In part my visit to the cemetery was for Dad, but I also realized how much it was for me.
Read More »History
Asylum-Seeking Refugee Children Placed in Camps, Lady Liberty Weeps
My mother came to this country at the age of six, braving a long steerage boat trip by herself to find the “Goldene Medina.” Her parents had come before her, and landing at Ellis Island, she came through the golden door of the country to find her way. An unaccompanied …
Read More »SXSW Convergence Festival: The Authoritarian Playbook
The SXSW Conference includes much more than music and movies. Its Convergence Festival includes government. At SXSW 2018 Authoritarian Playbook session, three highly experienced speakers discussed the common indicators that suggest a country is moving toward authoritarianism.
Read More »Steering a Course for Citizenship in an Age of Terrorism: ‘We Are Not Afraid’ by Gila Lustiger
Lustiger learns to disrespect the government's futile gestures, which mostly exacerbate a burning sense among those immigrants and children of immigrants of being belittled, disrespected, and neglected. Instead she comes to a sense of collective responsibility, a focus on 'us' rather than 'them.'
Read More »Theater Review (NYC): Phoebe Legere’s ‘Speed Queen: The Joe Carstairs Story’
Uneven pacing and lengthy diversions derail this loving musical tribute from the multitalented Legere to the cross-dressing lesbian oil heiress and speedboat champion.
Read More »Visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Discover what the NMAAHC has to offer your family and friends and add it to your travel bucket list.
Read More »Book Review: ‘Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities’ by Bettany Hughes
Hughes makes it easy to believe that should human civilization persist another thousand years, Istanbul – by whatever name it may go by at that time – is likely to remain central to its region and the world.
Read More »Theater Review (NYC Broadway): ‘Farinelli and the King’ with Mark Rylance
Well played all around, this Shakespeare's Globe production is blessed with the preternaturally naturalistic Rylance, whose severely manic-depressive and sometimes delusional King Philippe V of Spain is both brilliantly imagined and pulsatingly real.
Read More »Adobe MAX: Walking Through the Neon Graveyard at Las Vegas’s Neon Museum
I can’t guarantee you’ll find any ghosts, or memories of your own, at the Neon Museum. But it's a side excursion you should definitely take on your next – or first – trip to Las Vegas.
Read More »The Moron
It does really dishearten me to hear the moron make comparisons between his actions and those of President Obama – he ought to stop it. The truth is this: Donald Trump would have to stand atop Trump Tower to muster enough character to kiss President Obama’s backside.
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