INTRODUCTION This is the 13th 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 13 continues discussion of Thurber’s The Middle-Aged Man on…
Cyrille Aimée—“Well, You Needn’t”
Cyrille Aimée, with Adrien Moignard and Michael Valeanu, guitars, Sam Anning, bass, and Rajiv Jayaweera, drums. Smalls Jazz Club, June 11th of 2013. Posted by Cyrille All jazz videos here
John Kerry: Yes, I am beneath contempt and unworthy of high office. Why do you ask?
I guess John Kerry wants me to hate him. Here’s what our secretary of state has to say about Edward Snowden, the dude who exposed massive and ongoing illegal and unconstitutional spying by our government: ““Edward Snowden is a coward. He is a traitor. And he has betrayed his country. And if he wants to…
Larry Summers so very smart and Larry Summers not so very smart
Larry Summers, star-crossed former president of Harvard and, more recently, head of President Obama’s National Economic Council, has written an excellent review of Thomas Piketty’s endlessly reviewed (even by me) best seller, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, praising Piketty for both his timing (publishing a massively researched book on inequality when the topic is all…
De Blasio as bad as Obama, sez AP
Call it the new liberalism: In nearly five months in office, [New York City Mayor Bill] de Blasio barred the media from 53 events and limited access to 30 more, an Associated Press analysis of de Blasio’s schedule shows. On a handful of days, his entire schedule was off limits. All told, more than 20…
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here. “Seriously, Joan, it would be so much simpler just to wean them off human flesh. Shouldn’t dum-dum slugs be a total last resort?” “That’s right, kids. Finger food without all the fingers! You’re going to love it!” “Thank God they’re French! They’re going crazy for the sautéed cerveaux!” “Joan, I’m no zombie…
James Thurber, A Reader’s Guide, Part 12
INTRODUCTION This is the 12th 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 12 continues discussion of Thurber’s The Middle-Aged Man on…
Jon Hendricks and Sachal Vasandani—“In Walked Bud”
If the Roy Haynes video posted below sounds familiar, it’s because I just ran it a couple of weeks ago. To compensate for my stupidity, I’m adding a new one. The legendary Jon Hendricks, singing the lyrics he wrote to Thelonioius Monk’s “In Walked Bud,” joins Sachal Vasandani at the Olympia in Paris on December…
Roy Haynes—“Green Chimneys”
Roy Haynes Trio at Jazzaldia Donostia, San Sebastian Jazz Festival, Spain. July 2009. With John Patitucci, bass, and Dave Kikoski, piano. Posted by Soglider
NYT gets its penis caught in a wringer
One thing is clear: Jill Abramson is not the worst manager at the New York Times. Let the shell-shocked media editor David Carr put the whole thing in perspective: I have witnessed some fraught moments at the New York Times. Jayson Blair was a friend of mine. I watched Howell Raines fly into a mountain…