— One Olympics ended, another started. The Stupid Olympics, just for Americans. Start with the chaos in Afghanistan. It’s all Biden’s fault? So the chattering class will tell you. (The lunatics want him to resign, having “surrendered” in” Afghanistan, like there has ever been a stately, orderly retreat in any war, ever) But it’s not a…
This is the Best Novel I’ve Read This Year, by a Factor of Ten
The Vanishing Point: A Novel
The Vanishing Point: A Novel
Weekend Butler: ZZ Top’s Tour Buses, Eric Carle’s Hopeful Children’s Book, Brandi Carlile Sings John Prine, and Proof of the Kindness of Strangers
— When your priorities are clear, hard decisions become easier. But not easy. You look forward to stronger commitments to your lifeboat crew and to a personal project that might entertain and even inspire, and you feel energized. You also look back at people and projects you’re leaving behind, and you feel a twinge of…
Weekend Butler: The Best Cold Squash Soup, A Podium for Cat Orators, Margaret Mead Explains ‘Civilization,’ Otis Redding’s Last Performance, and a Space Story That Would Terrify Bezos and Branson
— PODIUM CAT SCRATCHER FOR INDOOR CATS (IN THE PHOTO) As I’m new to cats, I believed they only like tunnels and boxes, like the arty Cat House I recently featured. It turns out they also like to give speeches. This 22.9″ x 13″ x 13″ podium has features that encourage cats to stand up and…
Weekend Butler: The Spice of the Summer, The Music of the Summer, and a Conversation You’ll Never Forget
— THE SPICE OF SUMMER: Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp Sauce With Roasted Chili Pepper Flakes I thought a jar would last all summer. In two weeks, I’ve used half of it. It is true: you can use it on everything. You can add it to pasta sauce. Puts kick in mayonnaise. The chili oil…
Weekend Butler: ‘Holiday’ Music You’ll Hear Nowhere Else, a Movie You Don’t Know and Will Never Forget
Timothy Snyder on the most urgent issue we’re ignoring, and the summer I learned to drink beer
Timothy Snyder on the most urgent issue we’re ignoring, and the summer I learned to drink beer.
Peter Temple. Don’t Know of Him? Put Down the Reading Club Book or the Bestseller
Compared to most thriller/crime writers, Peter Temple was Dostoevsky.
Compared to most thriller/crime writers, Peter Temple was Dostoevsky.
Weekend Butler: Recommended Memorial Day Reading for CEO’s…and You
A version of “Hallelujah” Leonard Cohen never imagined. A dog does Yoga. And how civilization started (you’ll never guess).
Weekend Butler: Where I’ll be on 9/24
Still more Allbirds. 'My Wife Thinks You’re Dead.' The most relevant movie. Bob Dylan at 80.
Still more Allbirds. ‘My Wife Thinks You’re Dead.’ The most relevant movie. Bob Dylan at 80.
Weekend Butler: The Trouble in Israel (and Here); A Gifted Artist in Paris (and Here): The Ghost Writer (1) and the Ghost Writer (2)
— Driving downtown, I saw that the police had closed off the street — you couldn’t get near the mosque. I cruised by a synagogue: these police had a dog. American airlines have suspended flights to Israel. In case you think that what happens in the Middle East isn’t hotwired to your life, think again.…
Weekend Butler: James Carville and ‘The Walking Woke,’ Charles Dickens Sleepwalks, Raymond Chandler’s Memo to His Assistant, and the Book I’m Reading Now (You Might, Too)
— Buy it on Amazon. JAMES CARVILLE WOKES UP In an interview, political adviser James Carville — author of the famous campaign slogan “It’s the economy, stupid,” and my personal favorite, “No man stands so tall as when he stoops to kiss an ass” — said the unsayable: “Wokeness is a problem.” If he’s right, we’re about…
Weekend Butler: Valuable Advice From Steve Jobs; The Best Film to Stream; A CEO Who Pays Everyone at Least $70,000, and a Hot 130-Page Novel
— TWEET OF THE WEEK Once people get vaccinated and we start mingling again, don’t ask me “how are you?” or “what’s new?” We’re only doing deep and weird conversation starters from now on. “Hi! You look great! Drinks are on the patio. What’s holding you back from being the person you want to be?”…
She Had a Stroke. Good Thing She Was a Brain Scientist.
She watched it happen. Learned something. 17 million people have watched her TED talk. And learned something.
She watched it happen. Learned something. 17 million people have watched her TED talk. And learned something.
Weekend Butler: The Woman in the Picture, a Major Breakthrough in Kitchen Cleanup, and… Paris in the Spring
— THE IMAGE: MÉMORIAL DES MARTYRS DE LA DÉPORTATION There were 200,000 French citizens, almost all of them Jews, deported by the Vichy government during World War II. If you’ve visited Notre Dame, you’ve walked past the memorial without knowing it’s there, underground, at the rear of the cathedral, at the tip of Île de la Cité.…
Lent: For Catholics, a Month of Prayer Instead of Privilege
This year, because of COVID, that applies to more than Catholics. A good time for a book about a man who wasn't a Christian but who definitely shared the Gospel.
This year, because of COVID, that applies to more than Catholics. A good time for a book about a man who wasn’t a Christian but who definitely shared the Gospel.
Esther Perel: Whether You’re Experiencing a Second Honeymoon or Married Bed Death, She Can Help.
— Buy it on Amazon. If you’re like me, COVID evenings have this shape: Dinner is at six. Nine-thirty is midnight. Social life starts at ten. My social life takes the form of Skype and calls with far-flung friends. Considering the distance we’re all experiencing — emotional and real-world — we often find ourselves comparing…