Now More Than Ever, We Need Jacob Bronowski
If you have never watched “The Ascent of Man” or remember it from years ago but have not watched it since, watch it again.
Arts & Letters
Found Objects: Curb Chairs
Some chairs are sons of bitches, of course, and deserve what they get. But so many chairs say, “Rest in me, weary one. Rest your back against mine.”
Are You Stodgy, Middling, or Wild?
“Metaphysical Animals” is not a dry book about philosophy; nor is it a juicy book about women’s friendships and lovers. It is both, in perfect balance.
The Holdovers is a New Holiday Classic
Paul Giamatti, who won and has been nominated for dozens of awards in his career, was passed over by the Academy Awards for his work with Alexander Payne in “Sideways.” The similarity of the role in “The Holdovers” will make it interesting to see if he is nominated this time.
Why Your Child’s First Rock Concert Matters More Than You Think
Watching my daughter bob her head in time to the music, her fist pumping, I saw that she was in a moment all her own, along with others who followed the same band, all in moments of their own. It was a temporary collective, a bonding with strangers by the odd osmosis of music that grabs the young consciousness at almost every corner of being.
“Adventure” Means Something New These Days
The title of Christopher Schaberg’s latest book is the perfect oxymoron: a frisson of thrilling risk followed by a grim grown-up reminder of constraint.
Oscar Nominee The Taste of Things is Abundant with Passion
“The Taste of Things” has so many set-pieces of cooking that it feels like a dare to override the conventions of drama, which might seem to require that the meal get cooked, served, and eaten so the difficulties of relationship can be ennacted.
On Becoming a “Morning Person”
Once you get in the habit, you soon discover that 7 am simply will not do. The 8 am hour is the stuff of horror, and 9 am is for louts with the blood pressure of a year-old marshmallow. Only 5:30 or earlier will suffice, when the gray light of dawn verges on the cusp of its full spectrum.
Cartoonist Roz Chast Finds Herself in the Midwest
Chast was sweet and grateful but prone to trying something else. She insisted we go on, she would be fine in the chilly dark outside the massive locked building, which we ignored, no doubt to her discomfort.
A Screenwriter Cuts through the Bullshit
Paul Guyot decided he would write his own damned book. But first he would have to read all those books he thought absurd.