Maybe it's just a result of the August doldrums, when heat and inactivity combine to make one feel peevish with the world, but there is a pattern of behavior evident in the cloud-cuckoo-land of the news makers that is getting downright annoying.

Call it the triumph of the ego or the apotheosis of the self or whatever you like, but what it boils down to is the disappearance of the taboo on bragging. It used to be the case -- or are we just imagining this? -- that well-brought-up people did not draw attention to their own accomplishments unless applying for a position or prize or some other honor, and that even then it was better if someone else did it for them.

This is no longer a popular approach. Take sports, where some of the worst offenders lurk. Was anyone else just a little bit shocked last week to hear Ms. Serena Williams, a fine tennis player but by no current measure the world's best, congratulate herself heartily on winning another tournament and declare, "I haven't even begun. I'm just warming up, basically."? (Nice to offer some consoling words to the runnerup.)