Jun
04
Okay, so maybe I won’t win the Booker
Or, where did this skin on my neck come from?
There is a sentence that keeps sneaking into my mind:
4 min read
Recent pensées from Dr Essai and his trusty sidekick, Mr K
Jun
01
The book report for May 2023
Or, memories, dystopia, and...what were we talking about?
Bought more books than I read, but what else is new?
2 min read
May
29
The one obligation of Memorial Day
It is Memorial Day in the United States, a national day of remembrance for those who have fallen in the
1 min read
May
22
Clade longa, vita brevis
Or, the maddening persistence of defeat
Esteemed reader, Dr Essai has been traveling, which accounts for the paucity of missives
6 min read
May
06
Dante’s nine circles of hell, updated
Dr Essai has been brooding on an update to the esteemed poet’s nine circles of hell. The result may be less than a foundation for epic verse, but at least he feels better.
2 min read
May
01
The book report for April 2023
Or, an unusually poetic and Danish list this time
April was a good month for books completed. The Olga Ravn
3 min read
Apr
28
I have known some baffling people. Then there’s Jerry Springer.
Life is a long strange trip. I have never understood the mayor-turned-sleazemeister and I never will.
3 min read
Apr
17
“Life may be the art of bridging lonelinesses”
Maria Popova:
This may be the most haunting and most transcendent discovery for any of us who seek and savor
1 min read
Apr
12
The sound of one hand packing
Artists earnestly repeat bromides like “it’s the journey, not the destination,” but an artist’s path needs a destination. Mark Strand once said, “If I knew where I was going I probably wouldn’t go there.” But eventually we do need to find that we’ve ended up somewhere, and unpack.
4 min read
Apr
06
Dr Essai’s life checklists: No. 1, Reading Strategies
Surgeons and physicians have embraced the quality assurance and error avoidance of a smart checklist. Why not the rest of us? Why not checklists for life?
4 min read