Sad news out of the music world today. Brooklyn's own Adam Yauch, 47, founding member of the Beastie Boys, has succumbed to cancer. I'm not going to pretend to be hip about rap. In fact, I find a lot of what I hear from passing car stereos absolutely appalling. Years ago I did enjoy a couple of funny tracks and their accompanying videos, Will Smith
30 manhole covers have gone missing in NYC. Authorities assume they are being sold as scrap metal. Some weigh as much as 300 pounds, which would yield $30. Given what some potholes will do to a car, imagine what driving over an open manhole will do. This is not a good trend. According to a report on the Mother Nature Network, vegetarians have a 39%
Last night I watched another of the music videotapes I made, this one from the mid '90's. What variety. even Ed Sullivan might have been envious. Three of the songs were from a Gary Moore concert done in a small venue or studio. He does a great duet with BB King and, of course, the monumental Still Get the Blues For You, on which he reaches into th
When an author titles a book A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (2000) he'd better deliver. Dave Eggers did so. I just finished his critically acclaimed memoir depicting the tragedies he endured while in his mid 20's, and the responsibility they engendered. Most of the narrative takes place within his mind. The reader sees the good, bad and
My reaction when I saw that another Planet of the Apes films had been issued was skepticism, derision. When I noted the positive reviews for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I was still not convinced. I reluctantly added it to my Netflix list. I'm glad I did. Despite its outrageous storyline and the one-dimensional portrayal of many of the human cha
My favorite part of the NFL draft is seeing which player is selected last, dubbed Mr. Irrelevant by the press. This year there were 253 picks, and the honor of last man standing went to Chandler Harnish, a QB out of Northern Illinois. He should not fret. Two recent Mr. I's have done well in pro ball. David Vobora has played four years for two diffe
Mother Nature seems confused. We had May-like weather in March, and now March-like weather in April. Today's stiff breeze was a nuisance to the floating book shop. I hadn't felt as cold since February. Fortunately, a few people stopped to either chat or make a purchase. Jack came limping along on his arthritic knee. He was forgoing his Occupy Wall
I'd first heard about Cowboys and Aliens (2011), months before its release, through a survey site, where I was asked to rate a two-minute trailer. At first I scoffed at the title. Then I thought: Why not? Who's to say when, where, if we've ever been visited? Why not the old west? The trailer looked great, as even those of the worst films frequently
Every now and then in the letters to the editor in the NY Post there appears a gem. The New York airports, JFK and LaGuardia, attract a lot of birds. Occasionally, some will strike a plane, most famously the one Captain "Sully" so deftly landed in the Hudson. A few days ago another was struck on take-off. The passengers panicked, as the smell of sm
Jon has been visiting the floating bookshop since it became a daily occurrence at the end of 2007. He has been kind enough to purchase Close to the Edge and Killing. He is a retired English teacher who self-published two novels years ago through a printer. It was a disappointing and costly experience. He has picked my brain about doing books digita
The ultimate nightmare occurred to the parents of six-year-old Etan Patz 33 years ago. He went missing. To this date, he has not been found, although there has been a prime suspect almost from day one. That beautiful little boy's smiling picture is back in the media this week, as the NYPD and FBI are excavating a basement very near his former Green
Bill O'Reilly's column appears in the op-ed pages of the NY Post every Friday. Today he focused on a report that detailed the charitable giving of politicians. The Obamas were generous, giving 22% of their earnings. VP Biden, on the other hand, gave only 1.46%. In 2011, Mitt Romney donated 19% of the 21 million he earned. If my math is right, that
John Grisham is one of the most successful authors of all time, his books selling more than 250 million copies and translated into numerous languages. Eight of his novels have been adapted to film. I finally got around to sampling his work, reading The Appeal (2008). I didn't like it. The major problem is that one side of the case in question is eg
Congratulations to Jamie Moyer of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who at 49 years, 150 days has become the oldest winning pitcher of a major league baseball game. The previous mark was set in 1932 by Jack Quinn of the Brooklyn Dodgers at 49/70. It was Moyer's 268th victory, which ties him with Orioles' Hall of Famer Jim Palmer for 34th place on the all-t
Writers love irony. I was back in business in my usual nook for the first time since last Wednesday. A lot of people stopped and asked where I'd been. One wondered if there was going to be a turf war, as Svetlana/Vivian has been hawking her fat burner there during my absence. I assured her there was not. I'm not out there to fight. I'll adapt and a
For the first time in a year and a half, I played golf. Cuz, my former softball teammate and playing partner since 1986, summoned me in an email. I couldn't refuse. It was time to test my hip, which gave me so much trouble in late 2010 and has been 95% better lately. The best part was catching up on news. Cuz has a sunny disposition that wins over
I re-watched The Departed (2006) last night, courtesy of Netflix. I'm glad I did. As is the case with many of Martin Scorsese's films, it improves with the second viewing, once the shock of the violence, profanity and cynicism become secondary to the engrossing story and wonderful performances. Leonardo DiCaprio is not appreciated enough. He is ter
Friday the 13th proved lucky for the floating bookshop. I took the show to Park Slope, which surveys have cited as the most literate neighborhood in Brooklyn. One guy in particular lived up to that assessment, buying a book on string theory, The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. I am in awe of people who understand that stuff. I read Stephen Hawkin
Unable to find any program to my liking last night at ten, I gave the remote a spin around channels not included amongst my favorites, and came upon Newt Gingrich giving an address at Wesley College in Delaware. He touched on the common conservative economic talking points: drilling, deregulation, lower taxes, elimination of the Capital Gains Tax,
Among Joanne's vast book donation to me were several by Joanne Fluke, who, like Diane Mott Davidson, specializes in culinary mysteries. Her heroine, Hannah Swenson, runs a cookie shop in a small Minnesota town, and solves murders on the side. It's silly, of course, but it's meant to be fun, not high art. I just finished the twelfth in the series, T
