We can’t do much about the way we look, but we can do plenty to make the world around us look attractive, comforting, inspirational and practical. We spend a whole lot of […]
Retorts: Ugliness is bad for business
Take me out to the beauty park … please
We live in an era of public ugliness, of architects who deliberately make their forms unsightly and inhuman, and of public art installations that are invariably ridiculous. The most obvious exception is […]
What else is “None of your business”?
President Donald Trump’s itinerary at the G-20 summit in Japan included a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose government is accused of using dirty tricks to interfere in the U.S. election […]
The madcap caution of Donald Trump
The worry was that the Trump administration was ginning up fake intelligence about Iran blowing up oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz to justify a war against Iran. Then the next […]
Can we “Make Iran Great Again”?
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as he arrives at a hotel in Vienna, Austria, on July 14, 2014, for a second day […]
Towering achievements and let-downs
At last, the Orange County Tribune’s long-delayed “Tributes and Tribulations” list, taking note of the praise-worthy and cringe-worthy events and trends in and around the communities of Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Stanton […]
How much to fight climate change?
The more the climate debate changes, the more it stays the same. Polls show that the public is worried about climate change, but that doesn’t mean it is ready to bear any […]
Franken: A ballooning Independence Day
Let’s not get too excited over the plans of the protesters to bring over the hilarious “Baby Trump” balloon from London and put it aloft during the president’s Independence Day speech at […]
Drastic measure required for “bad actor”
Editor, Westminster’s recent adoption of procedure requiring majority’s support of any measure to be placed on the agenda is nothing new in city hall practices. In Orange County, such procedures are used […]
Retorts: Not ready for roughing it yet
The Retorts column by Jim Tortolano is taking a week off. This is a classic “Retorts.” Pat Ryan, in his sci-fi novel “Alas Babylon,” wrote that “civilization is like snow in […]
