It seems it’s all the cable news stations can talk about right now. The demise of a mega-celebrity—especially if untimely, as so many such deaths seem to be—is treated as the story that trumps all other news of the day. … Continue reading →
I found the Mark Sanford disappearance bizarre from the start. What governor and public figure thinks he can vanish for five days and have nobody notice or care? That fact alone seemed to indicate that there was something very very … Continue reading →
Okay, quick: how many 74-year olds could give a three-plus-hour concert night after night and leave the audience hungry for more? Leonard Cohen, that’s who, and last night it was Boston’s turn to savor the pleasure, and my turn to … Continue reading →
The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine. Over forty years after the fact, documents have been unearthed that turn on its head the common understanding of a seminal event in German history: The killing in 1967 … Continue reading →
By now, most of you who use computers—and if I take a wild guess, that would be all of you—have probably heard of Susan Boyle, the dumpy 47-year-old from Scotland who stunned the world with the beauty of her voice … Continue reading →
…sing:
Continue reading →[NOTE: While we’re talking about Brazil (and why not? I’m tired of talking about Obama) let’s revisit an old post of mine with a Brazilian theme: “Lost in translation: the girl from Ipamema.”] A while back we had a discussion … Continue reading →
The ipod is a wonderful invention, especially for those of us old enough to remember when the music collection of the typical adolescent consisted of just a few scratchy but beloved vinyl records. If someone had told me back then … Continue reading →
Read this at your peril. It’s a list of the ten most supposedly earworm-inducing rock songs. Luckily I’m so out of touch that I don’t know most of them. I was thinking of listing my ten most earworm inducing songs, … Continue reading →
Ever since Obama began sporting this sort of sign it’s put me in mind of “The Mikado:” In fact, in connection with any sort of governmental and legal ridiculousness, you can hardly go wrong if you think of “The Mikado.” … Continue reading →
Ah, those bad girls, Valerie and Cecilia. They remind me a bit of each other. First we have Valerie: Now Cecilia (I looked for a live version, but the few on You Tube were really bad, so I settled for … Continue reading →
I just learned via American Digest that the folksinger Odetta has died at the age of seventy-seven. In my youth, I saw her perform at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. Since that was quite some time ago, I suppose … Continue reading →