Or, ‘Don’t Mask, Don’t Tell, and Don’t Leave Your Engine Running’ — Last November, I was on my Saturday walk with my hiking buddies in the Berkshires, and since all of us are right-of-center politically, we were, of course, disappointed with how the election went. …

I. Three Years Old “Daddy, again.” “Daddy, again.” “Daddy, again.” “Daddy, again…” II. Five Years Old The summer the family moved to the Berkshires, this was our theme song for some reason, I guess the reason being that radio up here is awful and after you fruitlessly scan through the stations for a good song…

On the Fine Line Between Connoisseurship and Nudnickery — Most of us rely on, or at least appreciate, knowledgeable guidance that might connect us with the best examples of the things that give us pleasure — food, art, music, movies, whatever. So here’s a rule of thumb that I find useful in navigating advice about matters involving subjective taste…

by Albert Stern — I. Three Years Old “Daddy, again.” “Daddy, again.” “Daddy, again.” “Daddy, again…” II. Five Years Old The summer the family moved to the Berkshires full time, John Prine’s “Lake Marie” was our theme song for some reason, I guess the reason being that radio up here is godawful and after you fruitlessly scan through the…

Thoughts on the problematic Parshat Pinchas — When our rabbi first approached me to deliver a d’var Torah, he offered me the choice of either last week’s Parshat Balak, so rich and weird with soothsayers, talking donkeys, curses, celestial beings, or…Parshat Pinchas. I told him I wanted to re-read the parshiyot (weekly portions) before making my decision. …

A few months ago, my son asked me if I had ever heard of the basketball player Bol Bol. I told him I heard of Manute Bol, and Eliot said Bol Bol was his son, who is still in high school. “He’s actually great,” Eliot assured me — he follows…

Live long enough, and you find out surprising things about yourself. For instance, I had no idea I was the type of person who would be fascinated by pictures of meals about to be eaten by friends I have not seen in more than 30 years. Facebook brings me these…

Because football is really, really boring. Really. — In the early days of football, H-shaped goalposts were planted at the front of the end zone, fixed two-branched obstacles within the field of play. …

Most disturbing was that I had never before thought to ask — Author’s Note: This was published years ago in the pre-Web era, when all these folks were still alive. Someone suggested I put it online, so here it is. Years later, I put my research skills to work on another important, tangentially related topic for Electric Literature, which you can read…