I’m not sure what I think about the tablets vs. textbooks debate. But my guess is that tablets are the wave of the future, whatever I might think. The actual text of textbooks has already become pretty awful, banal and … Continue reading →
When I was a child I’d periodically become wildly enthusiastic about something I had read or some music I’d heard, and I’d run to show my parents. “Yes dear, that’s nice,” they’d say absent-mindedly, backing out of the room. I … Continue reading →
I grew up in an area of New York that wasn’t especially high-crime, and my dealings with police tended to be limited to traffic stops. And yet I feared them because they had the power and I did not. And … Continue reading →
The same thing that happened to home dining itself: it’s become increasingly rare. I speak as a person who was raised in a house with a wood-paneled dining room, a very small kitchen, and a teeny-tiny den that was the … Continue reading →
…is on the upswing. I’ve noticed it among the young. I’m a woman, but I’m not an upspeaker. That’s because I’m old. And very opinionated. Polite, but opinionated. And I don’t like upspeak, in men or women.
Continue reading →Here’s an interesting article by Miles O’Brien about what it’s like living with only one arm after his had to be amputated. Fortunately I haven’t had that experience. But readers of this blog may be aware that about 25 years … Continue reading →
…that for the last couple of days I haven’t put up any of those lighter posts I often write. I have been so tremendously upset by what has been happening during the trifecta of doom—the Bergdahl exchange, the border children, … Continue reading →
People often claim they’re lactose intolerant. But few people know for sure because few people have been tested for it. I am one of those lucky, lucky few. For some reason (sadism?), a doctor subjected me to the test many … Continue reading →
Lesley Stahl interviews her mother. How old do you think her mother is?: She’s 95. Astounding. What a lovely woman! My mother, born a few years earlier than Ruthy Stahl, also called the refrigerator the icebox. And I, quite a … Continue reading →
Want a break from politics? Let’s take a look at that 1965 song “Back in My Arms Again,” one of my favorites by the Supremes. Note how subtle and classy the sexuality of their performance is compared to today’s pop … Continue reading →
I remember reading decades ago about how quickly we judge people when we first meet them. Yes or no, stay or move on? This 1986 book said the judgments all happen within four minutes, but my impression is that it’s … Continue reading →
Whenever I write about dance, I’m handicapped by the fact that all I can offer is a video and some words, and perhaps a few still photos. That’s better than nothing. But it doesn’t even begin to compare with seeing … Continue reading →