I’d been told that some former Colorado Springs poets laureate were going to read at the old Knights of Columbus hall. Some of them were old friends, so I’d overcome my distaste for public gatherings and come down to hear them. When I’d walked into the hall, I’d found a bank of folding chairs set […]
The Other Way from You Read More »
At about 2 a.m. Saturday morning, October 23, 2010, outside the residence of Brandon Savage (street name “Ghostface”) at 1843 North Harvard Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, two people were shot. One was Carlameisha Jefferson (street name “24”), and she was treated in the emergency room and survived her wounds. The other was Dominique Jasper (street name
Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Unjust Imprisonment of Channen Smith Read More »
“[I]t’s impossible for me to say – as much as I loved him – that in his most productive and influential period Art Tatum was the only guy. How could I leave out Teddy Wilson? How could I leave out Hank Jones? How could I leave out Milt Buckner? How could I leave out a
Gemini — Ruby Braff Read More »
When Hoagy Carmichael and his friends Bob Gilette and Bix Beiderbecke went on a road trip to Chicago, their first stop was Lincoln Gardens, the club where King Oliver’s band was appearing. Many years later, Carmichael wrote about that night: As I sat down to light my first muggle, Bix gave the sign to a
Tuba Skinny: Back Down on the Ground Read More »
“Every good manager effectively threatens his players with professional extermination if they don’t give him the best effort that they are capable of giving; Casey Stengel, Billy Martin, Whitey Herzog and Earl Weaver are masters at it, as was Durocher. They are not nice people. . . .” – Bill James, The Bill James Baseball
Grading and the Fear of God Read More »
People probably invented poetry to help them remember things they wanted to remember – what their gods and ancestors did, how to get from one place to another, what plants were good to eat and what plants were poisonous – all sorts of things that rhythmic patterns and regular rhyme schemes made easier to remember.