A delightfully light (but thoughtful) interview focuses on a new book — A Philosophy of Walking — written by a French professor who takes the subject so seriously he's nervous about answering questions from a reporter. From The Guardian: It is a sunny spring Sunday and – joy! – I am off to Paris toContinue reading “The freedom in walking lies in being no one: Philosopher”
Category Archives: Books
Facing Drought Together: The Ojai Retreat 3/9/2014
Bill O'Brien, a civil engineer, Victoria Loorz, a pastor, myself, and Ulrich Brugger, who directs The Ojai Retreat, are putting together a public conversation which we hope will help motivate people of the Ojai Valley to take a serious look at our drought and what we can do about it. We also intend toContinue reading “Facing Drought Together: The Ojai Retreat 3/9/2014”
The lazy man’s guide to a classic roast chicken recipe
Both the LA Times and the San Francisco Chronicle gave Judy Rodgers of the Zuni Cafe a warm send-off and reprinted her classic roast chicken recipe, which has won big awards and international acclaim. Here's the obituary/recipe, and here (below) is an easy version of the chicken recipe for lazy people that still comes outContinue reading “The lazy man’s guide to a classic roast chicken recipe”
A great essay on a great writer: Messud on Camus
A great review will not only change your mind, but make you see — and feel — afresh. Such is Claire Messud's essay on Albert Camus' Algerian Chronicles, in the 50th anniversary issue of the New York Review of Books. Must read! But if you don't, here are some reasons — from Camus — whyContinue reading “A great essay on a great writer: Messud on Camus”
What is the use of forty days in the wilderness?
From a defense of solitude in wilderness, called Forty Days, by Paul Kingsnorth: Sometimes you need to go, and sometimes you need to stay away for some time. The world we have created is terrifying in its complexity and power and in its ability to destroy the small, the precious, the immeasurable and the meaningful, insideContinue reading “What is the use of forty days in the wilderness?”
On the Road — in drawings by Paul Rogers
The beauty and power of On the Road has little or nothing to do with its plot, and everything to do with writer Jack Kerouac's desire to transmit directly to the reader his experience of the raw wild beauty of the American land and its people. Illustrator Paul Rogers has launched a long-term project to illustrateContinue reading “On the Road — in drawings by Paul Rogers”
Dionysionism: A forgotten religion turned big business?
From a really penetrating book review by David Ulin in, yes, the Los Angeles Times, a fascinating historical idea/fact: "No one remembers," [author Lawrence Osbourne] tells us, "that Dionysianism was the most popular religion of the late [Roman] empire before the arrival of Christianity. It was Christianity's principal rival…We have even forgotten that Dionysianism wasContinue reading “Dionysionism: A forgotten religion turned big business?”
“The blame game” — in history and w/climate change
In a review of two new books about World War I, The Sleepwalkers and July 1914, Harold Evans (aka Sir Harry) notes the uselessness of playing "the blame game" when it comes to the start of the tragic war. [Christopher] Clark declines to join [Sean] McMeekin in what he calls “the blame game,” because thereContinue reading ““The blame game” — in history and w/climate change”
International Read Naked Day: A communion in Chicago
In Chicago, Valya Vupescu sounds enthralled by a reading and award show by the Naked Girls: "The ladies on the stage disrobed at the start of each of the three reading sessions of the night. They did it gracefully, naturally, comfortably, at home in their skin and on the stage. Then they breathed the storiesContinue reading “International Read Naked Day: A communion in Chicago”
Cheryl Strayed: To turn our suffering into beauty
From an unusually rich interview in The Millions, the friendliest of literary sites, with Cheryl Strayed, the author of the great and influential Wild: Cheryl Strayed: I’ve always thought that the important thing is to turn our suffering into beauty. And the image of the phoenix rising from the ashes has always been super-cool to me,Continue reading “Cheryl Strayed: To turn our suffering into beauty”
Kit Stolz 