British poet Philip Larkin (1922-1985) was a complicated man, like many poets. But unlike most of them these days, he was politically of the right, at least in some respects. Larkin wrote in forms, which is inherently conservative. But his … Continue reading →
Joyce Maynard has made a kind of cottage industry out of her long-ago relationship with J.D. Salinger, who seduced her when she was a wunderkind of 18 and he a famous writer of 53 and then abruptly threw her out, … Continue reading →
Is Obama really going to attack Assad’s regime in Syria, or is he just talking? And if he does attack, how far will he go, and what is his ultimate goal? There’s no dearth of speculation on all those questions. … Continue reading →
The cause? Parkinson’s, which can be a cruel and vicious (and protean) disease. In my mind, Ronstadt is still a slim young thing with a phenomenal voice. Of course, she’s been neither slim nor young for quite some time. And … Continue reading →
The idea that hookup culture hurts both boys and girls, and both young men and young women, doesn’t seem strange or revolutionary to me; it seems obvious. But apparently it still needs highlighting, so I’ll highlight it by recommending this … Continue reading →
Of course, I haven’t seen all the baby elephant videos in the world, so we can’t be certain. But I think I’m on safe ground when I assert that it’s probably the cutest baby-elephant-in-an-inflatable-swimming-pool video ever: And it almost immediately … Continue reading →
…is Beverly Bivens. I’d never heard her name, either. And although I remember the music of her group We Five very well, I hadn’t thought of it or them for years. A college friend of mine had had their LP, … Continue reading →
The MSM seems to be treating this as a very big story. I can’t imagine why, although for them I suppose it’s a sort of inside baseball. But I’ll provide this thread for those of you who want to talk … Continue reading →
The poet Yeats often wrote about how dreadful old age was, especially its physical manifestations. In the poem “Among School Children“, he describes himself as having looked pretty nifty in youth and terrible at sixty: And I though never of … Continue reading →
…just act like an extrovert and you’ll be happier. Well, of course. I’ve been attempting to do that, with a modicum of success, for decades. I call myself an extroverted introvert. And Rogers and Hammerstein were well aware of the … Continue reading →
Detroit’s declaration of bankruptcy has been discussed in countless articles, both the how and the why of it. One thing nearly everyone agrees on is that it’s been a long time coming. Just how long? Well, if you’d like a … Continue reading →
…this pillow, because I sleep on my back. I’ve always been a very quiet sleeper, without a whole lot of position changes during the night. When I was a kid at camp, I used to pride myself on being able … Continue reading →