Garden, late fall
Those of you who follow this blog know that when I bought my house I bought the responsibility of gardening, and I’ve tried to step up to the plate and do right by it. I’ve posted photos of the garden … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Arts
Glad to have gone, glad to be back
I’m back, after having gotten an eyeful and an earful of Paris. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times That’s just hyperbole, for the sake of a literary reference; but the truth is that it … Continue reading →
Fall ritual: closing the windows
Today is the first day of fall. I never quite get that date right, because it drifts around in confusing fashion (here’s a guidepost for those of you who care about such things). This year it also happens to be … Continue reading →
Going gentle into that good night
The memorial service for the father of a good friend of mine was held at the retirement community where he and his wife had lived for the last couple of years. The place is one of those spectacularly lovely and … Continue reading →
To editors: thanks for all the fish
Back in the 80s I read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. I opened the first page of the first book in the series without much expectation, started reading, and immediately realized I was encountering a … Continue reading →
Please allow me to introduce myself: the Klinghoffer case and sympathy for the terrorists
Thomas Sowell writes with clarity and succinctness on one unusual and especially troubling characteristic of the enemy we now face: its undeterrability (hat tip: Pajamas Media). Undeterrability makes this fight different from previous ones. It makes efforts at peaceful negotiation … Continue reading →
Crafts, mountains, friends
Yesterday I made one of favorite my annual treks to get away from it all, driving a few hours to the western part of New Hampshire to the Sunapee Crafts Fair. That website doesn’t even begin to do it justice, … Continue reading →
Mondegreens
When I was about three years old I liked to listen to the music from “Guys and Dolls” on our scratchy old record player. For some reason–perhaps because I was fond of animals–I particularly loved the lyrics of “Fugue for … Continue reading →
The theme and variations vs. the symphony: on love
I try to do about three miles of brisk walking every day for exercise. On rainy or snowy days, I’m off to the gym and its treadmill, which feels like–well, like being on a treadmill. But on beautiful days or … Continue reading →
Losing your turns
What’s a pirouette? Here’s the Wikipedia defintion—and, as a former dancer, I can attest to its correctness: One of the most famous ballet movements; this is where the dancer spins around on demi-pointe or pointe on one leg. The other … Continue reading →
You say you don’t want a revolution
In case you missed it, here’s John J. Miller’s list of the fifty greatest conservative rock songs (and here’s a NY Times article about the list). “Conservative rock songs”–sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? And I have to admit that … Continue reading →
Old singers never die, they just Sail to Byzantium
Commenter “snowonpine” made an interesting observation in the American Idol thread, in response to my praise of the getting-on-in-years Dionne Warwick’s performance: Ms. Warwick seemed, to me, to exemplify the inability of a star–be it a TV star, prize fighter … Continue reading →