Books Are Still My Weakness I don't remember learning to read. I enjoy fancying that I was born with this innate knowledge, that I tumbled out of the womb with the talent. It's my own …
June 30, 2005
United States
Sam in Mississippi
Sam in Mississippi
Rice and Gravy Days bright with heat, afternoons merciful with rain. When I think of summer, I think of Mississippi. As a military brat, I spent portions of all my summers around the South of …
June 23, 2005
Sam in Mississippi
Late Bloomer As I slide my Hejira CD into the player, I think, "Joni Mitchell makes me want to cry." Maybe it's the third glass of Riesling talking, but it's a reunion with one of …
June 16, 2005
Sam in Mississippi
Jazz Fest Virgin Honestly, it was more the allure of a day off from work than the concert itself. "We're going to see Widespread Panic at Jazz Fest," said the Fiancé's best friend, Josh. He …
June 9, 2005
Sam in Mississippi
In My Parlor This article comes to you sponsored by plain M&M's, several 20 ounce Cokes, and a large bag of Cheddar Cheese Pretzel Combos. How do you introduce yourself to the Internet? With a …
June 2, 2005
Guitar: An American Life
Guitar: An American Life by Tim Brookes. Grove Atlantic Press; May 2005; 339 pages; $24. Audio book version Blackstone Audio. FROM THE DUST JACKET: "Shortly before his 50th birthday, baggage handlers destroyed Tim Brookes's guitar, …
Phantom Children
“There are no ways of knowing that kids aren’t doing these things. This is a preemptive strike.”
Unapologetic from New Orleans
I’ll Never Write The World’s Greatest Novel, Allen Boudreaux I just got home from watching Revenge of the Sith, the first showing at 12:01 on Thursday. It was, like all five Star Wars movies before …
May 26, 2005
Unapologetic from New Orleans
Sometimes there's a groove, and sometimes there just isn't. I have this theory that at any given time, there's a place that is the right place for you to be. it's not usually where you'd …
May 19, 2005
Water Canyon in Chino Hills State Park serves up some sensuous foothill scenery on the edge of the L.A. Basin.
Chino Hills State Park spreads across some 13,000 acres of rolling, grassy hills of a sensuous, classically Californian nature. Down in the moist, hidden hollows between the swelling hills, live oak and California walnut trees …
May 19, 2005
The Poet of Tolstoy Park
The Poet of Tolstoy Park. Ballantine Books, 2005; $21.95; 274 pages. FROM THE DUST JACKET: "The more you transform your life from the material to the spiritual domain, the less you become afraid of death." …
Unapologetic from New Orleans
Pilgrims Smell Worse, Allen Boudreaux This has been a long, long, long month for me. It's funny how time flows, where (at least for me) days seem to last forever, but weeks and months seem …
May 12, 2005
Unapologetic from New Orleans
Allen Boudreaux why unapologetic? well, mostly because the name was available as a dot-com domain back in march 2001 when I started keeping a weblog. that, and it just sounded like a cool thing to …
May 5, 2005
Live from Marin County, California
Waiter, There’s A Finger In My Chili In my refrigerator, there's a carton of chili con carne from Paradise Foods, a very well heeled market near my home in Larkspur. I notice I haven't touched …
April 28, 2005
Live from Marin County, California
White-Collar Crime: Notes From The Underground I lie. I lie and cheat and steal. I don't do it publicly; I do it through the System. It's how those of us with a bit of money …
April 21, 2005