that's exactly why many people "get into arms control". Ditto tree-hugging and fretting about global warming and lord knows how many other causes.

Wednesday

Alex Massie

Judging Arthur Miller and Gunter Grass

That wise owl Terry Teachout responds to the brouhaha over the revelation that Arthur Miller "deleted" his Downs-syndrome son from his life, by digging into his vast archive to retrieve the column he wrote when Gunter Grass's youthful service in the Waffen SS came to public attention. Mr Teachout reminds us of five important principles whose application is by no means confined to artists in trouble: 1. Judging the sins of the past by the standards of the present can be a shortcut to self-righteousness. Make sure you have all the facts--and that you understand their historical context--before passing sentence. 2. Don't lose your sense of proportion. 3.Remember the Golden Rule.

Alex Massie

What I loved once and what I love now are two different things.

Matthew d'Ancona makes a pretty sweeping claim this morning. Sir Michael Caine is, he writes: almost certainly the Greatest Living Englishman. My first reaction was that this was pretty strong mustard. But then again, now that Bill Deedes has gone, who are the other contenders? Your nominations please... And if Sir Sean Connery can be labeled the Greatest Living Scotsman, perhaps it's appropriate that his old partner from The Man Who Would Be King be accorded the crown south of the border. In the light of recent developments in Scotland and England, readers are also invited to speculate, as wildly as possible, upon the potential political consequences and significance of this coupling. Be bold.

Tuesday

Friday

Alex Massie

Beckham begins earning his salary (on the pitch)

If you thought David Beckham would be a one day story and then quickly ignored in the US you might want to consider that notice of his first goal for the Los Angeles Galaxy was considered the most important "Breaking News" for a full hour on ESPN last night.