Saturday, August 31, 2013

"Melancholia, Nostalgia, and Il Penseroso walk into a bar. . . "

Ok, it's not a bar. It's closer to home during these final days of this summer that are grey and sticky. I hate humidity. It's soul-sapping. So I wasn't entirely surprised when Melancholia moved into the apartment last week along with the humidity, leaving crumbs on the couch, glasses in the...
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Friday, August 23, 2013

The Last Day of a City: August 23, Pompeii

This post is part of my Travels with Cadfael series, travelogues of the amazing trips I took with a Benedictine monk whom I had met at Solesmes while studying Gregorian chant. It’s the mouth of a volcano. Yes, mouth, and lava tongue. A body, a monstrous living body, both male and female. It emits,...
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Friday, August 16, 2013

Elvis Has Been Sighted! Another Year Since We Lost the King

I wasn't personally affected by the King's death, because I was never a true fan, but I remember the enormous coverage and emotional outpouring. It was at the time, the first full-blown media frenzy around a male pop culture icon death since Rudolph Valentino. What I also remember is that for years,...
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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

The Mysterious Affair of the Dead 'Tec's Obit: Hercule Poirot & The New York Times

August 6, 1975,  is the only day in its history that  The New York Times ran an obituary for a fictional character. And it was on PAGE ONE! You will find this factoid in absolutely every article about the character and in most about Agatha Christie. What is not on record is: why did...
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Saturday, August 3, 2013

Doctor Who: What Are the Oods, Summer 2013 Edition

Updated 8/4: And the winner is, Peter Capaldi. I don't know his work as the profane spin doctor In the Thick, nor it's film spinoff In the Loop, with our own beloved James Gandolfini. I do now remember him in the 10/Donna Pompeii episode (with, as everyone is pointing out, a pre-Amy Pond Karen)....
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