Watch this wall for coming attractions!

I know the teeming hordes which comprise our audience have been literally on pins and needles waiting for the next installment of "Sim Actually Blogs." Well, the time has come. Almost. Your intrepid pseudo-blogger has been so irritated by an article he read in The New Yorker that he will actually go on something of a bender this weekend and write an analysis of said article. And I'm defining "bender" as "setting aside urgent work, house painting, bill paying, family obligations and some desperately needed R & R." That's how mad I am.

On a side note, you may be asking yourself why a conservative has a subscritpion to The New Yorker. Good question. I'm not really sure how to explain it, but I'll give it a shot. The New Yorker provides an eclectic mix of political commentary, the arts, David Sedaris, John Updike and others. It's an iconic and unique cultural overview, in my opinion. Now true, it's a slanted to the left. Hendrik Hertzberg is a great writer but an unhinged mind. His analyses of political issues leave a lot to be desired. But they sound good. Sy Hersh often covers topics of interest to me, but his methods are slack and biases tired. A recent addition has been Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars (a must read if you're interested in Afghanistan, al Qaeda, political Islam, Pakistan, etc). He's one of the true greats operating out there discussing South Asia and the War on Terror. His recent article about the India-Pakistan nuclear showdown in 2001-2002 addressed not only an under-reported event but also provided deep insight on one of the world's more unstable and dangerous regions. It also delved into the Bush Administration's strategy and relationships with both countries, which is central to any meaningful understanding of the approach to the GWOT. So that's why I read The New Yorker.

Of course, it would make people laugh to watch me as I read it. I sit there alternately shaking my head, laughing derisively, shouting out expletives, or throwing it down and leaving the room. For every Steve Coll article there are ten Hertzberg and Hersh pieces. Thank goodness for David Sedaris.