I’ve been revisiting the memoir Self-Consciousness by John Updike, which I first read when it was published in 1989. Updike is best known for his novels, but I consider them his weakest genre. I much prefer the short stories and … Continue reading →
This is astounding body control: I don’t know whether Lil Buck has formal dance training or not; a quick Googling yielded no information on that score. But he’s pretty amazing, trained or no, with a unique combination of hip hop … Continue reading →
I’ve been doing some research about George Gershwin (this is an especially wonderful biography), and I’ve been surprised to learn that, in addition to his formidable musical talent, Gershwin was a major collector of modern art and a credible painter … Continue reading →
Here’s a palate refresher for you. I complain a lot about how much the art of dance has been sacrificed to the extremes of contemporary ballet technique. And all too often that’s the case. But here’s a couple I encountered … Continue reading →
…tries to make a sow’s ear out of a silk purse, and fails abysmally. The Times, the WaPo, and many others opposed to Palin so believed their own fantasies about Palin that they were sure that the emails would validate … Continue reading →
Leonard B. Stern, the creator of Mad Libs, has died. I never thought about the fact that Mad Libs even had a creator, although of course it did. The classic Mad Libs were an integral part of my childhood, and … Continue reading →
Last night I was looking to order some music from iTunes to replace an old favorite in my archaic record library. Unfortunately, that particular recording was obscure enough that it hasn’t been reissued in an iTunes selection, or even on … Continue reading →
Another icon from my youth gone. I’m not so sure I understood the plots of “Gunsmoke,” but I’m quite sure I enjoyed them, as well as characters Mr. Dillon, Chester, Miss Kitty, and Doc; the saloon, and all those storefronts. … Continue reading →
The story “The Man Without a Country” used to be standard reading matter for seventh graders. In fact, it was the first “real” book—as opposed to those tedious Dick and Jane readers—that I ever was assigned to read in school. … Continue reading →
Today the WSJ‘s Bari Weiss tackles playwright David Mamet’s political conversion from left to right . It’s an old story to readers of this blog, not just because such political conversions are a theme here, but because I’ve written before … Continue reading →
There is no question in my mind that, whether Ed Schultz is aware of it or not, that’s what was happening when he called Laura Ingraham a “right-wing slut.” Part of the humor of the old SNL bit was that … Continue reading →
I’ve finally located a certain video, discovered while I was at YouTube engaged in one of my favorite activities: procrastination by chain-viewing. You know what chain-viewing is. You watch a video, and then plan to click on just one more … Continue reading →