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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Is the wildly successful avant garde artist Damien Hirst (about whom I wrote here, and who specializes in works that feature dead animals) finally feeling the pinch of the economic downturn? Well, at the very least, his employees are. He … Continue reading →
Or perhaps it’s just a sign that people have gone stark raving mad. What am I talking about? Back in mid-September, when the economy was already rather iffy, the “artist” (I use that word advisedly) Damien Hurst had a monster … Continue reading →