So here's the story:

New York Times, October 2, 2006 ( Read more... )

This link comes courtesy of my father, the biologist:

Cellular Visions: The Inner Life of a Cell

(right click and "save as" to download it --
it will take a few minutes for your computer to digest!)

. . . a computer simulation of the inner molecular workings of a single white blood cell. It makes the old Eames film, Powers of Ten, look ( Read more... )

My brother writes from Argentina:

. . . favorite restaurant description: "tenedor libre." this means "buffet" or "all you can eat," but is more literally translated as "free fork" . . . we will, from now on, lead our lives with tenedores libres . . . going through life with forks at the ready, feeding on whatever happens to interest us, no matter ( Read more... )

On a lighter note, it appears that, as has been remarked, I am the gayest bandito ever:


( Read more... )

Once, I saw a brief blurb in a magazine somewhere about a book with a title that I quickly forgot; it had a brownish-yellowish cover -- yes, bookstore workers may all cringe in unison now -- and the description of it caught my attention. It was about womens' pop music, and it argued, apparently, that even some of the seemingly cryptic lyrics of ( Read more... )

. . . is good for my soul.  Went into Chicago yesterday for the Printer's Row book fair -- ah, what a treat.  On the drive in, I was consumed with anxiety about the upcoming start of the summer semester; on the way out of the fair, I felt that sense of happy, carefree well-being that I associate with the best of summer days.  The weather was ( Read more... )

Note: this is an old post from a Myspace blog I used to keep (Saturday, June 19, 2004).

Last night, driving home from Chicago, I was listening to one of my favorite shows on WBEZ -- Georges Collinet's Afropop Worldwide (8-9 PM Fridays) -- and was just blown away by the musical education I was getting. So much so that today, I just had to get on ( Read more... )

Note: this is an old post from a Myspace blog I used to keep (Saturday, June 26, 2004).

Unbelievable. As Iris said afterwards: "I laughed, I cried, I was sick to my stomach." The parking lot was full of people dazedly returning to their cars, muttering audibly about the Patriot Act. The room had been full: a late show. We'd been turned away ( Read more... )

Note: this is an old post from a Myspace blog I used to keep (Saturday, July 17, 2004).

It's been more than a month now since I took Yukihada's recommendation and read Craig Thompson's graphic novel, Blankets. A week or two later, I snatched up and devoured his earlier, shorter work, Goodbye, Chunky Rice. (I knew then that I'd have to write ( Read more... )

Note: this is an old post from a Myspace blog I used to keep (Tuesday, July 27, 2004).When we came home from a weekend visit to family in St. Louis, we found the last straw in our mailbox. It was the August newsletter from Temple Israel, to which we have belonged for almost four years now. Specifically: the rabbi's message on page one. "My [ ( Read more... )