JAMMIN' WITH BEN:

A Bit More Credit, Please, for a Founding Father (NEIL GENZLINGER, November 19, 2002, NY Times)

Oh, for the days when just being smart was enough to get you ahead in the world. When so many simple things remained to be invented that sticking a metal rod atop a barn could astonish people. When so little was being published that an almanac with a few droll phrases in it could make a man famous.

Such were the 1700's, and "Benjamin Franklin," tonight and tomorrow night on PBS, provides an entertaining if sometimes too leisurely look at a man who took advantage of all the opportunities his untamed, eventful century offered. Washington, Jefferson et al. may have emerged from the Revolutionary era as larger than life, but the program makes a good case that Franklin's wide-ranging achievements were more impressive and that his role in securing independence was just as crucial.

No wonder I couldn't find this Sunday. I guess it starts tonight. D'oh! Posted by Orrin Judd at November 19, 2002 3:31 PM