Welcome to a Chronicle of Culture
Posted in Books, Life During Wartime, Music, Politics, Sports, Technology, Visual arts on Sep 5th, 2010
I read The Sunday New York Times, so you don’t have to: Sept. 5
This morning’s coffee is from the island of Java. I’ve loaded the five-CD changer with all John Coltrane.
1, Page One at a glance: Democrats are calculating which of their candidates are hopeless causes in the November election and will [...]
Posted in Books, Life During Wartime, Music, Politics, Science on Aug 15th, 2010
I read The Sunday New York Times, so you don’t have to: Aug. 15
The coffee this morning comes from an island off Sumatra. “You get a geography lesson with every cup,” said my coffee guy, Java Joe, as he filled my usual order for a pound of whatever beans he was roasting that day, and [...]
Posted in Books, Music, Politics, Technology on Jul 25th, 2010
I read The Sunday New York Times, so you don’t have to: July 25
First music of the Day: The Flaming Lips’ re-interpretation of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, in its entirety.
1, Scholars who have analyzed the Supreme Court of Chief Justice John Roberts, now in its fifth year, say it is the most [...]
Posted in Books, Cuisine, Politics, Science, Technology on Jul 18th, 2010
I read The Sunday New York Times, so you don’t have to: July 18
It is 7 a.m., and already two beef-broth injected brisket are on the smoker. First music of the day: The Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Between Nothingness & Eternity. The coffee is Costa Rican. It is a beautiful morning on the deck.
1, Today’s lead story, [...]
Posted in Cuisine, Philosophy, Politics, Science, Sports, Travel, Visual arts on Jun 27th, 2010
I read The Sunday New York Times, so you don’t have to: June 27
I’m back to reading The Sunday Times for you, after a two-week absence that I’m blaming on barbecue and jazz. This morning, Miles Davis’ Miles in the Sky is drifting out the deck speakers, chicken thigh quarters are marinating in a Mexican [...]
Posted in Books, Cuisine, Music, Philosophy, Politics, Sports, Visual arts on Jun 6th, 2010
I read The Sunday New York Times, so you don’t have to: June 6
Nine days without a blog. Sorry! I’ve been busy. The barbecue team, The Smokin’ Dopes, stunned the Memorial Day competition here with a first-place finish (more on that in a day or two). Bob Dylan’s 69th birthday was noted with a deranged [...]
Posted in Books, Cuisine, Politics, Sports, Travel, Visual arts on May 9th, 2010
I read The Sunday New York Times, so you don’t have to: April 9
I’m planning on smoking ribs slow over mesquite wood this morning, starting at maybe 11 a.m. But as of now, 7 a.m., snow is whirling past the windows and settling on the deck, at the feet of the Adirondack chairs. The scene [...]
Posted in Books, Life During Wartime, Music, Philosophy, Politics, Science, Visual arts on May 2nd, 2010
I read The Sunday New York Times, so you don’t have to: May 2
It is a morning of scents here. A salmon, for my friend Frank’s 70th birthday later today, is in the smoker on the deck. The lilacs have peaked, the flowering crabapple tree is an explosion of white blossoms.
1, No one’s shouting “Drill, [...]
I read The Sunday New York Times, so you don’t have to: April 25
First music of the day: Bill Frisell’s Have a Little Faith, with his typically beautiful, slow guitar bringing melancholy life to music by Aaron Copland, John Philip Sousa, Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman” and even Madonna’s “Live to Tell.”
1, Got any [...]
Posted in Books, Cuisine, Music, Politics, Science, Travel, Visual arts on Apr 18th, 2010
I read The Sunday New York Times, so you don’t have to
First music of the day: June Christy’s Something Cool, a 1955 record that introduced the “vocal cool” period, and one of the excellent pieces of old vinyl that I picked up during my new favorite holiday, Saturday’s Record Store Day. “I don’t ordinarily drink [...]