The Beckman Blog

You are browsing the archives of Wall Street Journal.

I blogged about Father’s Day last year, so I guess I’ll make it a tradition by doing so again this year.

My best Father’s Day was also my first.  Jonathan was born in the evening hours of June 19, 2004, the day before Father’s Day.  I said then, and have repeated it many times since, that his birth was the best Father’s Day present I could have ever received – especially considering the fact that he was 3-1/2 weeks early and delivered by emergency Caesarean section because of Cassia’s sudden pre-eclampsia. […]

With Mitt Romney now officially out of the presidential race, the quest for a viable alternative candidate (in the eyes of this conservative-minded voter) looks pretty bleak.   McCain’s alright, I guess, and I’m gradually warming up to the idea of him as President.  I’m really getting a bad taste in my mouth from the party […]

I have a major pet peeve when it comes to people and HDTVs. In last Saturday’s (09/22/07) Wall Street Journal, film critic Joe Morgenstern described that problem exactly (click here to read the full article). His words reassured me that it’s not a burden I carry alone. And I was greatly comforted. Wherever I go […]

Here’s another fairly old article, but highly amusing. Jennifer Saranow in the Wall Street Journal writes (08/17) about the various ways tech-savvy inventors are turning the tables on subway gropers, road-ragers, and incessant barking dogs, among other annoyances. A luminescent screen that is mounted in a car’s rear window and flashes one of five messages […]

It’s about a week old, but Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal wrote an opinion piece (08/24) attesting to the inherent goodness and class of American soldiers that I found genuinely touching and wanted to share with you all. Even better, the article is free for public viewing. Go check it out. I won’t […]

So here’s another post about movies. Please indulge me for a moment. In today’s (6/23) Wall Street Journal, film critic Joe Morgenstern addresses the issue of how to determine what DVD titles should remain in one’s collection. Granted, this is more of an issue for folks with very large libraries (Morgenstern claims to own more […]

I’m not what you would call a "Father’s Day" kind of guy. Oh, I don’t have a problem with everyone else honoring their dads . . . I just don’t like being the object of honor myself. I still have a long way to go in the fatherhood department before I feel worthy of any […]

Here’s an intriguing little sidebar from The Wall Street Journal illustrating the short shrift great people and events in history are getting from Wikipedia, that bastion of all useful knowledge in the universe.  Some of these comparisons are pretty sad, but Terry O’Quinn’s John Locke from LOST is waaaaay cooler than that other guy, who’s […]

Walt Mossberg writes a follow-up article to last week’s rant on new PCs being bogged down by useless trial programs ("craplets," in his words) in the 04/12/07 edition of the Wall Street Journal ("Ways You Can Avoid Getting Junk Programs On Your New Computer"; Page B1). In it, he addresses the issue I raised in […]

I got a tip from a recent Wall Street Journal article ("Can’t Balance Bills With a Free Lunch, Our Columnist Learns," 04/04/07; Page B1) about a website that offers free downloads of movies whose copyrights have expired, thus putting them in the public domain. I went to www.emol.org and was elated to find one of […]