Linked List: September 27, 2009

Sunday, 27 September 2009

William Safire Dies at 79 

From The Times’s obituary:

Then, from 1973 to 2005, Mr. Safire wrote his twice weekly “Essay” for the Op-Ed Page of The Times, a forceful conservative voice in the liberal chorus. Unlike most Washington columnists who offer judgments with Olympian detachment, Mr. Safire was a pugnacious contrarian who did much of his own reporting, called people liars in print and laced his opinions with outrageous wordplay.

Without question, one of my favorite writers and biggest inspirations. Safire was the columnist’s columnist, a master of the form.

Roman Polanski Arrested in Switzerland 

Surprise:

After more than 30 years as a fugitive from U.S. justice, Roman Polanski, the director of legendary films including “Chinatown” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” was arrested in Switzerland on an international warrant as he arrived in Zurich for a film festival featuring a retrospective of his work, the Swiss authorities said Sunday.