Was there really no slavery in the Persian Empire? That would be unheard-of in the ancient world. These articles seem to indicate otherwise, and one says that the myth was propagated by none other than Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi!

I also would not call British atrocities against Irish nationalism "fascist." Thomas is right - fascism doesn't mean "anything bad that is vaguely right-wing," any more than communism means "anything bad that is vaguely left-wing." Atrocities against civilians are a pretty
universal thing throughout history,…

Why does Fallon think that Harry Styles is a funny-sounding name? At least "Gillooly" and "Buttafucco" really were kind of funny-sounding (to an American ear - I realize this is all culturally conditioned). It wasn't so long ago that Julia Stiles and Ryan Stiles were fairly well-known, and no one thought they had…

Does anyone remember the Madeline L'Engle book in which two brothers of Meg (heroine of A Wrinkle in Time) go back to the pre-flood era? They interact not only with Noah and his family but with angels and demons who can transform into animals. (It kind of reminded me of Transformers - not sure which came first.) I…

Wasn't this supposed to be Dobie Gillis? Or was that a different one of the many features on the site these days?

If anyone ever reads this - does anyone know the story behind the Providence edition? It was created for the first time just as it was becoming clear that the print editions were all doomed and many others were being shut down. Oh, well, maybe now I can get a final issue that I can bring onto Antiques Roadshow if…

Oh, you beat me to it. Before I read the headline, I thought for sure there was a connection.

You know, I don't know anything about the Tonypandy riots except for their mention in Tey's book. Are they still regarded as a big deal today? What really happened there? Off to Wikipedia, I guess…

Am I the only one who remembers that in the nineties he did start to let his hair go gray? He only began to dye it around the time he married Heather. Apparently the new wife (Nancy?) must like it too.

I wonder if there could be any connection with the scene in Walker
Percy's The Moviegoer where the protagonist starts addressing his inner
monologue to Rory Calhoun. Improbable, but you never know.

I will admit that the quotes provided by Vulture are mostly quite funny - but still, not a Penguin Classic.

I like some Morrissey and Smiths songs, but it's a disgrace that was actually published under the Penguin Classics banner. I believe I was naive to refer to an earlier picture of the cover as "ludicrously fake." The more fool I, to use the sort of pretentious locution Morrissey himself would likely favor.

Whittle and Channel One were the same thing.  Never heard of the Edison Project before, although there was a lot of corporate advertising in schools on a smaller scale in that era (also satirized in an episode of Daria, if I recall correctly).

I think just the opposite of Mr. Roche's statement is true - from the perspective of traditional stage and screen, the Civil War has been attractive because you can tell a sympathetic story set on either side.  Both sides can be the good guys!  Indeed, the most successful Civil War films have mostly been those set on…

Only, what, sixteen years have passed?  It definitely should gave been the same actor with a little bit of makeup.  With the race change too - I am completely in favor of color-blind casting, but in this case that really obliterated any chance that the viewer would figure out they were the same character.

You can admit it, Phil - we know "James" was you.

A TV example - I believe the ball here was supposed to deflate slowly.  You can see Krasinski jump out of the way in genuine surprise.  Props to Phyllis Smith and Leslie David Baker for not breaking character.

They can do a sequel with mostly the same cast about Curt Flood.  Then they can branch out beyond sports with Roe v. Wade, the Watergate tapes, the banning and reinstatement of the death penalty - it was an interesting time for the Supreme Court.

Actually, Scalia, although often bitter and sarcastic in his written opinions, is said to be liked by his colleagues and to have bonded with Ruth Bader Ginsburg over their joint love of opera.  Ditto Rehnquist - his colleagues mostly liked him.  Everyone agrees, however, that Burger was pompous beyond belief and hard…

I sometimes wonder about the boys who played some of those demanding female roles. Especially Lady Macbeth.