On Wednesday we motored across Tennessee to see Graceland, the surprisingly modest home of Elvis Presley. Meh. Banal testosterone-infused sixties styles. The miracle is that he happened; his personal effects are just leftovers. Here is his grave, left, and on the right, the only bit of wit I saw in the place : Afterwards, we …
Walter Hill‘s wonderful 1980 film The Long Riders told the story of the James Gang–the outlaws Frank and Jesse James and the Younger brothers–and their depradations in Missouri, Arkansas, Minnesota, Texas and other locales. Although we’re not going to Texas, we’re hitting all their other stomping grounds, and then some: a 13 day, 17 state …
I am terribly sad to hear about the death of my friend Jeff Ressner. He was a very good reporter–enterprising, dependable, resourceful, hard-working, smart. A Time editor once compared Jeff to Jerry Rice–“Just throw him the ball, and he runs with it.” He was equally comfortable covering business and entertainment. When I was editing Time‘s …
Thanks to the largesse of my daughter Molly, our newest friend Shawn Kelly and I (that’s us below, flanking Mister Balloonhead) got to go to see the Yankees and Orioles on Friday, June 20th. Shawn, who is very knowledgeable about baseball (although this appears to be way down on the list of things he knows …
We said goodbye to our beloved Vicki today. In her 17th year, the chronic conditions of old age finally claimed her. A scourge to squirrels and large trucks, a connoisseur of pizza crusts and cereal milk, a boon companion, Vicki was one of those rare creatures whose pleasure, need and mission were all the same …
Dave Jensen and I saw Phil Lesh and Friends at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester last night. Pretty good show, undermined by a gabby crowd that kept yakking whenever the band turned mellow, jazzy or trippy. Lesh, the bassist for the Grateful Dead, was accompanied by John Kadlecik, Jeff Chimenti, Joe Russo, a fabulous …
Among this year’s projects, coffee table books for The New York Times, Life and Time, as well as The Book of Levon. All four titles are available in print or electronically from Amazon, except The Book of Levon, which is available in print from lulu.com Trat you rafmily, treat your froends, treat yourself.
Fifty years ago, on September 8, 1963, the Baltimore Orioles held a Fan Camera Day promotion. Prior to the game, fans were allowed to come down to the infield railing. Players would come out, like horses passing in a paddock, and fans would be allowed to take photos. My Dad, not really a camera buff, …
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOUR 1963 BALTIMORE ORIOLES! Read More »
Vicki rousted a flock of turkeys at the Edith Macy Center this morning, showing those gobblers who is still the boss. Considerably blinder and deafer and stiffer and smellier, Vicki soldiers on. We are happy she prevails.
Cara took us to a very stylish Mexican restaurant called Coba, which had a jellyfish tank, and where I proved incapable of ordering a fish taco.