2011
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The Collector
I see Larry most every day, if the weather’s OK, and I walk my normal route. For years I only knew him as the short squat man in faded t-shirt and suspenders walking a small brown dog down Bedford. Once, I was summoned: Excuse me! in a gravelly New York whine. Could you pick that […]
Daniel Johnston Day
Yesterday I wore my Daniel Johnston t-shirt. No special reason; it was near the top of my t-shirt drawer. (T-shirt drawer #1, anyway. I have a lot of t-shirts.) I first learned of Daniel Johnston when I was a college DJ at Pittsburgh’s WRCT. The station had a recording of Daniel doing an impromptu over-the-phone […]
What I’ve Been Watching: Edition II
“Jack, it’s been 7 long months since you last told us what you were watching on TV,” begins one of the countless similar notes crowding my in-box. “Please please please update us on your viewing habits.” The public has spoken, and I will capitulate. The following shows were not on the previous list, unless otherwise […]
At Home He Feels Like a Tourist
We pass each other with open books. Me, because I know these streets all too well. She, because she doesn’t, not at all.
Memorial Day Sense Memory
With mom-and-pop establishments sealed up tight on national holidays, we—the non-food-preparers—must rely on the kindness of chain restaurants. And that’s how I ended up at my local Qdoba Mexican Grill for lunch today. (I don’t know where dinner will be, but Blimpie is on the short list.) For about a month, a sign has been […]
After-Hours Book Club
Quarter to two Wednesday night Wait half done for the next train home. Eyes that have seen enough today scan a ragged paperback open on my lap. Is that a good book? asks the girl next to me on the aluminum bench underground. It is, I say, closing it shut. I turn toward her: This […]
Jack Silbert, Amateur Electrician
Soon after arriving home last night, I headed to the corner of my bedroom where my computer is. (If the I.R.S. is reading this, the square footage in question is my “home office.”) The green light at the base of my landline—which I maintain solely for robo-calls and my parents—was out. Hmm, must’ve not properly […]
Presidential Proof
Despite this morning’s release of President Obama’s long-form birth certificate, there are still so-called “birthers” who are demanding even further proof that the President was indeed born in Hawaii. To appease these critics, and hopefully put this discussion to bed once and for all, the White House has just released the following items. • Aloha-flower-print […]
A Monday Mitzvah
Teaneck would have to wait. First there was some minor auto repair to resolve. Last night, I’d noticed a burnt-out marker-lamp on my ’91 Corolla. So this morning, armed with a replacement bulb, a Phillips screwdriver, and a little old-fashioned elbow grease, I popped the hood outside a nearby strip mall and got down to […]
Not a Cone-ifer
Thanks to Kara Smith for this lovely piece of personalized SiW art! In addition to her phenomenal two-dimensional work (one of which already hangs in my home), she also makes some awesome terrariums.
Jack Silbert, curator