Category Archives: Personal reflections

Note to My Son in College

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Fenster

Fenster writes: Evvabuddy’s writin’ to their sons nowadays. There’s Ta-Nehisi from the left and a guy named David Desrosiers from the rightish City Journal. My son is a Sanders supporter and here’s my note to him. It is kind of … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal reflections, Politics and Economics | Tagged Bernie Sanders | 1 Comment

Australian Hot Chocolate, Five Ways

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Eddie Pensier

Eddie Pensier writes: There might be more obvious candidates for the title of quintessentially Australian drink. VB, Penfold’s Grange, Bundy, Sullivan’s Cove. But it cannot be denied that hot chocolate is big business here. Not “cocoa”, either, but real, serious, … Continue reading →

Posted in Food and health, Personal reflections | Tagged Australia, chocolate, five ways, koko black, max brenner, oliver brown, san churro | 3 Comments

Archaeology at the Y

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Fenster

Fenster writes: You can tell things about your surroundings by taking a closer look at objects you’d ordinarily overlook. I was at my local YMCA today, hanging in the lounge waiting for the end of my wife’s workout rather than … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal reflections | 6 Comments

L’Affaire Jenner: A Conversation

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Eddie Pensier

Eddie Pensier writes: Transcribed, annotated, anonymized, and edited for spelling from a discussion group elsewhere on the web. The participants include: AK, shopkeeper, female, 42 CB, researcher, male, 39 MM, retired US Navy, male, 54 CM, copywriter/translator, male, 54 JL, financial … Continue reading →

Posted in Media, Personal reflections, Science, Sex, Trends | Tagged bruce jenner, caitlyn jenner, sex, transgender | 6 Comments

Where’s the Tape?

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Is it just me, or do rolls of Scotch tape come with less product these days?

Posted in Personal reflections, Shopping | Tagged tape | 3 Comments

DON CARLO, Metropolitan Opera (Review)

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Eddie Pensier

Eddie Pensier* writes: I’ve always had big problems with Verdi’s Don Carlo. It always struck me less as a cohesive music-theatre piece and more of a collection of scenes and arias, rather like a concert program. It never really juggles … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Performers, Personal reflections, The Good Life | Tagged barbara frittoli, dmitri hvorostovsky, don carlo, ekaterina gubanova, ferruccio furlanetto, Giuseppe Verdi, james morris, metropolitan opera, nicholas hytner, yannick nezet-seguin, yonghoon lee | 2 Comments

A Walk Down Bedford Ave.

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Fenster

Fenster writes: I wrote here about a walk down Moody Street in Waltham, Massachusetts, a half-mile slice of interesting grit and glamour–mostly grit–in the otherwise upscale suburbs west of Boston. It was night time at 5 PM near the shortest … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Commercial art, Personal reflections, Photography | 6 Comments

Starbucks Goes Kitsch

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Glynn Marshes

Glynn Marshes writes: Okay, I’m going to say it: when Starbucks worked, as a cultural phenom, it worked because the experience was something close to art. Yes, we sophisticates quickly wearied of the Starbucks experience. The damn franchise has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Personal reflections | 9 Comments

RIP Lloyd Fonvielle 1950-2015

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Lloyd Fonvielle — writer, artist, friend to many of us here, our fifth Beatle — died earlier this week at his home in Las Vegas. His creativity, humor, intelligence, and generosity will be deeply missed. I heard a … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal reflections | Tagged Lloyd Fonvielle | 17 Comments

Our Favorite Things from 2014

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: For approximately the 14th year in a row my pop music taste slid into middling mediocrity, but I’m perfectly OK with that. I long ago abandoned caring about or following new music. I loved The Black Keys’ “Turn … Continue reading →