John Updike has died at seventy-six. In the last decade or two, his work had increasingly grappled with issues of aging and death, so perhaps his actual death should come as no surprise. But somehow it does—as it may have … Continue reading →
I applaud yesterday’s attempt to inject poetry into the inaugural proceedings. But the poem that Elizabeth Alexander composed and read was trite, the sort of thing that helps me understand why many people decide they hate poetry. When I took … Continue reading →
The NY Times reports on researchers’ attempts to discover the chemical mediators of that complex emotion we call love. Some of this research has been done with prairie voles, who seem to share humans’ ability to be monogamous—although I doubt … Continue reading →
This article mentions that the world has passed an important milestone: more than half its population lives in cities. That means that city life is having a greater and greater effect on our culture, bodies, and psyches. So there’s reason … Continue reading →
I recently reread the two-volume graphic novel Maus, by Art Spiegelman. It struck me once again, as it did the first time I read these books, that they should not work on any level. And yet, against all odds, they … Continue reading →
Gerard Vanderleun provided the following US weather map yesterday. If you study it, you’ll see it was much colder than usual in the entire country: It’s easy to quip that this puts the lie to global warming. It doesn’t quite … Continue reading →
If you want to have a reason for refusing to join a book group, just read this article to discover how petty and strange people can be. Confession: I am a member of a book group. An all-female one, as … Continue reading →
Theodore Dalyrmple mourns the decline of the practice of browsing in secondhand bookstores. Now that the internet allows us to zero in on exactly and precisely the used book we might be looking for, it is no longer necessary—nor do … Continue reading →
Okay, I tolerate a lot of dissent here. But some statements are simply unconscionable. Case in point, “Tom” on Richard Thompson: Why is it so many skilled musicians are considered “songwriters” when their lyrics are simply so stupid? I’d prefer … Continue reading →
Orwell knew full well how important this sort of erasure of history by the Obama campaign is, although he didn’t envision the help of the internet’s wayback machine in reconstructing the vanished past. Do Obama’s scrubbers realize that such a … Continue reading →
Rudyard Kipling is one of those poets known by people who don’t ordinarily read poetry. But what he’s known for differs from person to person. Some are only familiar with his tribute to cool heads under fire, “If.” Others see … Continue reading →
[NOTE: I’m trying to make this blog an Obama-free zone for at least one more day. One day at a time, they say.] This Atlantic article by Nicholas Carr is a recommended read, about the reported loss of concentration and … Continue reading →