MIX: FREEDOM (BUT BE PREPARED TO SKIP THE ADS)
DESPITE BEING SOMETHING OF A LUDDITE, every so often my Internet sleuthing reveals a new fav, in this case, modern composer Richard Einhorn’s piece Freedom. I discovered it and more … Continue reading
CONSUMER REPORTS’ TOP NEW CARS
MOLLY BOIGON REPORTS “Hybrids Dominate Consumer Reports’ List of Top New Cars,” Automotive News, February 3, 2026. “The reviews from Consumer Reports,” Boigon observes, “support what many dealers and consumers … Continue reading
WHAT’S THE LAST MASS MARKET PAPERBACK YOU’VE READ?
I REMEMBER VIVIDLY THE LAST TIME I read a mass market paperback: It was right after I had my cataract surgery that (thank you, Dr. Rowen!) gave me 20/15 vision … Continue reading
A.I.’S PLACE, HUMAN EFFORT, AND FRICTION-MAXXING PART 2
YESTERDAY, DONALD MACKENZIE SHARED TRADEOFFS of A.I.’s seemingly unbridled upscaling. Here in Part 2, two means of human control are offered. One is pedagogical, though applicable to the rest of … Continue reading
A.I.’S PLACE, HUMAN EFFORT, AND FRICTION-MAXXING PART 1
HUMANITY IS AT A CUSP OF INTELLECT, tantamount to moveable type’s effect on sharing thought, radio and television’s effect on communicating it, and the computer’s effect on amassing it. Today, … Continue reading
LAMENTABLE OR LUDICROUS—OR BOTH? PART 2
YESTERDAY, FRANK BRUNI GOT US THINKING about the Trump administration’s lack of professionalism. Today in Part 2, let’s consider Donald “The Golf Cap” Trump himself. Protocol Honoring the Fallen. There’s … Continue reading
LAMENTABLE OR LUDICROUS—OR BOTH? PART 1
HAVING READ FRANK BRUNI’S “We Are Being Governed by Unserious People,” The New York Times, March 9, 2026, I’m left with an intellectual quandary: Are Trump and his cohorts lamentable … Continue reading
THE MITFORD SISTERS (AND BROTHER) PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE BEGAN EXPLORING varied adventures of the fabled Mitford sisters, acknowledging their brother as well. Today, there’s the last three in birth order: Unity, Jessica, and Deborah. Unity Mitford. … Continue reading
THE MITFORD SISTERS (AND BROTHER) PART 1
IF YOU’RE PLAGUED BY A MAGA UNCLE or other errant family members, rest easy: It coulda been worse. I doubt there was any more dysfunctional set of offspring than those … Continue reading
THE CRUCIBLE—AN OPERA FOR OUR TIMES
IN THE MARCH 2026 OPERA WITH OPERA NEWS, Eric Myers discusses Robert Ward’s The Crucible, based on the McCarthy-Era Arthur Miller drama. Here are tidbits gleaned from this article, together … Continue reading
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