Posted 5:32 PM by Gene

I see About Last Night has been flooded with visitors and besmirched by cranks. I don't post comments either in part because I'm afraid what people would say (and also in part because I'm afraid I wouldn't get any comments); but one of the downsides to the Web is its herd mentality, a mentality exacerbated by the general youth and geekiness of its audience, and by being smack in the middle of POPU-LAR CULTYURE, which makes everything into GEEEEEEENIUS. Mr. Teachout's remarks were measured, and they have the additional merit of being true. That people would scream about this (and it isn't worth screaming about) either says that they've been conditioned by watching too much television, a medium they really must wean themselves from, or that too many people read People -- or NEWSPAPERS.

P. S. I posted my remarks about Johnny ten minutes before Mr. Teachout (although he was probably first), and I think I avoided his trap, but as I said, he had those grace notes, and I wish I could write like him at his best. He also added this neat line: "For [British obituary writers], the statute of limitations on candor expires when the death certificate is signed."