Subscribe to RSS
Subscribe by Email
I was in Russia when a tourist from New York turned to me and said, “Whatever happened to Chicago?” To this mysterious question he added, “I kept thinking it was going to break through, but it never did.” Nonplussed, I tried to think of a Chicago breakthrough. Eventually I must have sputtered something about Nobel [...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
April 4th, 2013
Chuchito Valdés is the grandson of the late Bebo and son of Chucho, Cuban jazz royalty. The short version of my rule for music is that African + Iberian = Proof of God’s Infinite Love, so I listen to a fair amount of this stuff. Tonight we caught Chuchito at Yoshi’s. I was playing hooky [...]
January 11th, 2013
Category: Arts reviews, Film, Film, France, Income distribution, Literature, Music, Popular Culture, Reviews, Uncategorized
Based on its vivid colors and exaggerated gestures, one is tempted to dismiss Academy Award Best Picture nominee Les Miserables as a cartoon. But cartoons have clarity of line and a sense of direction, not to mention momentum from frame to frame. This movie is more like the result of dropping the Sunday funnies in [...]
December 9th, 2012
Having shared some very snarky jibes on a UC listserv about the new UC ‘logo’ that Mark deplores, I’m now feeling some remorse. As a piece of graphic design, I think it’s not a success on its own or for its purpose. But it’s not a replacement for the seal, in fact the designer says [...]
February 9th, 2012
A little more than a year ago, I had some snarky reflections about Nestlé pod coffeemakers. Since then, I noticed that the Keurig system’s pods are more reasonably priced, though still a very expensive way to get a cup of coffee compared to starting with bulk coffee and good technology. The Motley Fool has stepped [...]
January 13th, 2012
among them was Walt Kelly. I grew up on Pogo, as my kids did on Calvin and Hobbes. Finally, here is volume I of something that should have been done a long time ago (all the Amazon reviews seem to say, correctly, “Finally!”) . My daughter gave it to me for Christmas and after all [...]
October 3rd, 2011
Category: Reviews, Technology and Society
This is my favorite tech gadget in at least a year. Just buy one, whether you’re taking notes in class or doing interview research. The basic idea is that the pen contains audio recording hardware and software, and a camera that looks where it is writing. The paper is covered with an almost invisible light-blue [...]
December 22nd, 2010
Printer cartridges and safety razor blades, move over: this year’s Ramsey pricing award winner is the Nespresso coffee system…and these guys don’t even have the good grace to give you a break on the initial purchase that puts the tapeworm’s head in your wallet. Making espresso-family drinks at home has always been something of a [...]