[lbo-talk] What's the matter with Bean Town?

[Carl Remick]

>From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
>
>On Feb 3, 2007, at 4:07 PM, Carl Remick wrote:
>
> > Retired NY Times columnist Russell Baker once did a great piece
> > about the key distinction between being "solemn" and being "serious."
>
>Really? I remember the all-lower-case Village Voice columnist Jill
>Johnston making that distinction in the mid-70s.

[It would have to be pre-'78 to give jj ownership of this particular piece 
of intellectual property.  Here's the RB column abstract from the NYT 
archive (btw, I believe jj ripped off her lower-casedness from Archy the 
cockroach.)]

Sunday Observer

Why Being Serious Is Hard

By Russell Baker
Apr 30, 1978

Abstract:

Here is a letter of friendly advice. "Be serious," it says. What it means, 
of course, is, "Be solemn." The distinction between being serious and being 
solemn seems to be vanishing among Americans, just as surely as the 
distinction between "now" and "presently" and the distinction between 
liberty and making a mess.

<http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nytimes/access/110848673.html?dids=110848673:110848673&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+30%2C+1978&author=By+Russell+Baker&pub=New+York+Times++(1857-Current+file)&edition=&startpage=SM5&desc=Sunday+Observer>

Carl

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