There are plenty of things you whippersnappers take for granted that were nothing but dreams and mysteries to those of us who were responsible for digging up so many of the early answers. We had to get to the bottom of all manner of monkey business, and to say that we had limited resources at … Read more
I can’t think of a better poem than Catullus 5 for a warm spring day. I recited this at a friend’s wedding once and the bride swooned. Let us live, my darling, and let us love And let us regard the disapproving looks of the old men As we would a penny in the gutter. … Read more
Where is it you find yourself? Right here. Might I ask you to be more specific? On the floor, surrounded by records, books, and baseball things. Baseball things? Yes, books, mitts, that sort of thing. You say ‘surrounded’ –are there in fact a great many of these things? Yes, a great many indeed. Do you … Read more
I’ve agreed to this nonsense with the utmost reluctance, and if you studied the conditions of our arrangement that Zellar outlined below I think you’ll agree that I drive a hard bargain. Even so, I can’t pronounce myself satisfied. If I live to be fifty it’s not likely you’ll hear me pronounce myself satisfied. There … Read more
As far as tempests in teacups go, this is pretty good—and we’ll just assume that the tea party is now permanently adjourned. We’d link to them to show you just how idiotic and desperate they have become (Last post: “Could We Have Some Facts, Please?”—no shit) but we’ve pledged never to do that again. See, … Read more
And time to think of more than death. So, here’s to love today. Go home early, enjoy the weather and a comely companion. I Knew a Woman By Theodore Roethke I knew a woman, lovely in her bones, When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them; Ah, when she moved, she moved more … Read more
That, if I’m not mistaken, is a quote from Rick Stelmaszek, who is arguably the most hardened of the baseball lifers in the Twins clubhouse. This was last year, or maybe the year before that. At any rate, Stelmaszek’s reminder was directed at one youngster or another who was hanging his head at the time … Read more
It’s the first we heard, but apparently Dan Kennedy is leaving his post as media critic at the Boston Phoenix. Over the years, we’ve enjoyed reading him—especially his smart, clean copy about the rivalry between the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. One of the best things about the alternative press is its self-conferred (and … Read more
A very funny bit from today’s NY Times on the problems of the poet laureate of England having to write a marriage poem for Charles and Camilla. Aside from having to compete for headlines with the funeral of the Pope, imagine Camilla having to endure the jibes that John Paul, even today, looks better in … Read more
What a voice and what a way with words this old man I met today had. He was out for a stroll –on a lark, he said, just trying to stay loose and keep the juices jangling. Nice day for that sort of thing. I hadn’t seen him around the neighborhood before. He sounded like … Read more