Products Archive

Weekend Butler: The month the world…stopped. Do you walk 6,000 steps a day more than you need to? The best documentary. The best tweet. The best NYC summer song. The most chill desert. - AUGUST: THE MONTH THE WORLD.... STOPS Henry Miller, on his ideal day: "To be silent the whole day, see no newspaper, hear no radio, listen to no gossip, be thoroughly and

Weekend Butler: The Optimism Issue: His brain does the walking. Maurice Sendak. Paul Newman. J.S. Bach. Kanye West’s shoes. Chilled squash soup. - The government won’t shut down. My daughter adopted a cat. I’m walking more each day. Feeling deep gratitude for close friends. Yes, the sun may extinguish life as we know

Weekend Butler: The painting that saved Bill Murray’s life, Eric Carle’s search for a lost cat, Best TikTok, the sickest and funniest film, and more - THE PAINTING THAT SAVED BILL MURRAY’S LIFE The painting (above) is "The Song of the Lark,” by Jules Adolphe Breton. The story is Bill Murray's. Because he's Bill Murray, someone laughed.

Weekend Butler: The Positivity Issue: Katharine Hepburn, Pema Chodron, Brian Fallon, Kim McCarty, Robert Redford, Steve Prefontaine, 2 poems, beef stew - I worked on two long projects for months, so I've had a good excuse for reading my own writing and not much else. But the news has been unfailingly painful,

Weekend Butler: The Secret of Life. Bill Nighy in a music video? Mary Oliver’s summer poem. A simple way to wake up roast chicken. Bob Dylan, 80, sings “Happy Birthday” to Brian Wilson, 80. And more…. - I watched the hearings, and my heart hurt for Shaye Moss and Lady Ruby, but the weather was ideal here, and the sky was outrageously blue, and I couldn’t avoid

Weekend Butler: The spice of the summer, the music of the summer, and a conversation you’ll never forget - THE SPICE OF SUMMER: Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp Sauce With Roasted Chili Pepper Flakes I thought a jar would last all summer. In two weeks, I've used half of it.

Weekend Butler: The summer I learned to drink beer. Paul Simon dreams an album. Palm Beach: A Rolls-Royce destroys a Damien Hirst sculpture. Roast Tarragon-Cognac Chicken. And more! - THE SUMMER I LEARNED TO DRINK In my parents’ house, alcohol was for goyim. On rare occasions, my mother took a nip of Manischewitz Cream Red Concord — “a sweet but

Weekend Butler: The trouble in Israel (and here); a gifted artist in Paris (and here): The Ghost Writer (1) and The Ghost Writer (2) - Driving downtown, I saw that the police had closed off the street --- you couldn’t get near the mosque. I cruised by a synagogue: these police had a dog. American

Weekend Butler: The waiting really is the hardest part. The Queen’s prank. Country snark: “If you can’t do better than that, babe… I’ve got a problem with it.” From the vault: Judy Collins & Leonard Cohen. And more. - PHOTO: The imperial state crown sits atop the Queen's coffin on a velvet pillow. --- THE WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART My stepson, at 11, used to imitate me: “We have a half

Weekend Butler: The week’s insights (Both Sides Now/Fast & Steady). The Zucchini solution. Drink coffee for your health. A 128-page novel. The right song for the season. And more. - BOTH SIDES NOW/FAST AND STEADY When my daughter was very young, vacation meant hotels with pools --- and pool games. A favorite was “Tortoise and Hare.” I was the Hare. I'd

Weekend Butler: The woman on the red motorcycle. This weekend, read a teen book. Camera-ready criminals. Michael Jordan. Roast Tarragon-Cognac Chicken. And more…. - SUPPORTING BUTLER: You can become a patron of this site, and automatically donate any amount you please — starting with $1 — each month. The service that enables this is

Weekend Butler: This winter will be even colder than you may think. What will happen to Kanye’s stuff? A great use of an hour. A Halloween joke. Recipe: Porcini & Sausage Stew. And more. - WINTER APPROACHES…AND IT WILL BE COLD IN SO MANY WAYS The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts: For most of the western half of the United States, the almanac predicts a winter that’s “Wet

Weekend Butler: Time accelerates: How many issues of The New Yorker did you get this week? Movies for a rainy weekend. Kids aren’t sure: Is the world round? Surprise: Goodhearted people are healthier. Roasted Salmon Glazed With Brown Sugar and Mustard. And more. - GEORGE SANTOS (photo): An appointment in Great Neck.  Crossing the street, we noticed that George Santos, the disgraced first-term Congressman, has his office here. Naturally, this called for a photo

Weekend Butler: Timothy Snyder on the Hamas attack: Israel’s reaction is part of the plan. The answer to my Literary Quiz. The answer to weekend dinners: Beef Stew. A Louise Glück poem. Madonna’s secret weapon. A Leonard Cohen memory. - SUPPORTING BUTLER: You can become a patron of this site, and automatically donate any amount you please — starting with $1 — each month. The service that enables this is

Weekend Butler: Tina Turner’s salvation: Buddhism. Killer Orcas? Does Facebook have $ for you? Weekend movie from 1931: “Little Caesar.” Song of the week: Taylor Swift. One-pot spaghetti. And more. - TINA TURNER (1939 -2023:  “BUDDHISM LITERALLY SAVED MY LIFE” A hundred million records sold. Eight Grammy Awards. The most successful singer in the history of pop music. All true. But those

Weekend Butler: TWO “must see” movies. Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce. John Lennon’s night light. Would you travel 3,000 miles to see a play? Still the best new book. And more. - THIS WEEK'S MUST-SEE MOVIE: "THE FABELMANS" "The Fabelmans" is the story Steven Spielberg didn't think he could tell. From an interview in the Times: When the pandemic first hit, some of

Weekend Butler: Two airlifts, one evil, one historical, and an idea for a third. Movie preview: Whitney Houston. The wisdom of being early. A Mary Oliver poem. A joke. And Marcella Hazan’s truly effortless chicken. - PHOTO: THE BERLIN AIRLIFT In 1948, Soviet forces blockaded rail, road, and water access to Allied-controlled areas of Berlin. The United States and United Kingdom responded by airlifting food and fuel

Weekend Butler: Two love songs: John Prine & Iris DeMent, The National & Taylor Swift (Yes! Taylor Swift), Best Mashed Potatoes for Thanksgiving - TWO LOVE SONGS (LET’S START WITH THE CHEERY ONE) John Prine & Iris DeMent A glorious love song that could only have been written by John Prine: “In Spite of Ourselves” To listen

Weekend Butler: Vaccination Card Holders, Elton John, Marlon Brando, a gardener who grew children, and more - ELTON JOHN New CD coming. Many guests. And this teaser. You can't help responding to the song --- it echoes some of his greater hits. Even more, the animation is swoonsville.

Weekend Butler: Valuable advice from Steve Jobs; the best film to stream; a CEO who pays everyone at least $70,000, and a hot 130-page novel - THE IMAGE A man in Argentina planted a guitar-shaped forest of 7,000 trees, more than 1km in length, in memory of his wife who loved music. --- TWEET OF THE WEEK Once people get