Monthly Archives: November 2011

  I haven’t written much lately because I hurt my back and can’t stay in one position—except totally supine—for any length of time. I’ve been rendered idiotic by an unpleasant mélange of Flexiril and ibuprofen, and I curse a lot. … Continue reading →

  Holidays are a bad time for addicts. Ask anyone with a predilection for abusing alcohol, drugs, food, sex, emotions and expenses and they’ll tell you: the holidays inspire the sanest among them to drink, eat, and spend far past … Continue reading →

For decades prior to his death three years ago, Art Buchwald’s column Explaining Thanksgiving to the French ran in The Washington Post on Thanksgiving Day. The Post will not run it this year, so I will. This confidential column was … Continue reading →

  Someone I know slightly came up to me today and said, “So I hear you’re feeling poorly… Are you dying?”   If I’d had my wits about me, I would have launched into my standard Philosophy 202 lecture about … Continue reading →

  As Thanksgiving nears, I have been trying to find a good way to bridge the gap between having cancer and being grateful. Sadly, I have been less than successful. I remain pissed off, sad, scared, resentful and angry. And … Continue reading →

  I read a lot, too much perhaps, as I should be spending less time reading and more time writing. I read a bit of everything, though my preferred form is novels, and these are as often good as they … Continue reading →

  Many years ago I had a friend, Ed, an entrepreneur who owned a recording studio in Washington, DC, where the likes of Emmy Lou Harris, Dolly Parton and Cheech and Chong had cut tracks. Ed was a charmer—young, vibrant, … Continue reading →

  Yesterday my friend Kim Peter Kovac (henceforth known as KPK) and I tried to set up a Facebook account for this blog. Well, actually that’s not really the truth. KPK did the work while I drank his excellent coffee … Continue reading →

I have a large book of New York Times Sunday crosswords puzzles in my bathroom. I solve—or try to solve—them without a great deal of success, and I do them in ink. Since I am not blessed with either a … Continue reading →

  A couple of days ago, the seven billionth human was born. The likelihood is that he or she is from Tamil Nadu, as this Indian state has one of the most explosive population growth in the world, but it’s … Continue reading →