Life~Times Menu selections
are listed in alphabetical order by author. |
A Woman's Desire
An awkward substitution at the cinema. By Richard Armstrong.
Since You Went Away
The movie is moving. By Richard Armstrong.
La Durée
"Watching movies when you are stoned is an odd experience." By Richard Armstrong.
Tension and Tenderness
"Something funny was going on in 1989. Around the end of June there was a screening of Double Indemnity at
the National Film Theatre. Hurrying down to the South Bank, I came to feel that the events of the following day were mysteriously
unleashed that night." By Richard Armstrong.
Bogie, Candy and Me
On Bogart, love, and understanding. By Richard Armstrong.
American Surrealism
"Appearing in 1929, The Cocoanuts is a much less subtle confection than romantic comedies such as Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble
in Paradise or Mitchell Leisen's Hands across the Table. In fact, it's utterly bonkers." An appreciation
of the Marx Brothers. By Richard Armstrong.
Touch of Evil
Our movie memories are lit by the sometimes weird conditions of our watching. By Richard Armstrong.
Third Birthday
A mother's brief, anguished reflection on the cause of her daughter's emotionality reminds us: things are not always as they seem.
By Wendy Atkinson.
My Dog's Temporary Lapse of Reason
Man's best friend has many ways to tell you he would like to be properly fitted into the new family structure after baby arrives. By Wendy Atkinson.
At the Park
Our inevitable—even desirable—separation can yet be discussed, and its impact softened.
By Wendy Atkinson.
1-800-GOD HELP ME
A miracle is always real and needed, and never more than a phone call away. By Wendy Atkinson.
Four-and-a-Half Book Reviews
Eric Chaet does the work for us in synopsizing some revealing works on the 'government behind the government' in the U.S.
The Herd, Results, & the Power Within
Author-philosopher Eric Chaet muses on the foreshortened horizons of workaday existence.
Principle of Least Action, Hurricane, etc.
A compressed, intent exploration of the limits on all things local and remote, living and dead, past and present. By Eric Chaet.
A Detective Story with Odd Bits Hanging On It
Like it says. By Eric Chaet.
My Expertise, Method, & Works
A micro-autobiography of a persuasive iconoclast. By Eric Chaet.
Edgar Considers Black Walnut
All politics is local. All philosophy is local, too. By Eric Chaet.
Changing the World for the Better, On Purpose
Eric Chaet offers a modest proposal to get a dialog going on the subject, "changing the world".
2 Letters to My Brother on National Politics, Civilization and Culture
Eric Chaet is at once personal, politic, and provocative on matters simultaneously worldly and close to the heart.
Cold Roof
Eric Chaet monumentalizes a small job of day-labor with vast, warm and attentive detail.
Grizzly Grzybowski, Amy, & the Price of Milk
In dialog both pointed and oblique, author Eric Chaet and the regulars at the local coffee shop, the Farmer's Friend, exchange life histories
while debating the price of milk and cheese.
Klein, Creator of Great Lakes Pizza
In quiet cadences, Eric Chaet eulogizes Klein's complex life, interleaving its tragic events with the sober
concerns of the coffee shop regulars who knew him.
Regarding a July 1, 2002 Radio Interview
The author of People I Met Hitchhiking on USA Highways casts his bread upon the turbulent
waters of talk radio. By Eric Chaet.
Calves, Cash Money & Politics
Conversations with his wife, Eileen, and farmer friend Roy help the unnamed narrator open a window on
the beliefs and concerns of rural America. By Eric Chaet.
Jobs
Problems and perils of the job-hunt. By Eric Chaet.
Lula (My Girl)
A short story, by Jack Davis in his authorial debut, about deer hunting with dogs in Florida, the loss of a loved one,
and stories of their hunting escapades over the years.
Sonnie and the Monkey
Jack Davis, assisted by family, friends and a mascot, brings the remains of his father on a cross-country trek to their final resting place in the mountains of New Hampshire.
March Madness: Embedded at the Laundromat
"A reflective essay on life during this new wartime. It is not meant to be
pro-war or anti-war, indeed it is meant to express the uncertainty and
ambivalence of the middle ground." By Kevin C. Emerson
Getting Away from the Images
Kevin C. Emerson's memories of the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings are indelible,
and he—like many of us—struggles to make sense of them.
Road Rage?
After experiencing a disturbing incident of his own, author Liam Finn digs a little deeper
into the phenomenon of menacing drivers.
Vietnam Notes
"This story took place in Vietnam, but it's about any violent conflict.
And it's not about me, it's about the very real nightmares we can find
ourselves living if we don't reason things out for ourselves, and continue to
let movies, television, and the violent fantasies of others do our thinking for
us." By Robert Flynn.
Anthropological Field Notes by a Visitor to a Special Education Classroom
Keith Howard has some pointed observations on the 'culture of disability'.
Witches' Rave
A meditation on mortality, filtered through the lenses of love, lust and loss.
By Andrew Jimenez.
Love's Bitch
My Platinum Baby
Happy Meals On Legs
Aggregately titled the Spike Triptych, these three shorts are a mouth-watering triple-dip of passionate, sensuous reflection on love and its correlates.
"Love is a very strange emotion. We feel it without any desire to feel it. It just jumps at us right out
of the dark, without any notice. Yet we go through life craving it
just as much as water or food or air in a most elemental manner."
By Milarca C. Kruse.
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
A paean to mothering and motherhood. By Milarca C. Kruse.
When Doves Cry
Bereavement comes in one flavor. By Milarca C. Kruse.
Last Christmas
The seasons of love in a minute of reading. A masterly vignette on the passions and treasons of the heart. By Milarca C. Kruse.
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
We are never alone. We are always completely surrounded by cruel ironies. By Milarca C. Kruse.
From Mustard Plasters
to Psychotherapy and Beyond
Gary Lakes finds you get the illnesses you can afford.
The Nuns Were Right
Passion, covetousness (mortal sin), crimes contemplated—in the supermarket aisle?
By Laurie Lalish.
Matto, Pazzo
Grandma Josephina wears khakis, swears at the TV, cooks up a mean cuccuzze.
By Laurie Lalish.
The Cause of the End of the World
Andy Lincowski fills us in on the long-term dangers of homework overload.
Another Planet
Author Elinor Burkett spent
the 2000 school year interviewing students, teachers and administrators
at affluent, suburban Prior Lake High School, near Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her insights open a window
on what has gone wrong in public education. Review by Professor John Maher.
In Praise of Myself
Professor John Maher details the "puffery" necessary to prosper in academe.
The Terrors of Eighth Grade
A. R. McCord falls afoul of manners and political correctness as a frazzled
substitute in a middle school classroom.
Substitute-Proofing the Classroom
What to do, what to do? A. R. McCord finds himself twiddling his
thumbs as a substitute in a classroom inoculated against change.
One Red Ribbon
The author's relationship with a very special animal finally comes to an end. By Sandy Naas
Blondie
Rob Rosen recalls with warmth the impact of his early and persistent musical loves.
All in the Family
An endearing reminiscence of life with a family of cats. By Fred Royall.
Frederic Family Days
Jenny Rose Ryan finely observes the characters, rituals and haunts of her Midwestern hometown.
The Security of Shared Recipes
Jessica Schneider ruminates on all things between Jack London and fast-food restaurants, including absurdity and the being of Being.
You've Come to the Right Place
Those dreaded prerequisite classes could change your life.
By John Sheirer.
A Fling with Gravity
DC Stanfa muses on the hurts and infuriations of a recent breakup.
Programming the Game of Hearts,
A pragmatic critique
Probability enthusiast Clement Washburn offers insights and strategy for a popular computer card game.
How Many Games Will Be Played in the World Series?
Clement Washburn examines the probability that this year's (or any year's) Series will go 4, 5, 6, or 7 games.
Pipes
Oh, say, can you sing? Story by Mark Webber.
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