Tom Magliozzi, of NPR’s Car Talk, was one of the most honest, funniest, kindest, smartest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. My favorite Tommy moment: A Cars.com team was meeting with the brothers at Car Talk Plaza early in our partnership and the person from our PR agency was going on about how we could get Tom and Ray on the TV morning shows. They could do it from Boston and would just have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. or so to get on the satellite. Tom stared at him and said “f— that s—“, and that was it for
Continue readingCategory: Culture
Review: A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens My rating: 3 of 5 stars The opening and closing lines are immortal classics, and the book does has some great characters and set pieces. But it’s my least favorite Dickens, showing off his biggest flaws, especially overwrought language, rank sentimentality and coincidence so arbitrary as to be lazy. Plus, his characterization of the French Revolution is distinctly unhelpful. Indeed, it shows that this champion of the downtrodden was still absolutely terrified of poor people. View all my reviews
Continue readingReview: The Machine Stops
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster My rating: 5 of 5 stars I read it long ago, but it’s been hugely influential on my thinking. Another case of a writer with uncanny prescience. View all my reviews
Continue readingReview: Rebecca
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier My rating: 4 of 5 stars Excessive self-consciousness meets over-the-top atmosphere, and atmosphere, much like the title character, prevails. The famous first words are “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” But the wisest lines might be these: “I wondered how many people there were in the world who suffered and continued to suffer, because they could not break out from their own web of shyness and reserve, and in their blindness and folly built up a great distorted wall in front of them that hid the truth.” View all my reviews
Continue readingReview: Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World
Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World by Michael Lewis My rating: 4 of 5 stars Pretty scary stuff about the global financial crisis, and great insights and anecdotes. I’m not sure I’m as convinced as Lewis that each country’s unique flavor of crisis can be attributed to each country’s unique national character, but it’s an interesting perspective. View all my reviews
Continue readingReview: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 5 of 5 stars Forty+ years since I last read it and I still skip many verses of the songs and chants. But otherwise still great. View all my reviews
Continue readingSpam fans are the best fans in the world
If you think comment spam on blogs is just a nuisance, think again. No one has EVER shown me with greater deference than the spammers who spend their days barraging my blog with kind words and flattering queries. Author : buy azithromycin with no prescription I used to be very happy to seek out this internet-site.I wanted to thanks for your time for this glorious read!! I undoubtedly having fun with each little little bit of it and I’ve you bookmarked to check out new stuff you blog post. Author : Arun Panchariya There is perceptibly a bunch to know
Continue readingReview: The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker My rating: 4 of 5 stars Steven Pinker’s core argument is compelling and important. Contrary to the nearly universal assumption that things have never been worse, human society is actually becoming less violent. As horrifically as the wars and genocides of the last 100 years loom in our consciousness, the long view of history demonstrates that life for many of our ancestors was far nastier. Genocide, rape and enslavement were routine, even heroic, aspects of war. Interpersonal violence was ubiquitous. Human rights as a concept was unknown.
Continue readingReview: A Murky Business
A Murky Business by Honoré de Balzac My rating: 4 of 5 stars Did Balzac write anything crummy? I’m not expert enough to know. This is another good one, though you really need a working knowledge of revolutionary and Napoleonic France to follow the plot. View all my reviews
Continue reading