His Terrible Swift Words

After reading the headline to A.C. Douglas's latest post ("Not Only Clueless, But Inept — As Per Usual"), I instinctively curled into a fetal position, thinking only to protect myself from his terrible swift words.

Imagine, then, the wave of relief that washed over me once I realized that I wasn't the subject of the post. Instead, Mr. Douglas's sound and fury were directed at The New York Times's chief music and opera critic Anthony Tommasini.

And oh, what a beating it was! After inserting three "[sic!]s" in one quoted paragraph from the Tommasini review at issue, Mr. Douglas followed it only with:

Do I need to expand on my three editorially inserted [sic!], or would that be superfluous? Indeed it would, and thank you for not insisting I do, thereby saving me the trouble of having to expand on the obvious.

Remember those cartoonish screens they used to insert over the fighting action in the old Batman television show? The ones that read: "BIFF!" "POW!" "BAM!" For some reason they kept flashing in my head while I read Mr. Douglas's skewering of Mr. Tommasini's review.

I enjoyed the sound and fury, to be sure, but all the while part of me kept thinking "there, but for the grace of my own insignificance, go I."