for all the wisdom of a lifetime, no one can ever tell

My friend TC celebrated his 39th birthday a few weeks back. He sent out an e-mail inviting folks to Rendezvous in Central Square for dinner and drinks. He ended the e-mail thus: Also, I have decided that a drink needs to be created called a “Jack Benny” in honor of the comedian who had a [...]

I don’t want to set the world on fire

This holiday season, give the gift of a media blow. Philip Marlowe: Private Eye: One of the very earliest HBO original series, starring a young but still jowly Powers Boothe as Raymond Chandler’s iconic private detective. The series adapts Chandler’s short stories – not all of which involved Marlowe originally – and formats them as [...]

christmas is for children

Let’s not overlook the most important gift I could ask for this season: the Ravens in the playoffs. Expect to see a lot more of the #5 jersey over the next few weeks. I’d say something clever in anticipation of the next playoff round, like, “I hope this year’s Dolphins play like last year’s Dolphins [...]

50 books: 2009

I’m using this entry to track my “fifty books a year” project for 2009. Entries listed in CSV for later exporting. 1, The Tailor of Panama, John le Carre, December 25 2008 2, Boomsday, Christopher Buckley, December 26 2008 3, Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman, December 26 2008 4, Button Button, Richard Matheson, January 2 2009 [...]

yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me

Time to catalog the annual Christmas haul: One Canon SD1100-IS digital camera; 2GB memory card for above; Fallout 3, Gears of War 2 and Bioshock; The Stress of Her Regard (Tim Powers) Some Land’s End polos and Ts Band of Brothers on DVD Mom got a pashmina and Neil Gaiman’s American Gods; Dad got Amazon [...]

bum rush the sound I made a year ago

For folks traveling today, tomorrow or later: here are a list of items the TSA will confiscate from travelers. This list includes the following weapons of mass destruction: Gel inserts in your shoes. (Tom: “Are you gellin’?” “I’m gellin’ like a felon. No, literally, I have been arrested and am facing criminal charges.”) Snow globes. [...]

cold-blooded

It snowed a lot this weekend. Thursday we had the annual Yankee Swap at Internet, Inc. In our version (I don’t know that these are the default rules), you draw a wrapped present from the pile and decide (before opening it) to keep it or trade with someone else. The action stayed pretty sedate until [...]

brooklin, shaolin, queensbridge down to long island

I’ve had this anecdote in my back pocket for a bit, wondering what it meant. I’ll tell it anyway. About a month ago I was working the heavy bag in the fitness center near my office. I try to go at a reasonable clip for the first set. Then I get some water and work [...]

not long is how long that this rhyme took me

I lost every winter hat I own in twenty-four hours. The first one I left on the work shuttle; the second I left in a friend’s car. So while I hope to get that second one back, I bought a new hat at Filene’s Basement on Thursday. This is always A Process for me, as [...]

and I saw my reflection in a snow-covered hill

You have no idea how much time I spend convincing myself I’m not insane. People tell me I have a good memory because I surprise them with trivia. I don’t have a good memory. I have a good sense for vivid and unusual details; they stick with me for decades. But so does everyone. I [...]