Friday Odds and Sods is Up Against It

With warmer if soggier weather slowly seeping in, I find myself in a much more upbeat frame of mind as this week comes to an end.  Our ancient ancestor realized, after all, that spring was a time for renewal and rebirth, and after a winter like last one I could do with a bit of both.  While Fitzgerald may have said there were no second acts in American life, that certainly does not leave out the possibility of making a fresh start that incorporates the best of what has come before.  Apologies for the verbosity, but the pleasant weather has given me the freedom to take long walks that allow me to indulge in my favorite pass time, idle speculation.  Hoping that they will give you some pleasure on a sunny spring weekend wherever you are, I present this weeks Odds & Sods.

• Continuing with our apocalyptic theme from last week, two stories of decline and fall on a more personal level, Muhammad Ali and Evan Bayh
• An interesting account of the use of dogs in Dante's Divine Comedy
• While the standard narrative of the Civil Rights Movement is of non-violence overcoming the South's prejudice, this article provides another perspective with a history of Black self-defense in the early 20th Century
• Finally, a pleasant tune for a Saturday in March