Category Archives: art and humor

The president as a man in the world: JFK

Love love love this picture, taken by a friend of JFK’s, who allowed its publication for the first time last week in, natch, the NYTimes. This speaks to me and, I suspect, many Americans because it embodies a big part of what made JFK special. Although (as the article eloquently reveals) he is not the firstContinue reading “The president as a man in the world: JFK”

People of the PCT: Honeybun and Miner

Caught me lunching by the trail at about mile 1028, climbing out of the canyon of the east fork of the Carson River. They came up the trail grinning. Honeybun had a speaker pumping a Jamaican tune out of his pack. He gave me a fist-bump as he came up the trail. Miner said something niceContinue reading “People of the PCT: Honeybun and Miner”

From Ojai to The Onion: Area Man tangles with Miley Cyrus

Here’s a story I wrote worth mentioning, for the hard-to-link Ojai Quarterly about thirty-one year-old Dan Mirk, who went from starring in local school musicals in little Ojai to writing for The Onion in New York City. So! Here you go: In 2008, Mirk and his colleagues at Onion News Tonight – the video broadcastContinue reading “From Ojai to The Onion: Area Man tangles with Miley Cyrus”

Eliza Gilkyson solo for Acoustic Guitar

Eliza Gilkyson, despite having been nominated for a Grammy last year, remains one of our most-overlooked pop stars. Well, not pop. As a singer, a songwriter, and guitarist, she shines brilliantly from afar, as she demonstrates in a lovely interview and performance for Acoustic Guitar. In her quiet way, she’s fierce. Acoustic Guitar Sessions PresentsContinue reading “Eliza Gilkyson solo for Acoustic Guitar”

Hansen sees sea level rise of ten feet this century

James Hansen and a team of researchers have published a paper that foresees huge sea level rises changes this century, of ten feet in fifty years, which would doom much of developed south Florida and lower Manhattan, just to cite a couple of obvious examples. But the paper has not been peer reviewed, and researchers suchContinue reading “Hansen sees sea level rise of ten feet this century”

Blogging the Pope’s “Praise Be”: on Nature as a book

In Chapter 12 of Pope Francis' encyclical, "Praise Be," in our language, just before he launches into an appeal to all people to come together to save the world, the pontiff brings up the idea of nature as a book. He writes (in a passage that is, may I say, too rich to be truncated): 12.Continue reading “Blogging the Pope’s “Praise Be”: on Nature as a book”

The climate “pause” that didn’t refresh: Tom Toles

This month has seen a number of studies showing that the much-discussed "hiatus" or "pause" in global warming reported by the IPCC two years ago was a misreading of the data. In the words of Nature: “The bottom line is that the IPCC reported that the rate of warming was less in the last 15Continue reading “The climate “pause” that didn’t refresh: Tom Toles”

Understanding Edward Hopper’s popularity — or trying to

In the New York Review of Books, the late poet Mark Strand ruminates on a great exhibit of Hopper's career, focusing on his remarkably graceful drawings, and the sadness that comes off his work: Recent major exhibitions in London, Paris, Rome, and Madrid testify to the universality of [Hopper's] appeal. It couldn’t be just the way New York looked inContinue reading “Understanding Edward Hopper’s popularity — or trying to”