The Funny and Insightful Thoughts of Simone Klugman
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika recently announced that he would be running for a fifth term. He did not make the announcement personally. In fact, he has not spoken a word in public for the last five years. He spends most of his time in Switzerland, being treated for an unknown illness. His only public appearances […]
Advice columns in newspapers have always been popular. Some readers skip the news and go to the advice columns to see what problems are bothering other people. It’s amusing to postpone looking at the answer imagining how you might respond before you look at what Dear Abby or Ann Landers has to say. The British […]
I have been asked by my editors to introduce the “Ask Simone” feature. What better way to do this than to ask myself some questions which I will then proceed to answer. Today’s topic is OPERA. So here goes! 1. If you wanted to introduce a total novice to opera which one would you select? […]
To think and act against the fashion of the day is the beginning of wisdom. It is said that to get to the source you have to swim upstream. Salmon swim that way to lay their eggs and to maximize their offspring’s chances of survival. Other fish too swim from the ocean to the […]
From the Editor….Here’s a video of Simone coming down the middle part of the 52 stairs from her front door to the street (taken about two weeks ago) Our author turned 97 on January 14th and we wanted you to see her in motion. I complimented her on how well she was navigating. She replied, […]
Political scientist Valerie M. Hudson wrote: “Men agreed to be ruled by other men in return for all men ruling over women.” It is because of male domination at home and in the political arena that women’s march toward full equality has been painfully slow and tortuous. This year 110 women, nearly all Democrats, were […]
Music is a contact sport. An electric current passes through the conductor to the orchestra and through the orchestra to the audience. Audiences clap or shout “Bravo” (unless they boo and hiss.) This response in turn rebounds back to the performers. Gutsavo Dudamel understands this phenomenon extremely well and maximizes the connection. Dudamel is the […]
Last month, Russian forces seized and shot at three Ukrainian vessels attempting to cross through the Kerch Strait, a narrow passage between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Six sailors were injured. The Russians then boarded two warships and a tugboat, detaining more sailors and completely blocking the Strait. Some of the […]
Assia Bibi, a Christian woman living in Pakistan, was sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy for having participated in a protest march. Even though she was exonerated by the Supreme Court, she must now flee if she wants to avoid being attacked by an angry mob of people who fully intend to […]
Hillary and Jackie is a 1998 film about the two British sisters Jacqueline and Hilary du Pre, one a cellist, the other a flutist. The film pretty much mirrors their actual lives. Jackie became a virtuoso at an early age and rose to international prominence. Hilary struggled and eventually gave up performing to […]