James Wolcott on an unholy tear, and watching 30 or so restaurant patrons reach for their cellphones when “Ode to Joy” starts wafting down from the ceiling.
Among the things occupying my time of late has been the struggle to isolate particular small horrors, relatively speaking, illustrative of the larger ones. It hasn’t been going well, [...]

I spent much of New Year’s Eve listening to Tom Waits’ epically weird opus, Bone Machine (soon to appear on our list of recommended Amazon purchases). “The German dwarf dances with the butcher’s son” is far and away the most traditional sentiment reflected by the CD.
I had the opportunity and desire to indulge [...]