Welcome!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen: I'm starting a blog. I've succumbed to the Great Temptation.

I'm slightly worried that this is going to eat up what remains of my life after work and one or two time-consuming hobbies... but c'est la guerre.

There are just two many things that I want to comment on that don't necessarily deserve a column. I'm not sure yet how frequently I'm going to blog, but I'll be commenting on a variety of things as the spirit moves me: politics, social and cultural issues, art and entertainment, and anything else that strikes my fancy.

Don't expect cat-blogging or kid-blogging. Don't have 'em. But I will probably come up with some creative substitute.

A word about comments. The comments on blog posts are enabled. However, I have no intention of getting embroiled in nasty fights on my own blog. All commenters are asked to stick to civil and civilized discourse, outmoded though the notion may be in the age of Ann Coulter and Michael Moore. That means no personal attacks, no taunts, no flames, no name-calling -- whether directed at me or at other posters here. Comments that violate these rules will be deleted, and if monitoring the comments section for bad behavior becomes too time-consuming I'll have to disable the comments completely.

And now that we've got the basics down... enjoy!