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See You In September: What You Might Do On My Summer Vacation

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By Jesse Kornbluth
Published: Aug 22, 2011
Category: Beyond Classification

The talking heads and newspaper pundits have been making me crazy. So I asked some brainiacs who aren't in politics or media to write briefly on this topic: "If I were President, I'd...." And the New York Times published it in the Sunday Review. Right here.

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It’s that time. Jon Stewart’s gone for two weeks. Colbert too. Andrew Sullivan. Really, anyone still in town and pumping up the volume just didn’t get the memo.

Well, I’m not hanging up the GONE FISHIN’ sign and fleeing the jurisdiction. I’ve got a book that could stand some sustained attention, and for two weeks, it’s gonna get just that. So I’m staying right here, in the maid’s room.

Still, for whatever reason, I endorse this annual break --- for me and for you.

If you’re the sort who trusts my tastes, you may have a pile of books, music and movies that you just haven’t had time to consume --- well, here’s your chance.
 
If you’re “between” books, CDs and movies, this is a good time to sample my suggestions --- which is why I’ve made the list on this screen.

And, for all of us, it’s a good time to get outside and feel wind and sun and rain, to hear the laughter of children, drink a beer, smoke a cigar. Let Wordsworth guide us...

Nature never did betray      
The heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege,      
Through all the years of this our life, to lead      
From joy to joy...

So here’s to joy.  See you on Tuesday, September 6.  Take good care.

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman --- Patricia Bosworth’s jaw-dropper of a biography (available 8/30).

The Pianist in the Dark --- A word-perfect short novel about a blind prodigy and her would-be healer.

In a Better World --- Susanne Bier’s gripping, Oscar-winning revenge drama (available 8/30).

 

INSTANT CLASSICS

The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family’s Century of Art and Loss --- A beautifully-written chronicle of a small collection and what happened to each generation to own it

SMOD --- From Mali, but not of Mali. In French, but not of France. Hip-hop, but not. So what is it? Very happy harmony.

Movits --- From Sweden, but not of Sweden. Hip-hop, but not. ‘30s swing, but not. So what is it? Completely original.

 

Branch Rickey --- The white man who put a black man (Jackie Robinson) on a Brooklyn baseball field. And changed everything. 143 pages. 
 
Buck --- Buck Brannaman, “the horse whisperer,” strikes me as a man who has discovered a good way to deal with children and spouses and bosses and….

 
WHAT’S GOING ON

The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements ---  You want to know why hordes of people have completely ridiculous ideas?

A Face in the Crowd --- You want to know how dangerous blowhards get famous? (with Andy Griffith)

Burn --- You want to know how the people we support around the world come back to bite us in the ass? (with Marlon Brando)

Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic --- How it worked out for the Romans.
 

AFTER MIDNIGHT

J.J. Cale --- Late at night, on the back porch….

Miles Davis: Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud --- The ultimate essence of Cool.

 

Djivan Gasparyan --- In which you learn about the beauty of a double-reed instrument called the duduk.

Ann Peebles --- She hurts so good.

 

SUMMER NECESSITIES

Shure SE115-CL Earphones --- When you find better sound for $49.99, tell me.

Anthelios Sunscreen --- Because it’s not over yet.

Egyptian Magic --- Whatever skin trouble you’ve got, this probably fixes it.

Sally Hansen Leg Spray --- Trapped in an office? No one needs to know.

Vapur Water Bottles --- Just in case this Global Warming thing is real.

 

HIGHER POWERS

Being Peace --- Thich Nhat Hanh takes it one step at a time.

The Way of Chuang Tzu --- Float like a butterfly…
 
Krishna Das --- “For your love...I’d give the moon if it were mine to give….”

 
OVERLOOKED

C.C. Adcock --- Like an old Mercury with a sleek V-8 under the hood cruising along the bayou

Separate Ways --- "Come rolling into town unaware/ Of the power that you have over me/ And what am I to do/ With hello how are you/ Nothing’s ever said that should be..”

Canned Heat --- On the road again….

And a bonus....

Short Takes

Theodora Roosevelt Keogh

She may have been the best female writer of her time --- kudos to you if you can name one of her nine novels. Joan Schenkar was her devoted reader and friend. In the Paris Review, she makes you wish you knew her.

Tempting, isn't it?

Escape. Into the Wild. Without regard to “consequences.” Sometimes it’s life-affirming; sometimes fatal; sometimes both. Maybe best to start with Sean Penn’s great movie and/or Eddie Vedder’s haunting music.

 

11 brilliant minutes about ...well, everything

Gonna Wash Those Knots Right Outta My Hair

Of 406 customer reviews on Amazon, Wen Tea Cleansing Conditioner gets 218 5-star and 70 4-star reviews. Add two more 5-star raves from the females here --- after the first use, our daughter ran a brush through her hair and encountered not a single knot. Is that big? It is huge. Yes, this stuff costs. But what's it worth to have great hair --- and no tears? 

Obligatory Blog Roll

News

Talking Points Memo
The New York Times

Intelligence

Andrew Romano
Dominique Browning
James Fallows
Lapham's Quarterly
Lux Lotus
Pamela Miles/Reiki

Media

Andrew Sullivan
Eschaton
Gawker
Glenn Greenwald
Huffington Post
Hullabaloo
James Wolcott
Media Curmudgeon
Roger Friedman
Romenesko
The New Yorker

Books

Bookreporter.com
Maud Newton
The English Muse
The New York Review of Books
The Paris Review
Today in Literature

Travel

Bonjour Paris
Italian Notebook
Lisa Lindblad
Little Brown Pen
Plum TV
Rural Intelligence
Wish You Were Here

Spirituality

Jeffrey Rubin

Finance

Andrew Tobias

New York

Capital New York
Gilt City Unlisted
Manhattan User's Guide
New York Social Diary
Paper & String
The Awl

Art

James Danziger: The Year in Pictures
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Miles Hyman

Products

Gustiamo
Peace Coffee
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