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Sad day: The indefatigable songman and peace activist Pete Seeger died today, at the age of 94. He was a national treasure for all those Americans who stood up and spoke out, who refused to let the country pursue its hateful ways of war and oppression. His banjo was decorated with the message: "This machine [...]

Back at work and other activities this week after the traditional holiday "break.'' Seems a bit strange, like I've been away for a long while, and strangely just the same, as if I've never left. I guess the truth is that both are true... I've also been thinking how lucky I am to have "activities" [...]

Fog started rolling in last night, hovering along our street as my son and I returned late from a Thanksgiving feast. He noted the odd brilliance it cast, affording a seemingly incongruous clarity to the briskly chilly night lit only by street lamps. We were filled to the brim with autumn's singular pleasures. And most [...]

Today, wars all around and other natural disasters, the "economy" in tatters, hunger, disease, plastic surgery rampant. And in my weekly agenda, dotted with quotes from artists through the ages, there is this: "Il réalisait parmi les hommes cette figure parfaite que le cercle réalise parmi les lignes géométriques. C'était un zéro." Victor Hugo, note [...]

Back in Montreuil today. Lazing in the late afternoon with Proust. I look up from the book for a moment, out the window, and there, a magnificent rainbow curves across the cloudy sky like a dome. It seems to hang there, stretching horizon to horizon above the trees, forever. But then finally once when I [...]