Frozen Toothpaste

You hear the complaint a lot: “too many American live to work when they should really be working to live.” The dichotomy always rang false to me, and I finally figured out why.
The first problem is that this, like most dichotomies, is completely false. To demonstrate this, I’ve compiled a short list of the inane […]

One presidential candidate is lighting up the New York Times Opinion page with impassioned attacks and defenses. No, it’s not Barack Obama, Ron Paul, Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, Jon Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, Dennis Kucinich, or Mitt Romney. It’s Ronald Reagan.
The crucial question of the day, if you’re reading the New York Times Opinion pages at […]

I’m not even sure where I first heard the term “Professional Human Beings,” but it’s an idea I can’t seem to shake. I often think that the world needs more Professional Human Beings.
But I should be clear: this is different than needing more “professionals.” Professional Human Beings are people who spend their time being the […]

I’ve reviewed quite a few movies in the time I’ve been writing reviews here. I’ve also managed to talk about a few books, a few podcasts, a few web-only video projects. But all of that has been, to varying degrees, frustratingly pedestrian. So today, something truly unusual: a review of my time raking leaves yesterday […]

Today’s “Other People’s Words” is both short and unconventional. It’s a quote taken from Woody Allen’s Manhattan, in which his misanthropic character beings to think about what’s good in life.
Technically, it’s the character Isaac Davis who says the line, but with it written by, directed by, and spoken by Woody Allen, I think the attribution […]