Nat Hentoff: Great American Hero
Sean MurphySpiderman, I suppose, came first. Six or seven, comic book in hand, convinced there was no one cooler, no one more righteous, no one else I’d rather be. After a…
Cheer Up, Trump Haters: It’ll Get Worse!
WELL, THAT PRESS CONFERENCE was…something, huh? Predictably shambolic to the point of parody. Only more so. Satire and ridicule no longer register; we’re down the faux-golden rabbit hole, and it…
David Bowie: The Man Who Owned the World (One Year Later)
ONLY THE BEATLES. That’s the sole comparison that comes to mind when compelled to name a musical act with similar impact and importance. The Beatles, as we all know, changed…
Coltrane: Ascent
First there's the solo by Jimmy Garrison; actually it's a soliloquy, as eloquent and convincing --urgent yet calm in its confidence-- as any extended statement on bass by anyone in…
Mom, Johnny Mathis and Me
Despite accusations to the contrary leveled by friends (and especially family), I don't hate Christmas music so much as I'm allergic to cliché and kitsch -- and as such this…
Sui generis on the rocks: Christopher Hitchens, Five Years On
The best way to compliment a writer, as a reader, is to recommend their work to others. That I wholeheartedly do --and have done. The best way to compliment a…
Big Log
1983: I remember when this first dropped, during summer break before 8th grade (and then getting massive radio play that winter) and I was mostly underwhelmed. It was...aight. But it…
What We Talk About When We Talk About Sex (In Fiction)
WRITING ABOUT SEX is like engaging in sex: it’s hard. Or, it should be. It’s that time of year again, where we can count on three things: shopping-related stress during…
The Weeklings: Solutions for Oncoming Political Darkness
In the dark times Will there also be singing? Yes, there will also be singing. About the dark times. --Bertolt Brecht I --and my fellow editors and compatriots at The…
Larry Bird: The Legend at 60
It's almost impossible to accept Larry Bird is 60 years old, today. Because, among other things (like mortality, inevitability), this means I'm definitely no longer an adolescent, watching his exploits…