Putting in a plug for the competition, here you can find a directory of the 1000 best movies according to the film critics of the New York Times. NY Times Guide
Why It Often Rains in the Movies
A few days ago, I read this wonderful short piece by Lawrence Raab in a book entitled “The Paris Review Book for Planes, Trains, Elevators, and Waiting Rooms” (p. 260).
Because so much consequential thinking
happens in the rain. A steady mist
to recall departures, a bitter downpour
for betrayal. As if the first thing
a man wants to [Read More]
Prince Charles to Marry His Lover
As far as stories goes, this one printed in today’s New York Times is a pretty good one…
Charles Calls End to the Affair: He’ll Happily Wed His Camilla
By SARAH LYALL
LONDON, Feb. 10 – They have been friends for more than 30 years and lovers for most of that time. They have survived marriages to 
[Read More]
[Read More] The Golden Dream Goes on and on in Southern California
Verylyn Klinkenborg published today interesting travel notes in the NY Times.
Rereading the Landscape of an Essay by Joan Didion
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.
Forty years ago this month, a housewife named Lucille Miller – just turning 35 – came to trial in San Bernardino for the murder of her husband, a dentist who was named Gordon Miller and [Read More]
Million Dollar Baby
There is an iron-law of film-making that every director should recognize: When the script is poor, it is impossible to create a good film. Million Dollar Baby has noble intentions. It wants to be deep. Towards the end, it surprisingly gains gravitas and you want to forget that three quarters of the movie were slow 
[Read More]
[Read More] The Knight “Georg Murmann”
Reading Don Quixote I learn great deal about the medieval literature about knights. Cervantes spoofs these stories in his famous novel. Apparently, there was also a “Murmann” knight, born in 1766. [Now I know why I am such a chivalrous kind of guy:) ] Georg Murmann entered the military in 1783 and spent all his 
[Read More]
[Read More] Don Quixote
One of the most compelling moments in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner occurs when a son points out to his father that they have fundamentally assymetrical duties toward one another. Three days ago I started to read Don Quixote. It is hard to put the book down. I just came across a wonderful passage 
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[Read More] Experiencing an Epiphany
It is so much fun to watch children because for them everything is new. Teenagers already know quite a lot about the world, but they are still willing to experiment with new identities and become someone entirely different from one day to the next. When people reach middle age, this all seems to stop. People 
[Read More]
[Read More] Interesting Article in the New Yorker: “The Mistress’s Daughter”
The New Yorker once in a while publishes personal histories that are compelling because they touch upon core issues our lives, are deeply thought through, and are superbly written. The one I read last night by Amy Holmes is available on the web.
Edgar Allen Poe’s “Annabel Lee”
I found a wonderful poem by Edgar Allen Poe that possesses remarkable musicality.
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other [Read More]