News reports this morning of the Indian Ocean tragedy place the death toll near 140,000 with the numbers of injured reaching 500,000 or more. With such news, writing about the books I received for Christmas seems quite shallow. At Apple’s Web site, I found the […]
This is an interesting post over at Moby Lives. Have you had enough of the current right-wing administration? In an article titled Blue Christmas, Dennis Loy Johnson writes that you can support your politics and buy books for those on your Christmas list at the […]
“Even in American cities, which seem so much alike, where people seem all to be living the same lives, striving for the same things, thinking the same thoughts, there are still individuals a little out of tune with the times—there are still survivals of a […]
This is pretty cool. George Masters, a school teacher and amateur video producer, recently made his own commercial for his beloved iPod mini. It’s very good, and it seems to be making the rounds online. Find the video here. It has even caught the attention […]
Lately, I find myself listening to a song again and again. It’s Jeff Buckley’s song titled Hallelujah. It’s beautiful and haunting. Some of you may know the song from a West Wing episode. Here are the lyrics: Well I heard there was a secret chord […]
I’ve been away for Thanksgiving. I hope everyone enjoyed time spent with family and friends. Here is nice holiday story that is book-related, from the Washington Post. “While bartending at Dougherty’s Pub seven years ago,” writes reporter Emily Messner, “Russell Wattenberg overheard teachers at Friday […]
This quote is from an older issue of the New York Review of Books, but it says a lot not only about the nature of the current administration, but also hints at the nature of our media and how it shapes our views. In many […]
I just learned of some sad news today. Noted author Iris Chang is dead. Chang was the author of the acclaimed book, The Rape of Nanking, which chronicled the often forgotten and brutle massacre of nearly 300,000 Chinese civilians during World War II at the […]
To use a cliche, the people have spoken. The election is over, and now the president must get back to work. He has a so-called “mandate” this time around, but he still takes to the track with an anchor tied around his feet–this time one […]
I haven’t yet voted today, but I certainly plan on hitting the polls just as soon as I leave work. By now, regular readers probably know how I feel about the presidential election (It’s kinda hard to hide, since I do have a Kerry for […]