Happy Trails, Peter Brown
Sean MurphyNever heard of him? Don't worry, you've heard him, nevertheless. Unless you've managed to go your entire life without listening to Cream, and if you've never heard "Sunshine of Your…
Straight, No Chaser (Revisited)
This Sunday's New York Times magazine features a lengthy, but worthwhile appraisal of John Cheever by Charles McGrath. The piece reassesses Cheever's current status (McGrath correctly concedes that Cheever, who…
John Berg, RIP
Being responsible for one unforgettable (and influential) album cover would seem more than enough to qualify for a life well-lived. But John Berg dropped more than a handful of immortal…
The Brown Sisters: Forty Portraits That Tell us Nothing, and Everything
Life and Art combine to create something that is representative of the best both are capable of achieving. I have little I can, or want to, add to the pictures…
“Better call on evolution” or, Our Cultural Koyaanisqatsi (Revisited)
Don't you remember, back in the '70s (or early '80s), learning about people banning or burning books and thinking, even as a grade schooler, that this represented an ancient, embarrassing…
Malcolm, Malcolm – Semper Malcolm*
On Feb. 21, 1965, former Black Muslim leader Malcolm X was shot and killed by assassins identified as Black Muslims as he was about to address a rally in New…
Ars Moriendi, Part Three: Ordinary Angels*
Parts One and Two considered the "before" and "during" of end-of-life care (and once again, Bill Keller's piece is recommended reading: check it here), and the final sections of my memoir deal with…
Ars Moriendi, Part Two: Hippocrates and Hypocrites*
Part One considered the "before" of end-of-life care (and once again, Bill Keller's piece is recommended reading: check it here), and this excerpt (from Keller, then me) deals with the…
Ars Moriendi, Part One: The Conversation*
Writing in the New York Times on October 7, Bill Keller's touching essay "How To Die" confirms a regrettably consistent reality regarding end-of-life care (the before, during and after of…
Don Cornelius, Cont’d…
I only have one more thing to add to yesterday's tribute. WATCH THE VIDEOS CONTAINED IN THIS LINK. Let's run it down: A young, beautiful Michael Jackson? Check. A younger,…