I collect quotations – the epigrammatic, the wise, the thoughtful. Sometimes, I post these in my “Commonplace Book” entries. Here’s another for the commonplace book, offered by Laurie Anderson on the occasion of Lou Reed‘s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, on Saturday, April 18, 2015. It’s “rules to live by,” co-written
Since you’re reading this blog post, you may have already read one or more of Jeanne Birdsall’s Penderwicks books – the fourth of which, The Penderwicks in Spring, was published last month. In case you haven’t, here’s why you should. Jeanne Birdsall understands the emotional intelligence of children. She knows that they feel love, guilt,
Man, you never lost your edge. – They Might Be Giants, “All the Lazy Boyfriends,” Glean (2015) They Might Be Giants‘ Glean – due out April 21 – is the band’s best record since its 1986 eponymous debut, affectionately known as The Pink Album (due to its pink cover). Like that record, it has a range of musical styles,
When people ask me about the steps to empathize with someone who’s been incarcerated, as if – and in some ways, there is a grand liberal tradition of wanting to imagine that you can feel black pain, which is itself almost always an exercise in violence and privilege. Not just something that can’t be done.