The Year of Magical Thinking
Joan Didion's memoir of a year-gone-bad is brilliant but at times oddly unaffecting.
Hemingway’s Beard
If secular Saddam is smug it because Iraq’s current state of affairs rationalizes the intentions of his tyranny.
Dead Man
Only Jarmusch puts Mitchum, Depp, and Iggy Pop in a mystical B&W Western.
Mind the Birds
The flu terrifies because it’s familiar, the perfect harbor for vicarious worry, both imaginable and medieval.
Pollock
Harris' labor of love yields a vivid, damaged Pollock.
Requiem
Rome had a peculiar effect on the British men I once knew. It appeared to operate in a guilt-free zone.
Curvaceous, Cassandra, vulva
Mastodontic. Plethora. Sagacious. Words are first passage to adulthood.
Tyus Edney
Now a basketball vagabond, Tyus Edney helped guide UCLA to an NCAA title.
Grizzly Man
Man studies bear. Man applauds bear. Man respects bear. Girl likes bear. Bear eats both.
Saffron Fever
Saffron, that pungent little flower, is making a subtle comeback on Italian tables.
Coffee breaks
Italian coffee culture never quits. And it won’t yield to iced Frappuccinos. If you’re worried about table charges, take heart. You can get around them. The places below are my top 5 in Rome. But buyer beware: They're known mostly to students, who scrape the bottoms of their book bags seeking spare change for a caffeine fix.