Category: Blog
January 22, 2010
Liu Xiaobo, Prisoner of Conscience
On December 23, 2009, the People’s Republic of China condemned the poet Liu Xiaobo for the crime of “inciting subversion of state power.” The trial lasted less than three hours, […]
READ MOREJanuary 14, 2010
Revels
Every January for more than 5o years, people in the University of Chicago community have tried to lighten winter’s bleakness with a musical revue. For many years, the witty Robert […]
READ MOREJanuary 10, 2010
What’s In a Name?
I haven’t posted anything new for awhile, because I’ve been working flat out to finish the draft of my new novel before I head off to the UK on tour. […]
READ MOREJanuary 1, 2010
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to anyone who’s able to open their eyes enough to look at a computer today. I was way over my limit last night but finally, at two […]
READ MOREDecember 20, 2009
Entr’acte
As the year winds down, it’s time to consider the highpoints and hand out kudos to top performers. Best text messager: Andy House, who drove his $2 million Bugatti Veyron into […]
READ MOREDecember 11, 2009
More Light
Chanukah begins at sundown on December 11. It’s a child’s holiday, with candles, songs, and, in the affluent west these days, presents. For adults, at least for me, it’s a […]
READ MOREDecember 2, 2009
A Quiet Week
in Lake Woebegone, Garrison Keillor’s home town, but not so much so in Chicago. We started with a gang of housebreakers who targeted our area. They would come to the […]
READ MORENovember 22, 2009
The Wolf in the Garden
It was dusk when I finally drove into the city of W–. A series of mishaps had dogged my journey, making me feel almost as though the Fates themselves were […]
READ MORENovember 21, 2009
A Weighty Matter
I was a chubby kid. When we lived in town, a couple of boys in my school used to stand on the sidewalk and chant a rude verse at me […]
READ MORENovember 18, 2009
Will Write For…
A violinist I know who’s part of The New Millennium Orchestra told me they’re working on a business plan these days. Up to now, if they had money they paid […]
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