SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE:

I KNEW SHAKESPEARE WAS A BAD GUY:  FROM LEGAL INSURRECTION:   British universities have reportedly begun putting trigger warnings on great Greek and Shakespearean tragedies for students who may be sensitive to their dark content.  U.K. outlet The Telegraph reported Wednesday that the University of Derby and several other British universities have deemed celebrated tragedies like Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” as “potentially upsetting” for students.  As such, university staff have attached “trigger warnings” to a school literature module that covers classic tragedies, cautioning students that the works are “obsessed” with suffering.  The Telegraph added, “Athenian dramas concerning the deaths of mythical kings, and Arthur Miller’s classic Death of a Salesman, are also on the reading list for the module, which has been given a blanket advisory on how the tragic could be troubling.”  The outlet provided the text of the warning provided by professors for their students, which stated, “Tragedy is a genre obsessed with violence and suffering, often of a sexual or graphic kind, and so some of the content might be triggering for some students.”  Great Britain was once the country that stood alone against the Nazis.  Can you imagine if their new generation of students had to face a similar challenge?  But you may be sure that some American universities will embrace this same madness as well.

AH YES, I REMEMBER IT WELL:  FROM FOX:   Champion of justice "The Lone Ranger" and trusty steed Silver rode across the Wild West and into American lore for the first time on this day in history, Jan. 30, 1933.  Lone Ranger was soon joined by Native American sidekick Tonto to become the original crime-fighting dynamic duo of multimedia fame.  The program debuted on WXYZ in Detroit — the first of more than 3,000 radio episodes over the next two decades.  "'The Lone Ranger' was an instant success, and the character became known for his black domino mask, code of honor, signature silver bullets, and horse Silver," the Smithsonian Institution notes. 
"According to his moral code, the Lone Ranger attempts to avoid violence, shooting only to disarm, not kill, and using silver bullets as a reminder of the value of human life."  The radio show soon found a nationwide audience of millions of listeners. Meant for children, it enjoyed equal appeal among adults.  "During the next 80 years, ‘The Lone Ranger’ would appear in comic strips, television shows and movies, not to mention a vast array of merchandise including action figures, costumes, books and toy guns," writes Indian Country Times, a news site of indigenous American culture.   One of my childhood favorites.  The opening, featuring music from "The William Tell Overture," became famous.  As far as I was concerned, any American boy who couldn't recite the entire opening from memory was unfit for citizenship. 

January 30, 2023