Here's an incredible profile of 49 year old artist Celeste Dupuy-Spencer who died recently. She made vivid and sometimes haunting paintings with political and religious themes. Her paintings were loud, colorful, stylized and loaded with emotion and symbolism. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/a...
2Wicky (2006 live version, also by Geike, looking sexy and sultry as hell). This version is extraordinary because it doesn't use any samples -- just live strings, keyboard & drums. Start at 24:15 www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyEd...
2Wicky (2025 Live Version by Geike Arnaert, who is also outstanding). Start at 1:12:00 www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBog...
2Wicky is an iconic 1996 trip-hop song by Hooverphonic. Here is an early live version of the song before it was recorded by Liesje Sadonius. This time it was sung by Esther Lybeert. She quit the band shortly thereafter! www.youtube.com/watch?v=eINd...
For his 94th birthday (yesterday), I reposted a 1998 personal essay that my college writing teacher Robert Flynn published originally in the Houston Chronicle. Enjoy! www.imaginaryplanet.net/weblogs/idio...
MIND BOGGLING: You can buy the complete PEANUTS comic collection in digital form for $25 from HumbleBundle. (It's hard to say how big the PDF files -- they might be 25-50MB each, but still great deal for archive value (but your library probably has hb copies) www.humblebundle.com/books/collec...
Wow, small world. And I recognized your sign!
On The Climate Brink, I am posting draft chapters from my climate risk textbook. This post is the chapter that explains what "climate risk" means.
A reminder that, if you want to get my weekly columns (and anything else I write) sent to you via email, the best way do that is via my Authory portfolio. There's a Subscribe button there!
compare/contrast table highlighting AI query -- link is in comment
Today, I heard GOP Senator Lankford say on TV that Iran has been attacking Americans for 47 years, so I asked Gemini AI to compare and contrast the scope and severity of Iranian attacks against USA with American attacks on Iran. (Link to the verbatim answer is below.
Me holding a protest sign at Katy, TX No Kings rally. This event had about 50% more people than last year's event. The line along the freeway extended almost 2 miles!
Here's a great 8 minute musical number (with incredible dancing/acrobatics) from "A Funny Thing Happened...." It comes from a YouTube channel with hundreds of classic Broadway numbers -- often performed by the original cast. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpUX...
My book, Gilbert Sorrentino: An Introduction, is now available. You can acquire a free ebook at, among other outlets, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Smashwords, or Kobo, here: books2read.com/sorrentino/
You can also download a .pdf of the book from Wordpress: readexperience.net/wp-content/u...
OSCAR PREDICTIONS: I won't predict any winners, but the ceremony itself should be interesting, eventful & controversial.
This album really blew me away. Emotionally & musically it runs the gamut; it's one of my all-time favorite BC discoveries. Thanks!
Terrific & totally unique debut song collection that belongs in a night club or dark musical. Calder's voice whispers & croons & soars. She brings drama, sadness and beauty to every song. The lyrics are fun & clever & cynical. Calder surprises you with upbeat fast-paced numbers & angry bombast.
REPORT: In 2025 Trump officials dismantled a program to help the US military avoid civilian casualties. It's "... among several ways the Trump administration has reorganized national security around two principles: more aggression, less accountability." www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Books Are Meant to Be Slow. The erosion of deep reading weakens our capacity to grasp complex ideas.
It's amazing how many folks I encounter who confess to me that they don't read much fiction or don't read any books at all. Reading really is a luxurious leisurely pleasure like sipping a fine wine.
Let’s don’t pretend wars are free like we did in Iraq. That war cost $6 trillion. Even a short Iran war will cost $50-$75 billion, and arguably as much as $1 trillion. My latest.
Wow, have fun -- pace yourself and save your voice. I remember I once ran into Cory Doctorow at a party -- he had laryngitis! (probably a somewhat common thing for him). The panelists are much less interesting than the people sitting next to you in the audience....
#nyp-bandcamp #nameyourprice Ok, stuck all my NYP purchases for this weekend & previous weekends ... all in 1 gigantic post! www.imaginaryplanet.net/weblogs/idio...
#nyp-bandcamp #nameyourprice Wow! Multiple albums by this San Francisco indie rock band.
#nyp-bandcamp #nameyourprice Here's a lovely & magical album by Brit Maria Calder. Classify as "Dark Cabaret" -- slow, dainty, spooky, moody. Just love this woman's voice!
Wow, funny I was having a nostalgia listen of Wings yesterday -- I listened to two albums I had by them to death during my childhood. Thanks for the info about this doc. Here's a profile of Linda Eastman I read a few days ago www.rebeatmag.com/five-reasons...
FREE EBOOK (USA) This new satirical work of pseudo-history imagines that Karl Marx travels to California during the Gold Rush in search of gold. Plaudits from both Kirkus and BookLife. www.amazon.com/Karl-Marx-Lo...
The fate of the Iranian people has never been of great concern to American administrations, and this one is no exception
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
