(No malevolent men, no mendacious media, just charm and joy and — okay — a real-life problem or two)
Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst: Timothy Snyder on Resisting — and Surviving
— Buy it on Amazon. If you’ve been reading Head Butler this year, you may recall that soon after COVID-19 started killing people in large numbers I abandoned the cultural mission that led me to launch the site 16 years ago and started 40 days of pandemic news and health suggestions. When I completed that…
Three Stories for the Day After the Election
So on a day when it’s hard not to button your coat against an ill wind and focus on you and yours, it may be useful to recall a foundation of most religions.
So on a day when it’s hard not to button your coat against an ill wind and focus on you and yours, it may be useful to recall a foundation of most religions.
Election Day Butler: For Helen K…. and All Children
Love You Forever Robert Munsch
— Buy it on Amazon. “A daughter is her father’s heart, walking away on feet.” Gospel truth. I live it every day. The Child you met in these pages a long, long time ago became The Small Person, and is now, at 18, The Young Adult. She’s at a college 3,000 miles away. Every cliché…
Shelter From The Storm: Anxious? (Can’t Imagine Why.)
This music delivers more relief than what you might be reaching for.
This music delivers more relief than what you might be reaching for.
November 3rd Approaches. Tension Mounts. ‘Busy Hands Are Happy Hands.’ Consider… Knitting
Turner Houston: Everything you need to know about knitting and crochet.
Turner Houston: Everything you need to know about knitting and crochet.
David Byrne’s ‘American Utopia’ Was the Best Show I Saw in 2019
It's now the best show on HBO.
It’s now the best show on HBO.
Instant Joy: Toots Hibbert, the Otis Redding of Reggae
— Buy it on Amazon. Toots Hibbert has died. The Times called him “a father of reggae.” True, that. I saw it for myself. The year was 1973. The Harder They Come was a cult movie, and my friends and I listened to the soundtrack like addicts. I mean: 24/7. The Wailers (before Bob Marley became God and the group was…
If You’re Paying Attention To the Climate Now, Good: Not Because of Climate Change. Because of Climate Migration
Exit West: A Novel
Exit West: A Novel
I Can’t Think of a More Essential Book To Read Right Now
Thich Nhat Hanh: Teachings on Love
Thich Nhat Hanh: Teachings on Love
The Weekend Butler: A Needed Escape. A Book You Can’t Put Down. A Movie That Is ‘Two and a Half Hours Long and Seems Over in About Fifteen Minutes.’
The Day of the Jackal
The Day of the Jackal
Stories Are What You Read Fiction For
Somerset Maugham: Cakes and Ale
Somerset Maugham: Cakes and Ale
‘The Color of Light,’ My Play About Henri Matisse, Returns for One Night, on ZOOM, Friday 9/25
A few years ago, a random Internet search led me to the back-story, and, fascinated, I narrowed my search to learn how and where it had been dramatized. It hadn’t been. So although I’d never written a play, I applied the skills of my long career in journalism: I read every biography of Matisse and every art book about the chapel. And then I wrote “The Color of Light.”
A few years ago, a random Internet search led me to the back-story, and, fascinated, I narrowed my search to learn how and where it had been dramatized. It hadn’t been. So although I’d never written a play, I applied the skills of my long career in journalism: I read every biography of Matisse and every art book about the chapel. And then I wrote “The Color of Light.”
SPECIAL EDITION: A Must-See Film About RBG
Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Johann Sebastian Bach
The Day Branch Rickey Started Working on His Project, Martin Luther King, Jr., Was a Junior in an Atlanta High School.
— Buy it on Amazon. At his first inauguration, President Obama signed a program to Congressman John Lewis: “Because of you, John.” Obama might have signed another to a man long dead — Jackie Robinson. And one more, to someone only dedicated baseball fans know: Branch Rickey. On the morning before John F. Kennedy’s funeral,…
You Can Spend the Weekend Gnawing at the Gloomy Question: ‘Where Can We Go If He Wins?’ or You Could Watch This.
— Buy it on Amazon. I wasn’t planning to publish Butler until September 8, the day after Labor Day. These weeks off have been a blessing for me: I’m beavering away on my novel, possibly closing in on The End. I’m posting now for two reasons. 1) If you follow the news — and who…