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ABOUTBlack Lamb was created to offer the discerning reader a stimulating selection of excellent original writing. Published monthly. (more) FREE SAMPLE COPYClick here to receive a free sample issue via U.S. mail. There is absolutely no obligation. SUBSCRIBESupport this independently published journal of fine essays. Annual subscriptions are $15 in the USA, $25 in Canada, $30 in the UK, or $35 elsewhere (all prices in US $). Click here to subscribe online via paypal or send a check to Black Lamb, 1759 View Drive, San Leandro CA 94577. QUESTIONSIf you have questions or comments regarding Black Lamb, please email us. |
LogophiliaOctober 1st, 2011 BY LANE BROWNING There is Charades, and then there is Charades. I come from what people would call an “intellectual” family; both of my brothers have doctorates, and each of them has been married to women with doctorates (my brother’s second wife had two). My sister is a retired surgeon married to an orthodontist; my nephew is a surgeon, my nearest cousin is a neonatologist, my nieces are bilingual and academically accomplished. My son, still in his teens, has already won science and math awards. I’m the dumb one, but that’s not the subject of this essay. Though I have sibs who speak multiple languages and have traveled all parts of the globe and published in impressive journals, what probably defines us as a group is our humor — and the games. When we congregate, the games predominate. Yes, there is a lot of conversation, and there is some cooking and eating and physical activity; but chiefly, it’s the games. Not board games or games requiring pieces. In my family, the default is Charades and the runnerup is Dictionary Game.
Posted by: The Editors September 2011 in Black LambVolume 9, Number 9 — September 2011September 1st, 2011 In the cover story of our September issue, Punishment without crime, Terry Ross discussed the pros and cons of legalizing all banned drugs. In Extra-long weekend, Benjamin Feliciano describes losing his job. John M. Daniel recalls a very curious job in Judette the Nudette. Toby Tompkins continues his Hobbling Tour of Florence & Rome with an examination, and defense, of tourism. Patsy Tompkins describes battling insomnia in To sleep. In Growing up Italian, Elizabeth Fournier remembers the importance of family meals. And Dan Peterson turns himself loose on the subject of capital punishment in Forbidden penalty. We welcome two giants of world literature into our pantheon of Honorary Black Lambs and The Ultimate Literary Calendar for 2012: Leo Tolstoy and Miguel de Cervantes. Bridge columnist Trixie Barkis offers A quick quiz. Our lamb recipe is for a scrumptious African yam and lamb stew. Advice columnist Millicent Marshall again answers readers’ questions. And Professor Avram Khan gives us another challenging Black Lamb Word Puzzle.
Posted by: The Editors Extra-long weekendAll dressed up & no place to goSeptember 1st, 2011 BY BENJAMIN FELICIANO Wake up knowing that you are going into work today for about the length of time it takes you to get logged in and take one phone call. Breathe deeply and smile to yourself. Put on your nicest pair of pants and go into the bathroom. Use that whitening mouthwash you bought but hardly use and brush your teeth. Then floss. Shave your face and consider giving yourself a little Hitler stache; fantasize about hiding it under the guise of pensive thought until you can reveal it and goose-step your way out of your boss’s office. Finish shaving the mustache off. Put on your best shirt and think about wearing your best tie but remember your roommate borrowed it and undid the perfect knot you’ve been reusing since you bought it. Leave the tie.
Posted by: The Editors August 2011 in Black LambVolume 9, Number 8 — August 2011August 1st, 2011 The All-Turning Points Issue In the cover story of our August All-Turning Points issue, Terry Ross tells how a demanding job changed him forever, perhaps not entirely for the better. In Just because, Elizabeth Fournier relates how her mother’s death, when she was just a girl, altered her life. Our language columnist, Joel Hess, gives us a sprightly essay on the words in English that signify transformation in Turn, turn, turn.
Posted by: The Editors Turn, turn, turnAugust 1st, 2011 BY JOEL HESS In honor of this issue about turning points, let us consider the development of how we English speakers express the idea of motion around an axis.
Posted by: The Editors July 2011 in Black LambVolume 9, Number 7 — July 2011July 1st, 2011 In the cover story of our July issue, Ed Goldberg, reflects on the Law of Unintended Consequences, which states that our best intentions can put us on The road to hell. In Class act, our language specialist Joel Hess reflect that in England, you are how you speak. John M. Daniel writes of his mother’s death, probably by her own hand, in Starlight in Minneapolis. In Serious thought, Denver resident Benjamin Feliciano supposes that he is undergoing an “information age identity crisis.” Elizabeth Fournier sings the praises of periodic fasting in Feeling flush(ed). In the second installment of a travelogue called A Hobbling Tour of Florence & Rome, Toby Tompkins ponders the effect of World War II on the Italian countryside, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, ghettos, and soccer, among other things. Terry Ross says that our attitude toward research animals, zoos, and pets shows that our casual incarceration of our fellow creatures is Cruel, but not unusual.
Posted by: The Editors Cruel, but not unusualJuly 1st, 2011 BY TERRY ROSS In the May 18 issue of The Wall Street Journal, I read an article — on the editorial page — that in its way was perfectly innocuous. Still, it made me angry. P. Michael Conn, a professor of medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University’s National Primate Center, and James Parker, an ethicist also based in Portland, Ore., wrote a short piece on the fancifully named Daniel Andreas San Diego, one of nine men left on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Terrorist List” after the death of Osama bin Laden, and the only one who’s an animal rights activist rather than a Muslim extremist. Messrs. Conn and Parker seem to find it disturbing that public opinion polls give Mr. San Diego a fifty-percent approval rating, as compared to the almost infinitesimal support shown for guys who aid al Qaeda, hijack airplanes, or attack American ships. Conn and Parker think the animal-rights “terrorist” belongs on the list.
Posted by: The Editors June 2011 in Black LambVolume 9, Number 6 — June 2011June 1st, 2011 The Black Lamb Review of Books VIII In the cover story of this, our Eighth Black Lamb Review of Books, John M. Daniel urges a remake of the movie The Wizard of Oz that is more closely based on Baum’s ironic and imaginative novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Terry Ross discusses several books, old and new, in Spring reading. In Grandpa’s stories, Harvey Freedenberg reviews Tiá Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife.
Posted by: The Editors The lost wonder of Ozor, Notes for the remake of an American classicJune 1st, 2011 BY JOHN M. DANIEL It’s a common belief that if you have read the book first, and loved it, you’ll be disappointed by the movie. There are exceptions, of course, but I’ve found I agree with the cliché nearly always.
It is not the purpose of this essay to trash one of America’s cherished treasures. Yes, The Wizard of Oz is a wonderful movie, the Wonderful Movie of Oz. Because, because, because, because the music is great; the special effects were stunning for their time and still hold up; the joy and hope expressed were an antidote to the Depression-Era doldrums; and of course there’s Judy Garland, who deserves her tenure in American hagiography. Believe me, I like the movie. But it ain’t the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the Land of Oz, and it falls short of the book.
Posted by: The Editors May 2011 in Black LambVolume 9, Number 5 — May 2011May 1st, 2011 In the cover story of our May issue, The world in flux, Ed Goldberg finds that everything is changing. In Public servant, Benjamin Feliciano paints the portrait of a memorable bus driver in Denver. Lane Browning takes a wry look at the illnesses that have plagued her in Sick & tired. In the first of a three-part series on his mother’s death, Snowfall in Minneapolis, John M. Daniel recalls a son’s visit. In Eco-mom, Elizabeth Fournier remembers a mother who was ahead of her time. Toby Tompkins begins a three-part travel journal called A Hobbling Tour of Florence & Rome. Hal Clanger relates some of his experiences as a hostel caregiver in It’s about them — & me. Advice columnist Millicent Marshall dispenses wisdom, and Professor Avram Khan gives us another challenging Black Lamb Word Puzzle.
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