Monthly Archives: December 2016

Have you ever stashed away a newspaper article promising yourself that you’ll savor it again another day?  I did this with The Need to Read by Will Schwalbe in the Review section of the Wall Street Journal over the Thanksgiving weekend, … Continue reading →

The book is intellectual eye candy spanning 1161 pages that would be diminished in a Kindle, particularly if one believes that appearances matter.  It’s not the largest book that the reading areas of my brain have absorbed, a distinction still … Continue reading →

Happy Holidays to all!  So pleased that our local Starbucks in Sea Girt was opened at 5:30 AM today for business.  Nothing better than an early morning dose of half-decaf while the night’s moon is fading. The greetings in Sea … Continue reading →

Thank you to the encyclopedic Arya Eisner who, after reading my blogs about the passing of Ira “Doc” Cochin, recalled an undated Olomeinu article about him and tracked it down through the Valley of Google: cochin-when-jewish-hands-are-smiling The author of the … Continue reading →

There’s no better cure for Seasonal Affective Disorder than conjuring up some good ol’ county colloquialisms.  Try these on for size, from the pithy collection, “Butter My Butt And Call Me A Biscuit!“:   Otis staggered into the doctor’s house … Continue reading →

I haven’t abandoned my morning Starbucks sacrosanct reading hour.  But occasionally I like to stop by the local DD in PPB to take in the ambience of Old Guys holding court with one another in the wee morning hours, where … Continue reading →

We’re still in the process of fully grasping the implications of the 2016 Presidential election, but if there’s any consensus it’s that the outcome reflects the kinetic movement of ideologies from open-ended diversity toward conformity.  What exactly is it that … Continue reading →

When I was a kid in Philly I had a classmate, Seth Cohen whose father was Leonard Cohen. They came from Michigan as I recall, and I believe Leonard had a Ph.D. in physiology.  (I was always partial to anyone … Continue reading →

Extra credit if you know who the gentleman in this photo is.  He’s an author whose books have become so iconic that their jackets (and subjects) get much more exposure than he does.  His first book (1989) was based on … Continue reading →

Glancing at this front page photo in today’s New York Times must have primed me to take notice of a Facebook post that Pashya Roberto Kaplan placed into my feed this morning, a powerful video from Prager U. Kasim Hafeez … Continue reading →