From 1929 to 1989, Americans lived in a state of almost perpetual crisis—the Great Depression, World War II, and then forty-four long years of contention with international communism. When the U.S.S.R. finally fell apart, the resulting silence was, it seems, more than America could bear. George H.W. Bush and his gang of “realists” conducted wars…
Author: Alan Vanneman
Thelonious Monk Live In Berlin 1969—Ellington Salute
https://youtu.be/MGbLRaaqrCc I’m not sure why Monk played four tunes associated with the Ellington band—“Satin Doll,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “Caravan,” and “Solitude,” followed by Monk’s own “In a Crepuscule with Nellie,” (and then an awkward blues featuring Joe Turner, a pianist unknown to me), but I’m glad he did. Posted by Sergio Balint
Light up New York!
Now that Little Mike is gone, New Yorkers are smokin’ and jokin’ like it was, well, like it was 2007, reports New York magazine. Yes, it’s been seven long years since one million New Yorkers hit a cancer stick. Because no one moves to New York to retire!
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here. All cartoons here. and here “Oh, honey, haven’t you heard? It’s how you play the game. And I play it all out!” “Yeah, it fucks with my feet. But it fucks with their concentration even more.” “No, my feet aren’t killing me. What’s killing me is figuring out how many wheelbarrows I’m…
BAM on the Circle
Books-A-Million on Dupont Circle is a fascinating throw-back to the days when people bought books in a store and actually read magazines. Located in the basement of an office building right on the Circle, the store is a collection of incongruities, the most striking of which is that it actually manages to stay in business….
James Thurber, A Reader’s Guide, Part 25
INTRODUCTION *This is the 25th episode of “James Thurber, A Reader’s Guide,” a rambling consideration of Thurber’s works, examining his life and work in some detail. Generally, these appear every Friday. The links to the first part and the most recent part are given below. Part 25 continues discussion of Thurber’s collection *The Beast in…
President Obama makes Lynne Cheney look like a [insert opprobrious sexual reference here]
“We need a war!” famously exclaimed Lynne Cheney1 back in the reign of Bill Clinton. President Obama’s motto seems to be “We need another war!” Mainstream Democrats remain terrified of pissing off the Pentagon and the CIA, who will have their toys, and their budgets. This will be a cheap war, of course, but since…
Dave Douglas & Joe Lovano Sound Prints Quintet—“Power Ranger”
Trumpeter Dave Douglas frequently waxes too “experimental” for my taste (because who needs to listen to something new?). But I like this. With Joe Lovano, sax, Lawrence Fields, piano, Linda Oh, bass, and Joey Baron on drums. From the 2012 Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival. Posted by bobylyn
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here. All cartoons here. and here “The A train just left.” “Yeah, you want to speak to a streetcar named Desire. I hope the ghost of Tennessee Williams visits you tonight and fucks you hard in the ass.” “No, the 2 train don’t stop here any more. You know, they’re ‘Brooklyn’. I hate…
Nothing to see here, folks. Move along. Move along.
In a near-parody of a non-denial denial, Brookings Scholar Dan Drezner explains that the New York Times blockbuster story “Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks” gets it all wrong because, well, first of all, DC think tanks (like Brookings, for example) have to get their money from somewhere don’t they? And, and, anyway, the…