Dennis O'Toole
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Live Blogging: The State of the Union

1/24/2012

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Just one observation:

If a Martian landed in Washington, D.C. and suddenly wound up in the United States Congress at the State of the Union address, he would say, "Ugh, this incessant applause is so annoying.  Politicians do that on my planet, too.  However, you will have to take my word on that since you earthlings cannot see us with your pre-historic 'telescopes'!  HAHAHA!!!"
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The More the Marrier, by Ben Greenman

1/21/2012

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Hi-larious.
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I Am Not a Hero

1/21/2012

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Chicago, 1/20/12, intersection of North and Clybourn. Not a big deal.
_

The word “hero” gets kicked around a lot.  We say it so often that we’ve rendered the word meaningless. 

Rose’s Final-Second Heroics Give Bulls the Win, says the headline in the sports section.  I’m gonna destroy this hero, says the hungry man using another term for a submarine sandwich.  Where are my heroes!?!  Wait, duh—they’re right here in my hand, says the guy having a mild stroke who meant to say “keys.”



None of these people is a hero, and I am not either.  I rode my bike seven miles in a snowstorm.  That’s all. 

I did not wrestle a tiger away from a group of toddlers.  I did not take the controls of a 747 after the pilot didn’t feel like landing.  I did not kill Osama bin Laden.   I repeat:  I did not kill bin Laden.  Stop asking.


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John Cassidy's "Rational Irrationality" Blog

1/20/2012

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Here is his most recent post on last night's South Carolina debate.  'Tis a fine place to start.

Here's the whole blog.

I also think his book, "How Markets Fail," is the bee's knees.
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Relentless

1/20/2012

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I'm a sucker for good, funny writing

1/19/2012

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That happens to be right.
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Steve Martin on Earl Scruggs

1/17/2012

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Excellent bit of writing here. 
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road": an early draft with cross-outs and author's notes

1/7/2012

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A memory unbidden and sudden burst into the man’s ken.   He buckled over the handle of his cart as laughs and coughs poured forth in prolific tandems that ceased only when exhaustion had made rendered more of either impossible.


What’s so funny?  the boy asked.


Nothing, the man said.   Uh, hahaha!   Shit.  Ahh-ha!   Cough. Ha, ha—cough, cough.  Keep walking.



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Think Outside the Box

1/5/2012

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Picture
_ The first time I ever heard someone utter this... command, I wanted to put the guy in one and bury it.  It was November of 1997.  I was a new employee at a large law firm that I won’t name, but between me and you:  it was Kirkland & Ellis here in Chicago.  I was a paralegal (uncertified and untrained; more like a paraparalegal).  My job was to staple things, put stickers on things, mail things, and photocopy things.  I saw a bill once.  They charged clients $115 an hour for my services.  I got thirteen of that.

During one of my first weeks on the job, an attorney told me he wanted a copy of every document I sent to an expert witness, starting with a large stack I had just put in the mail.  It was not clear why he wanted a copy because we possessed the originals.  The originals were, if you think about it, our “copy,” one we could read pretty much all the time, if we wanted. 


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    About Dennis

    Dennis O'Toole is a all-set cobra jet creepin' through the nighttime.  He lives in Chicago. 

    If you need to reach me, dial:
    denotoole AT SYMBOL gmail PERIOD CHARACTER co LETTER M.  



    https://twitter.com/deeohtee

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