The senator from New York, his breath smelling of whiskey and his stump smelling of wet rust and wetter babies, at last exhausted himself and took leave. The president was free now to peek in at Mrs. Lincoln and then to have an hour to review his comments for Pennsylvania. [Read more]

As a denizen of Mama D's Arts Bordello in New York City, I participated in a unique project -- the creation (er, finding) of a long lost episode of Magnum P.I.  Four writers collaborated on this (I did the ending) and the fine folks at Mama D's turned it into what I think is quite an amusing Podcast.  Thought you all might like Magnum P.I. in "The Curse Of The Kok'A'No'Worka."

Covers/Luis Urculo from Luis Urculo on Vimeo.

Hat Tip to La Boite Verte

NASA orbital video, time lapsed and set to music. Notice that the continuous artificial light from human settlements is nearly as bright as the flashes of what must be lightning storms. The Earth absorbed heat and light from the Sun. Heat and light became plant and animal life, which over millions of years became deposits of coal, oil, gas. That energy is now being radiated away from the planet as we illuminate buildings, highways, parking lots and back porches.

This week's batch:

Blueberry muffins;
tempting morsels for breakfast,
make you smile all day.

  [Read more]

No troll is an island,
Under the blog of self.
Each is a piece of the blog,
A part of the main blog.
If a troll be washed away by the sea,
Blogs are the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend's troll were.
Each troll's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in trollkind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the blog trolls,
It trolls for thee.  [Read more]

Well, as most of you know, I moved to Pennsylvania and am settling in.  I joined the Pike County Choral Society because my mother and sister are altos there and I thought it would be fun to sing again.  I haven't sung in a choir since high school.  Seriously.  I am so out of practice it isn't funny.  

You learn, in a good high school chorus, how to sing a little Latin, a little French, perhaps some German.  You don't really learn enough, of course, but you can get the gist of how each language is supposed to sound while being sung by a group of people who can or cannot really sing well.  
 [Read more]

I woke up some Saturday morning 35 years ago or so.

I was feeling pretty good.

Went out for my run and came back two hours later.

So I am consuming my breakfast with relish. When you really exercise, every frickin day, you can eat whatever you want. The problem is, if you are fudging and saying you are exercising every day and then eat what you want....well you get fat. [Read more]

The following, the second part of a two-part series, is excerpted from a talk originally given by Saul Bellow in 1988 and now published here for the first time. A footnote has been added by the editors.

located @

New York Review of Books for the November 10, 2011 issue.