A sneeze in five beats, Seven, five. Tired discipline. Congested cliché.
Category: Blog
These are random thoughts about topics that interest me — including books, rock and roll, philosophy, culture and daily life. I update it whenever the mood strikes me, shooting for at least once a week but often more frequently than that. I welcome your comments on anything I may discuss here and, when appropriate, will reply as promptly as possible.
Haiku Haiku
Emotion in five Beats, seven, five. A rhythm Of meditation
Review of Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
This is my third or fourth reading of this book over the course of the past 40 years or so, and I find it amazing how much of it I still enjoy, how much more clearly I understand it all this time and how much the clarity diminishes my general favor for the book. Actually, I Read More …
The role of eloquence to nudge the world
Read at Daily Herald website One gropes, one claws, one prays for eloquence. For some of us, words are all we know, our only tool for taking the measure of an often beautiful, often miserable world. How impotent they seem in the presence of awe. A sunrise in the Rockies, for instance. Or a concert Read More …
Charcoal Wink
… and if no other misery age. — Ben Jonson “Welcome. ” His grin a mossy green crescent. Seething charcoal eyes wink with compatriot fire. Impeccable tuxedo. Bony, pocked, gray, rice-paper palm uplifted, friendly. “Would you like to have a look Read More …
Candy, meat and the art of making news
There is making the news and then there is making the news. The two aren’t always the same. Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor made news last week when he withdrew his support for a plan to extend Route 53. Argonne National Laboratory made news Tuesday when it launched a program to help entrepreneurs develop Read More …
Book review: Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving
I’m not sure what to think of John Irving anymore, but I will say this was the closest of his more recent books that I’ve read to those early ones that I loved. Of the three most recent that I’ve read – Until I Find You, A Widow For One Year, and Avenue of Mysteries – this is the Read More …
Awards or no, newspapers aim to make life better
Read at Daily Herald website Today, some random thoughts journalistic: The Daily Herald works hard to help better the suburbs and the communities we serve. Projects big and small with that purpose in mind won 10 prestigious honors last week in the Peter Lisagor Awards for Excellence in Journalism. But we also make the world Read More …
Tolstoy’s white bear and a gift from the Opinion page
Read at Daily Herald website Today’s Opinion Page is a gift of sorts. Consider it a little cleansing breath before the halitosis that now appears certain to come this summer. With the fallout from Tuesday, it may be the last chance for such a respite for some time, so it seems prudent to take the Read More …
Review: The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors. This is not one of my favorite books. It’s definitely not one of my favorite Bill Bryson books. I suppose that is because I am more a fan of Bryson the quirky history writer or witty autobiographer than of Bryson the clever travel writer. Had I read Notes From Read More …