Review: Bon Iver, "For Emma, Forever Ago"

Sometimes, my friends interrupt my life to impose imperatives upon me. This has to be, in a lot ways, what friendship is about. The closest of them will demand (as I probably do too often of them) that I stop...

Click here to continue reading "Review: Bon Iver, "For Emma, Forever Ago"" »

Book Review: Exit Ghost by Philip Roth

Philip Roth has not yet left the building. We will note that Roth, growing more in his later years, has already taken pains to prepare us for the inevitable. His alter-ego Nathan Zuckerman has ushered us through the epic...

Click here to continue reading "Book Review: Exit Ghost by Philip Roth" »

The Liars' Club (Damn You Mary Karr)

Harmless Lies: My College Roommate or The Bar Stool Lie We are at (fill in one-word bar name) and, if I am lucky, I have exactly 45 seconds to make an impression on you (falsely appearing plaintive and momentarily neglected...

Click here to continue reading "The Liars' Club (Damn You Mary Karr)" »

Seasonal Syndrome

I woke up at 7:16 this morning, distressed by the sound of my radiator making its first rounds of the season. It was only white noise but it scared me out of a dream about something I'll never recall. I...

Click here to continue reading "Seasonal Syndrome" »

Racist Warlocks and Sunflowers

Spoiler Alert: The end of this post contains the first two sentences of my forthcoming book about racist warlocks. Should you be a warlock purist, I strongly urge you not to read the last section of this post. I...

Click here to continue reading "Racist Warlocks and Sunflowers" »

Le Homme Bleu

A man doesn't have time in his life to have time for everything. He doesn't have seasons enough to have a season for every purpose. Ecclesiastes Was wrong about that. | Yehuda Amichai | My house here is covered in...

Click here to continue reading "Le Homme Bleu" »

Orsay Day

At the risk of offending someone's artistic sensibilities, I took pictures of some of my favorites at the Musee d'Orsay: (I've also put to use my amateur deconstruction and analysis skills to make the art banal for everyone else. Enjoy!)...

Click here to continue reading "Orsay Day" »

The Montmartre Arcade Fire

Artistic/symbolic blurriness or low battery? You decide. I napped and "worked" until 10:30 on Saturday night, showered and made it to Montmartre at midnight. For those unfamiliar, Montmartre is on the far northern end of Paris (I think), on...

Click here to continue reading "The Montmartre Arcade Fire" »

A Mime, A Beret, and the Champs-Élysées

Trying to look as French as possible here. Champs Elysees: Part One One day when I'm traveling dishonestly, I will wake up early (or stay out all night) so that I can walk the Champs Elysees when it's empty...

Click here to continue reading " A Mime, A Beret, and the Champs-Élysées" »

Croque Madame and Eiffel Power

Only the French (and Tony Parker) would place this backdrop for a basketball court. Inspired by the stories of French apostasy at the Jewish Museum of Art and History, I decided that I would break all the Shabbas laws...

Click here to continue reading "Croque Madame and Eiffel Power" »

The First Twenty-Four (Hours)

I woke in a panic as I had missed free breakfast at the hotel and had overslept to counterbalance the difference between my intended and actual bedtimes. I was due uptown (which is a totally inaccurate but wholly-of-habit term) in...

Click here to continue reading "The First Twenty-Four (Hours)" »

Behind All This...

He was formed half by the ethics of his father and half by the cruelties of war... -Foreword to a Yehuda Amichai anthology. #4 of Amichai's Seven Laments for the War-Dead 4 I came upon an old zoology textbook, Brehm,...

Click here to continue reading "Behind All This..." »

An Awkward Disquisition on My Blackness

Craftsmanship has never been a strong suit of mine. I blame it on growing up left-handed and being told to write and engage in sports right-handed (and by extension, I am blaming Texas) as well as a motor skills...

Click here to continue reading "An Awkward Disquisition on My Blackness" »

La Vie En Rose

...I do not speak much French and my exposure to Edith Piaf was initiated by the tribute that seemingly half of my favorite musicians pay to her work, but I went to this movie and it was a car crash on celluloid, a complete fucking disasterous mess, and perfectly emblematic of the life of the Sparrow...

Click here to continue reading "La Vie En Rose" »