This blog represents the views of the author alone and not the newspaper. Read more

To the New Superintendent: Read more

In case you were too busy munching on your hamburger which is contributing to global warming, the Houston Chronicle ran a story on the front page with pictures of important people attending the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland. This is one of those conferences with the depth of a Po… Read more

My wifeaffectionately calls me a “book snob.” Of course, she calls me a lot of things –yes, they’re all printable – but I’m proud of it. My own daughter also calls me“nerd dad.” I can’t seem to shake the idea that literature should be worthreading and educational. Read more

MaximumVolume is really a book about George Martin, but you would be forgiven if youthought it was a book about the Beatles. George Martin, as any Beatles fanknows, produced all but one of the Beatles oeuvre. Read more

Imaginepeople from Shakespeare’s era transported into a Grateful Dead concert arena surroundedby Comic-Con habitués and the entire cast from Rocky Horror. Now add a layer offake British accents, the only thing more annoying than fake Southern accents,and you have a pretty good idea of the mi… Read more

ThePeacock Network enticed me and most Houstonians to watch Saturday Night Live thisevening, promising three Astros would be appearing. NBC was mum as to what kindof skit they would appear in or what capacity. Read more

Have youever seen a movie you hated so much you wanted to punch the guy in the nose who sold youthe ticket? I had that feeling after sitting through American Beauty. I hated it so much I extendedmy disgust toward everyone in the movie – Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, evenThora Birch. The funn… Read more

When twoinches of rain falls, you can skip watering the plants for a couple of days.With 4-5 inches, you probably had trouble driving to work. If the rain gaugegoes up to 10, chances are you checked to make sure your flood insurance was upto date while you were stuck inside with pets making … Read more

The pastfew nights I’ve woken up dreaming I was being pursued by school district personnelto return to the classroom. This was triggered by the knowledge that teachersin Victoria ISD have returned to work as of Monday. If I hadn’t retired andmoved back to Houston, I’d be setting up my classr… Read more

When Ipicked up “Thomas Jefferson: Architect of American Liberty” at the locallibrary, it looked more like a project than a book. It ran 640 pages and weighedas much as my dog. Okay, he’s a wiener dog, but he’s a lot of trouble to pickup. And probably 40 pages consist of footnotes and index.… Read more

Book report Read more

Throughout my life, I was blessed with teachers of the first water who oversaw my academic progress. Along the way, I developed a facility for the written word. I stress “written” because I sound like a blithering fool when I’m turned loose without a script in front of me. I naturally give l… Read more

Recentevents since the inauguration of Trump reminded me of a lengthy essay by TomWolfe – “Radical Chic.” Wolfe captures the essence of the ferment of the late60s and the liberal guilt trying to atone for all the injustices committedsince Cain bumped off his younger brother in a fit of pique… Read more

I’ve gota lot of sand in the bottom of my hourglass. Seems like just yesterday I wassaying “40 is really old!” After I turned 40, I thought, well, maybe 50 is old.After that, I just quit saying anything about it. And now I’m turning 60. I’vebeen getting reminders that I’m getting old in the … Read more

One thegreat highlights in my life occurred when I was a teenager. I was at a musicvenue helping a friend set up equipment for a dance when in walked someone whomeant more to me than any performer – Alan Shepard, the first American to getshot into space in the Mercury mission. I introduced m… Read more

TomWolfe, author of The Right Stuff, a paean to the Mercury astronauts and testpilots of Edwards Air Base, introduced the colorful phrase “augur in.” An auguris a tool used for boring. No, not reruns of Hee-Haw, but a device to punchholes in the ground. Thus, a flier who “augured in” with hi… Read more

"Alligator Candy" byformer Rolling Stones writer David Kushner is a memoir for his brother who was brutallymurdered and then mutilated, thankfully after he was already dead. The authorwas only four when his older brother rode off to the store on his red bike tobuy his little brother’s favori… Read more

Well,how about THAT! Read more

BobDylan, nee Robert Zimmerman, after a half-century of representinganti-establishment sensibilities, has done it again. First, he shocked theworld by plugging in a guitar and, unfortunately, a microphone. Then heaccepted the NobelPeacePrize for Literature. Talk about a simple twist of fate.… Read more

Theresults of a quiz I recently took shook me to my core. Now, I know theseinternet quizzes are for entertainment. But how did I become 100% hippie? Did Isomehow lose my sense of reality, or the person who devised the questions? Read more

Writing about an impending national disaster helps clear my mind. When that doesn

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t work, any bottle of alcohol will do. Read more

Famed author Ring Lardner

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s humorous story of a fictional baseball pitcher told through a collection of letters written to his friend Al. Read more

Some folks need more explaining than the average dummy. This might be the book for you. Read more

Every four years we get a reminder of how fragile psyches can be. Pundits refer to election year as the Silly Season. I prefer to think of it as the Days of Whine and Roses. Read more