Responding To Amazon Review, Author Makes A House Call

“When Wittenberg University professor Dan Fleisch read on Amazon.com that Michel Cuhaci of Ottawa had received a flawed copy of Fleisch’s book ‘A Student’s Guide to Maxwell’s Equation,’ he posted a comment, identifying himself as the author and promising Cuhaci he would try to send the book via overnight courier. The only problem was, it was Christmas Eve.” So Fleisch headed for the airport.

In South Pacific Audience, Not In The Hudson

“[T]he pilot who safely ditched his jetliner in the Hudson River received a standing ovation Saturday from the audience at a Broadway performance of ‘South Pacific.’
At the end of the classic revival, the show’s stars introduced Capt. Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger as the pilot who set down the disabled plane within reach of rescue boats last month, saving the lives of all 155 people on US Airways Flight 1549.”

At Oscar Wilde Bookshop, Decades Ago, Plotting The Future

“One of the subtler pleasures of the movie Milk is its vivid portrayal of those small rooms where the conspirators of the gay liberation movement first came together. Sadly, one of those sanctums, the Oscar Wilde Bookshop, announced it was closing last week, after 42 years. As it happens, the place has a direct link to the film: Its founder, Craig Rodwell, was an early boyfriend of Harvey Milk, at the time a closeted actuary in Brooks Brothers drag.”

US Senate Votes 73-24 To Prohibit Arts Funding In Stimulus Bill

Americans for the Arts “labeled the amendment to the Senate’s $827-billion stimulus proposal “egregious” in its exclusion of “any … museum, theater [or] art center” from sharing in the bailout. At least the arts are in popular company: Also excluded are any “gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, community park … and highway beautification project.”