Frank Van Haste
@vanhaste.com
PP-ASEL IR Busily retired. Ashburn, VA. I'm a docent at a large aerospace museum located in DC.
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
The drugstore pbk market was HUGE. Years ago, after I wrote a Times story on liquor & cigarette ads running in paperbacks (!) in 60s & 70s, I heard from an old Madison Ave exec who did the ad buys. Biggest volume bookstore in the US, he said, was the Rexall Drugs at Grand Central Station.
🎁 link:
🎁 link:
So Long to Cheap Books You Could Fit in Your Pocket
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 1:54 AM
The drugstore pbk market was HUGE. Years ago, after I wrote a Times story on liquor & cigarette ads running in paperbacks (!) in 60s & 70s, I heard from an old Madison Ave exec who did the ad buys. Biggest volume bookstore in the US, he said, was the Rexall Drugs at Grand Central Station.
🎁 link:
🎁 link:
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
We loved Ron's Book Club newsletter and are sad to see it gone. If you are too, give him a follow on Substack.
Today's post is a good reason why — and not just because it includes a beautiful, validating poem ("The Night After You Lose Your Job") by our very own copywriter Debbie Kuan:
Today's post is a good reason why — and not just because it includes a beautiful, validating poem ("The Night After You Lose Your Job") by our very own copywriter Debbie Kuan:
February 6, 2026 at 8:51 PM
We loved Ron's Book Club newsletter and are sad to see it gone. If you are too, give him a follow on Substack.
Today's post is a good reason why — and not just because it includes a beautiful, validating poem ("The Night After You Lose Your Job") by our very own copywriter Debbie Kuan:
Today's post is a good reason why — and not just because it includes a beautiful, validating poem ("The Night After You Lose Your Job") by our very own copywriter Debbie Kuan:
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
One of the best arguments I have ever seen to study history. It's not about memorizing dates, it's about learning of the past, to understand the present and make a better future.
Humanities matter if you care about humanity.
Humanities matter if you care about humanity.
February 6, 2026 at 12:27 PM
One of the best arguments I have ever seen to study history. It's not about memorizing dates, it's about learning of the past, to understand the present and make a better future.
Humanities matter if you care about humanity.
Humanities matter if you care about humanity.
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
+1
Gotta say, so far I'm really happy I voted for her.
NEW: Abigail Spanberger this afternoon ordered that all state agencies leave ICE's 287(g) program.
This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.
Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.
This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.
Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.
February 5, 2026 at 12:52 AM
+1
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
A publisher who lays off a reporter whose pen is freezing because she's covering a frigid war zone while dodging missiles is not an editor you want to work for, in a more perfect world
February 4, 2026 at 5:07 PM
A publisher who lays off a reporter whose pen is freezing because she's covering a frigid war zone while dodging missiles is not an editor you want to work for, in a more perfect world
We subscribed to the Post in 2008 when we moved to DC and came to love it. Finally (sadly) ended digital subscription last fall. Today's news is a tragedy.
NEWS: The cuts were so severe that at least one department head asked to leave The Post rather than be included in the planning.
Peter Finn, The Post's international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Peter Finn, The Post's international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Washington Post Begins Sweeping Layoffs
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:06 PM
We subscribed to the Post in 2008 when we moved to DC and came to love it. Finally (sadly) ended digital subscription last fall. Today's news is a tragedy.
This whole thread is important.
This. And also "just start a paid newsletter" requires that you, yourself, are a BRAND that other people want to pay for! It's a possible niche for op-ed writers or culture.
Most reporters are not that. Most reporters are names at the top of a news story you skip right past.
Most reporters are not that. Most reporters are names at the top of a news story you skip right past.
A lot of people cannot just start a paid newsletter or become freelancers to sustain their careers. The sports, metro, and international desks did work that requires *team* resources, like legal checks, documents, access to archives, and long-term beat experience.
February 4, 2026 at 3:34 PM
This whole thread is important.
The comments are actually (mostly) quite good.
February 4, 2026 at 3:29 PM
The comments are actually (mostly) quite good.
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
BOTD: Norman Rockwell
February 3, 2026 at 12:23 PM
BOTD: Norman Rockwell
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
What we now know about the Potomac air-crash disaster, thanks to this week's NTSB hearings.
(Most before paywall.)
As always in modern air disasters, lots of things had to go wrong at the same time. But most of them went wrong inside the Army helicopter.
fallows.substack.com/p/what-weve-...
(Most before paywall.)
As always in modern air disasters, lots of things had to go wrong at the same time. But most of them went wrong inside the Army helicopter.
fallows.substack.com/p/what-weve-...
What We've Learned About the Deadly Crash Over the Potomac.
And why honest investigations of disasters like these are imperative, in order to make flying safer.
fallows.substack.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:23 PM
What we now know about the Potomac air-crash disaster, thanks to this week's NTSB hearings.
(Most before paywall.)
As always in modern air disasters, lots of things had to go wrong at the same time. But most of them went wrong inside the Army helicopter.
fallows.substack.com/p/what-weve-...
(Most before paywall.)
As always in modern air disasters, lots of things had to go wrong at the same time. But most of them went wrong inside the Army helicopter.
fallows.substack.com/p/what-weve-...
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man."
- "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar"
#MarkTwain
- "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar"
#MarkTwain
February 1, 2026 at 3:18 PM
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man."
- "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar"
#MarkTwain
- "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar"
#MarkTwain
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
I love this performance so much. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLu2...
The Righteous Brothers perform Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions 2003
YouTube video by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
www.youtube.com
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 AM
I love this performance so much. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLu2...
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
This is a very powerful piece by @jeffwise.bsky.social in @intelligencer.com
Among the shocking details to me: How inexperienced *both* of the Army helicopter pilots were. (As an amateur, I had much more flying experience than both of them, combined.)
Worth reading.
nymag.com/intelligence...
Among the shocking details to me: How inexperienced *both* of the Army helicopter pilots were. (As an amateur, I had much more flying experience than both of them, combined.)
Worth reading.
nymag.com/intelligence...
Inside the Cockpit of the Helicopter That Caused the Potomac Air Disaster
Two Army pilots went on an ill-conceived training mission. Within two hours, 67 people were dead.
nymag.com
January 30, 2026 at 11:13 PM
This is a very powerful piece by @jeffwise.bsky.social in @intelligencer.com
Among the shocking details to me: How inexperienced *both* of the Army helicopter pilots were. (As an amateur, I had much more flying experience than both of them, combined.)
Worth reading.
nymag.com/intelligence...
Among the shocking details to me: How inexperienced *both* of the Army helicopter pilots were. (As an amateur, I had much more flying experience than both of them, combined.)
Worth reading.
nymag.com/intelligence...
Pretty bird! And, that 1st flight a half century ago was...unintentional!😊
The 50th Anniversary F-16 Viper livery is, hands down, one of my all-time favorites. More than pretty paint, it’s a visual homage to the original YF-16 prototype that first flew in 1974 and changed the trajectory of fighter design forever.
#F16 #AviationPhotography #ViperDemoTeam #viper #usaf
#F16 #AviationPhotography #ViperDemoTeam #viper #usaf
January 30, 2026 at 6:16 PM
Pretty bird! And, that 1st flight a half century ago was...unintentional!😊
I think that the linked essay is brilliant.
I have a new newsletter out, about John McPhee, the role of perspective and structure in writing, Hubert Dreyfus clowning on 'AI' with the tools of phenomenology, and how to understand the things that even the most capable LLMs can't do and most likely will never be able to do.
It's still what computers still can't do
The cover of John McPhee’s book Oranges, which is about, you guesed it, oranges. It’s great. The New Yorker writer John McPhee, perhaps the 20th century's...
buttondown.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:19 PM
I think that the linked essay is brilliant.
Ahoy @radiofreetom.bsky.social, my esteemed county librarian has come through again, having acquired the 2nd ed. of your "Death of Expertise"; now I can revisit the topic and I look forward to your evolved thoughts. Am likely to check back in a few days.
January 30, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Ahoy @radiofreetom.bsky.social, my esteemed county librarian has come through again, having acquired the 2nd ed. of your "Death of Expertise"; now I can revisit the topic and I look forward to your evolved thoughts. Am likely to check back in a few days.
Shout out to @patrickmccray.bsky.social whose "README", his "bookish history of computing" I've finished. It's a delightful and informative work! Patrick, I particularly enjoyed learning about Don Knuth and the origins of TeX. His commitment to beautiful words on paper really hit home for me.
January 29, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Shout out to @patrickmccray.bsky.social whose "README", his "bookish history of computing" I've finished. It's a delightful and informative work! Patrick, I particularly enjoyed learning about Don Knuth and the origins of TeX. His commitment to beautiful words on paper really hit home for me.
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
Future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier leaving Newport News, Virginia for initial sea trials - January 28, 2026 SRC: X-@johnmorgan726
January 28, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier leaving Newport News, Virginia for initial sea trials - January 28, 2026 SRC: X-@johnmorgan726
Amen.
January 28, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Amen.
This is one impressive lady. The link tells the tale. RIP, Ma'am.
January 28, 2026 at 2:27 AM
This is one impressive lady. The link tells the tale. RIP, Ma'am.
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
At its meeting minutes ago, the National Transportation Safety Board adopted the following probable cause and contributing factors to the January 2025 DCA mid-air collision. See replies for a few notes
January 27, 2026 at 11:18 PM
At its meeting minutes ago, the National Transportation Safety Board adopted the following probable cause and contributing factors to the January 2025 DCA mid-air collision. See replies for a few notes
Reposted by Frank Van Haste
Jan. 27, 1926: Army Air Service Col. Bill Mitchell resigns his commission effective Feb. 1. By doing so the outspoken critic of what he calls military neglect of air power renders moot his recent sentence of five years' suspension of rank and duty for insubordination. 1/2
January 27, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Jan. 27, 1926: Army Air Service Col. Bill Mitchell resigns his commission effective Feb. 1. By doing so the outspoken critic of what he calls military neglect of air power renders moot his recent sentence of five years' suspension of rank and duty for insubordination. 1/2