
An ongoing digital archive of 1,429 items (and counting) proving that I read, I saw, and I actually paid attention.




“The rabbi, my lover, is back from Warsaw, so my concentration and self-esteem are destroyed. I wrote mythological poems in ninth grade, and the myth my lover resembles is Orpheus—not that I revere Orpheus, I think Orpheus was a failure and a turncoat, I prefer Abraham for being a semi-literalist about God’s commands. The real heartthrob is Isaac, who, if he were alive now and living in Hoboken or in this tiny town near Hoboken, a town I am devastated to admit is my permanent address, would wear studious gold-framed glasses and would have an unfashionable halo of disordered and frizzy curls; he would play the oboe and be constantly licking and biting and polishing his reeds; and he would treat me disrespectfully.”
“Whatever shall I do? You see, the modern ownership of movables is reducing us again to a nomadic horde. We are reverting to a civilization of luggage, Mr. Wilcox.”
“We better check on mother and the cats. She’s a lot of fun, I hope she doesn’t die. I hate to spend another winter here though. Oh God, another winter.”
“Oh, you remember the awful things they said about what’s-her-name before she jumped out the window? There. You see? I can’t even remember her name so who cares?”
“It is infuriating that your unhappiness does not turn to fat!”
“There were these monkeys, apes, bonobos, quite fascinating. Everything they do is about sex. They meet a new bonobo, they have sex with them. Sticking it in and out, dear, ‘hello, how do you do?’ In and out, tossing each other off, fingering each other, in and out, in and out, non-stop. It’s how they make friends. And I thought ‘that’s Margaret—in and out, in and out—Margaret is a bonobo.’”


“Fortunately, I did still say yes to some terrific opportunities, such as the chance to play the title role in a summer stock tour of Auntie Mame. To be on the safe side, at my cardiology checkup, I asked Dr. Erica Jones if she thought I had the endurance to undertake the physically demanding role of Mame. Not in the least showbiz savvy, she leaned in with a concerned look. ‘Will you be lifting anything heavy?’ To which I replied, ‘Well, I’ll be carrying the plot.’”
“In the 20th century, Hans-Georg Gadamer was one of the theorists who helped to popularize the idea of ‘historical consciousness.’ He argued that we can only ever interpret the past through our own prejudices and traditions, and that meaning emerges through a fusion of past and present ‘horizons.’ Appreciation for the subjectivity of our historical consciousness was, he suggested, a relatively new phenomenon. He believed it was ‘the privilege of modern man to have a full awareness of the historicity of everything present and the relativity of all opinions.’”
“Now Woody, he’s been my pal for as long as I can remember. He’s brave, like a cowboy should be. And kind, and smart. But the thing that makes Woody special, is he’ll never give up on you… ever. He’ll be there for you, no matter what.”