There is a shortcoming in Anthony Doerr’s beautiful novel, but the book’s abundant strengths are so profound and overarching that it feels wrong to issue even a mild complaint. This is, simply, an awe-inspiring book. Its imagery is lush, its descriptions precise and highly detailed. The pacing of the prose is lyrical and diverse, the story telling Read More …
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Book Review: How We Got To Now by Steven Johnson
It’s a real pleasure to take a look at the world through the prism of someone who has taken time to reflect deeply on the historical foundations of advances so ubiquitous that we may not realize the role they’ve played in the development of our comfort and our culture. Johnson’s book takes this approach to Read More …
Some deceptions to watch for as primaries approach
Read column at Daily Herald website It should always be affirmed at the outset that for most elections, most candidates behave with dignity and a sense of responsibility. But at the same time, many don’t. So as the campaign leading to the March 15 primary ﴾and Feb. 29 early voting﴿ gets under way in earnest, Read More …
Book Review: The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
How do you make two self-effacing, quiet Ohioans who do almost nothing in the prime of life but work on a wild dream interesting? Give them over to David McCullough and let him tell their story, that’s how. As with everything else of his that I’ve read, McCullough manages through the simple description of events Read More …
Stairway to Heaven
By Led Zeppelinn There’s a lady who’s sure All that glitters is gold And she’s buying a stairway to heaven When she gets there she knows If the stores are all closed With a word she can get what she came for Ooh ooh ooh ooh and she’s buying a stairway to heaven There’s a sign Read More …
Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day
By William Shakespeare Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from Read More …
Life is Fine
By Langston Hughes I went down to the river, I set down on the bank. I tried to think but couldn’t, So I jumped in and sank. I came up once and hollered! I came up twice and cried! If that water hadn’t a-been so cold I might’ve sunk and died. But it was cold Read More …
Sonnet 123
Sonnet 123 by William Shakespeare No, Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change Thy pyramids, built up with newer might, To me are nothing novel, nothing strange. They are but dressings of a former sight. Our dates are brief and therefore we admire What thou dost foist upon us that is old, And Read More …
For the Queen, Mother
Born: Date Unknown Died: January 23, 2016 Plato could distinguish the dog from the essence of the dog. Stevens strained to see not ideas about the thing but the thing itself. Damn them both. Or praise them, I don’t know. In my mind: the dark face of dignity. Ever calm. Ever pure. The queen, free, Read More …
When ‘trial by media’ is a risk, remember: Think critically, explore many sources
Read column at Daily Herald website In covering crime and punishment, news organizations often have to fend with fears that a case will be “tried in the newspapers.” The recent Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer” moves the debate to the entertainment industry as well. Wherever the intersection of public interest and criminal justice attracts widespread Read More …