I love OS!!!!!

First, let me say "thanks" to all who made the OS Party in Oklahoma City a smashing success! When we planned it a month ago, our expectations were pretty low. Never would we have predicted such a huge turn out! 

I saw lots of people from the… Read full post »

Artur Schnabel is considered the 20th century's greatest interpreter of Beethoven's piano music. Born in Austria on April 17, 1882, he became a renowned pianist, teacher, and composer. Eschewing showmanship, he approached music reverentially… Read full post »

Today is a very special "foodie" Tuesday. 

I'm here with my good friend and master chef, Vinh Dang Nguyen. Vinh is the inspiration behind Do An Cho, the most popular Vietnamese restaurant in central Oklahoma. If you want to dine here, you'd better make your res/… Read full post »

May this day --

and every day --

bring peace, love, and joy

to you and your family. Read full post »

Interviews are popular at OS. In keeping with the trend, I’ve decided to interview the young lady who won the hearts of bloggers worldwide when she was introduced by Dr. Amy Tuteur in her fascinating post last month. Her name is Brandy, and she’s the lovely young lady kn/… Read full post »

Recently I contacted Kerry Lauerman about a problem with OS. He responded promptly, and we were able to solve the problem in almost no time. Because some of you may be having the same problem, I’ve reproduced our exchange.

Steve: Kerry, I’ve had a problem with OS since/… Read full post »

If you did not read Mr. Chariot’s exquisite essay, The (Adult) Language of Flowers, published on Valentine’s Day, you missed perhaps the most edifying lesson in gentlemanly etiquette ever to appear on the pages of Le Salon Ouvert.  The following day, the blogosphere was/… Read full post »

Hey everybody! Guess who I heard from the other day?

That's right -- Shaggy! He's been busy writing papers, taking tests, and killing zombies. He misses all of you, as we do him. 

For those of you… Read full post »

Baseball, Apple Pie, and Chevrolet. 

These icons of Americana are as powerful today as they were a half-century ago. Baseball conjures images of profligate wealth and steroid use. And Chevrolet is made by General Motors, which is currently trading at $3.9… Read full post »

Ten-year old genius

Spurting geysers in the park

Jedi gets a point

This just in:  Shaggylocks has been named Poet Laureate of Sonnetica and has acceded to its throne. Now, one question remains:  Can he expand his power and reign over the entire Poetic Blogosphere?

The Force is strong in him. But the training of a Jedi Poet is a… Read full post »

The inimitable Shaggylocks has completed yet another extraordinary sonnet.  Its subject is as large as art itself.   I have reproduced his oevre, to which I contributed meagerly, along with a reply (in sonnet form) that addresses his an… Read full post »

My exchange with the redoubtable Shaggylocks continues. Part 1 of that exchange appears here.  

To Guy with a Functioning Keyboard:

Your skillful execution leaves me awed
Your "Master Sonnetista" flag's unfurled
If no more people see this and applaud
There really is no justice in this world

By… Read full post »

Racial stereotypes are usually bad, and certain ones are especially bad. But what about positive racial stereotypes? Many people think they’re bad too because people should not be judged as a group. But while this argument has merit, it’s not totally convincing. Let&… Read full post »

Yesterday, I read Shaggylock's brilliant post and was moved to respond.  I have reproduced his imaginative sonnet and my reply.

Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Machine

This worn out PC has a broken key
Which once was stuck, but now no longer works.
So I can’t type the le/… Read full post »

I practice medicine in Oklahoma City. Yesterday, a surgeon sent me this  video clip. It illustrates a common problem confronting doctors. 

Sometimes we err not from inattention to detail, but from immersion in detail and inattention to the patient.

Basketba… Read full post »

Last week, I started a blog on salon.com just to be nerdy. A few days later, I received an email from my dear friend, Kerry Yancy Dolan. She was rounding up the Class of ’81 from Trinity Valley School and was inviting us to join Facebook. Innocently and unceremoniously, I… Read full post »

In today's New York Times, David Brooks luxuriates in a speech delivered by Baptist minister Russell Conwell:

"I say that the opportunity to get rich, to attain unto great wealth, is here now within the reach of almost every man and woman who hears me speak tonight!" Conwell thundered… Read full post »

I wrote this letter in response to a piece by Gail Collins in the New York Times.   

Dear Gail,  

I remember when, years ago, Rush Limbaugh was on the cover of National Review, the eminently conservative magazine founded by the late William F. Buckley Jr. Around that time, Bu… Read full post »

I was ambivalent about the Stewart-Cramer showdown.

Throughout the interview, the two men were on different wavelengths. Cramer never understood the nature of Stewart's criticism. He thought he was being attacked for making bad calls when, in fact, Stewart was attacking him for participa… Read full post »