[The trains were never forgotten, but the extent of their influence only came to light with the arrival of the read more

[The trains were never forgotten, but the extent of their influence only came to light with the arrival of the internet and the subsequent flowering of genealogical research. This obsession with roots will be felt especially keenly by foundlings, who often have no way of exploring their family histories.] I notice that genealogical sites now have warnings on them saying people should be ready for little surprises, ... They're not all going to find themselves descended from King Henry VIII or Richard Cur de Lion or Wellington. This is rather strange because it was pretty taken for granted a few generations ago that families had all kinds of little moments where things had gone not according to the book. It was just one of those things. You tried to accommodate it. There was no social welfare. You just had to sort it out within villages, the families, the parish. Children went to the workhouse, but people knew about it. Nowadays, there's a kind of surprise that these cases were so commonplace.

I can manage a prose format as long as I keep closer to Laurence Sterne than to Henry James.

I can manage a prose format as long as I keep closer to Laurence Sterne than to Henry James.

I think it just shows the strength and popularity of the Derby at this point. A few weeks ago our read more

I think it just shows the strength and popularity of the Derby at this point. A few weeks ago our list of horses we thought were possible or probable seemed to be shrinking a bit. But when we got the last round of major preps, the list started growing again -- even though two horses (Brother Derek and Lawyer Ron) you'd regard as the favorites scored emphatic victories.

We were one rebound away from winning, for really turning it into a series.

We were one rebound away from winning, for really turning it into a series.

Our mayor, who was very busy last year learning how to be a mayor, this year actually took a wonderful read more

Our mayor, who was very busy last year learning how to be a mayor, this year actually took a wonderful leadership role, got into the budget with both feet.

We sometimes find ourselves at a loss as to whether we should be more appalled at the Bush Administration's ideological read more

We sometimes find ourselves at a loss as to whether we should be more appalled at the Bush Administration's ideological obsession, its incompetence, its arrogance, its anti-intellectualism, or its dishonesty, ... In New Orleans, we see all of these forces at work in a manner that the mainstream media finally finds itself unable to ignore.

We want to provide the opportunity for people to experience space in as many ways as possible.

We want to provide the opportunity for people to experience space in as many ways as possible.

His pitch count was good. We don't have another game until Thursday, so after the fifth inning I told him read more

His pitch count was good. We don't have another game until Thursday, so after the fifth inning I told him I was going to give him a shot to go the full distance. I'm very proud of what we saw from him.

We try to take advantage of everything. If we have one mismatch we'll ride it as long as we can.

We try to take advantage of everything. If we have one mismatch we'll ride it as long as we can.