"Lugubrious"?

Without going into the merits of the point of view expressed in the linked column (there are enough people raking the writer over the coals for that,) I know, de gustibus non est disputandum, and all that, but to quote the great etymologist, Inigo Montoya, I don' thin' that word means what you thin' it means.

But I am, as always drawn to analogies, and I am reminded of an interview I gave once, to a theater critic.
She had just returned from a sabbatical, where she had, appropriately enough, studied theatre, and even done a little acting.
This journalist, whose reviews could be make-or-break for some theatre companies, who could literally close a show with her criticism, told me she had become fascinated by some of the mechanics of working on stage;
for instance, she said she had never realized before that "you have to think about props and things while trying to remember your lines!"

It's always nice for people to keep informed on matters that they are paid to write about....