I find I need a bit of refreshment and rest from the nonstop gloom of the news. My idea of relaxation is to look at a few old ballet clips. “Giselle” is one of those old-fashioned warhorses that people like … Continue reading →
A few days ago a commenter here offered a link to this page of Lenin quotes. Some of them seem pretty apropos in light of recent developments, and so I offer them to you for your contemplation [I’ve emphasized some … Continue reading →
We sometimes speak of having a “good cry,” reflecting the common assumption that crying when upset can lead to a release of tension and make us feel better. This NY Times article reports on research that indicates that this is … Continue reading →
Yesterday I was browsing in a bookstore. I had gone to the mall for something else (pillowcases, to be exact) and had some extra time to spend wandering, and so I ambled into this particular mall’s only bookstore: B. Dalton, … 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 →
I first read John Updike’s Vietnam War essay “On Not Being a Dove” in 1989. That’s when his memoir Self-Consciousness, the book in which it was included, was first published. At the time the essay seemed to me to be … Continue reading →
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 →
The other day I came across this chronology of Crayola crayon colors. Although I must confess that Crayolas were something I hadn’t thought of in decades, it all came back in a rush. First there was the initial pack for … 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 →