Weekend Archive

Weekend Butler: Al Green, Mike Pence, Leonard Cohen, Joe Manchin — “Who Shall I Say Is Calling?” - "WHO SHALL I SAY IS CALLING?" I was going to lament that the future of American democracy is, to an alarming degree, hot-wired to Joe Manchin’s ass. That Joe Manchin, who

Weekend Butler: An important GoFundMe. An actress in a movie that grossed $27,00 could win the Oscar (stream it!) The #1 bestselling novel (Don’t tell: I’m reading it). When The Rolling Stones had nothing. A bracing soup recipe. - IMAGE: from Facebook: Chinese restaurant condiments. Caption: “Rothko… The Takeout Years.” GOFUNDME FOR TYRE NICHOLS You don’t need a single word from me about the tragedy in Memphis. But if you haven’t seen

Weekend Butler: Anthony Bourdain on Henry Kissinger. Acting your age (How beautiful is Judi Dench?). A first-class writing retreat in Montana. Help wanted at the Met Museum (gun required). Making Paul Newman’s day. One-pan chicken. And more. - ANTHONY BOURDAIN ON HENRY KISSINGER (OUCH!)  “Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands. You will never again be able

Weekend Butler: Are the rich really different? John le Carré. A history lesson about vaccines. And a Head Butler field trip. - THE RICH REALLY ARE DIFFERENT F. Scott Fitzgerald may have said: “The very rich are different from you and me.” Ernest Hemingway may have replied: “Yes, they have more money.”. I spent half

Weekend Butler: Are we suddenly snowflakes and drama critics? A real Olympic hero. A relevant and thrilling George Clooney movie. Judy Collins & Leonard Cohen. - ARE WE SUDDENLY DRAMA CRITICS AND SNOWFLAKES? One Olympics ended, another started. The Stupid Olympics, just for Americans. Start with the chaos in Afghanistan. It’s all Biden’s fault? So the chattering

Weekend Butler: Aretha Franklin. Meryl Streep. Bette Midler. Katherine Hepburn. Leonard Cohen. A spicy summer sauce. One unforgettable poem. And much more (hey, it’s a long weekend) - MY HEROES ARE HEROINES My social media feed tells two opposite stories. One is anger and whining from white men who have enjoyed lives of the most spectacular privilege in the

Weekend Butler: At last, a Broadway play worth seeing! Preview: “Lessons in Chemistry.” Streaming: “The Diplomat.” Why the wise walk. Salad Season. Sharpen your memory. 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: Beauty Field Trips (with a little help from my friends). A cool movie (with Bill Nighy). 5-minute Zucchini. A poem you’ll print out.. And more… - INSTANT CURE FOR BAD NEWS? BEAUTY. The first item on my afternoon call to my best friend was commentary on the death of Sinéad O’Connor, sharing something I read: “This

Weekend Butler: Charlie Warner’s Late-Life Triumph. The Dalai Lama’s birthday. The movie opens October 20; read the book now. Jailing a 3-year-old. How to tell if you have privilege. A song. A poem. A meal. And a wish: stay cool. - CHARLIE WARNER'S LATE LIFE SURPRISE Charlie Warner (photo, above) died on June 8. He was 91. There's a terrific piece about him, in which the people he mentored say thanks. First

Weekend Butler: Chilly? What to watch, what to cook. Does Wordle make you smarter? A great sports book. And…Edith Wharton’s X-rated story. (Yes. Really) - IMAGE: Joni Mitchell and David Hockney --- “DO YOU NEED ANYTHING? HOW CAN I HELP? WHAT CAN I DO?” Chilly? I couldn’t get the bedroom heat to top 60 degrees. And the forecast

Weekend Butler: Claire Keegan, my favorite writer of 2023. Consumer Warning (“Saltburn”). Consumer Applause: “Air.” Dolly Parton, philanthropist. “Gezellig.” Low-cal Carrot Soup. A Rich Nobel Poet. - MY FAVORITE NOVEL OF 2023 Claire Keegan (photo, above) wrote the best novel I read last year. "Small Things Like These"   ends abruptly… on page 128. Her previous book is

Weekend Butler: Could coffee save your life? Jimmy Fallon and Lin-Manuel Miranda sing for Broadway. English decadence. A hit TV series that couldn’t be made now. And more. - Fireworks! Mass burnings of masks! That's New York, with 70% of us having received at least one shot. In the restaurants, predictable behavior: people are loud and joyous, like the

Weekend Butler: Could the most holy of the holy be someone you might not notice? Weekend movie: Mark Rylance. Another zucchini recipe. An inspiring song. A cell phone mystery at the White House. And more…. - COULD THE MOST HOLY OF THE HOLY BE SOMEONE YOU MIGHT NOT NOTICE? In my novel, two teenage friends --- one kind of, sort of Buddhist, one Jewish --- talk about

Weekend Butler: Covid Roulette. Three idiots, living the dream. Going to school with my daughter. A short beach novel that’s smart and hot. - THE WEEKLY RANT: COVID ROULETTE I know people --- smart, accomplished, respected --- who aren’t vaccinated. Some have told me why. They have "better facts" than scientists like my brother, who

Weekend Butler: Dalai Lama literary contest (there’s a prize). Jesse and Daisy at the Book Fair. The most beautiful car commercial. Why does Air Force One have one more takeoff than landings? Bill Blass Meat Loaf. Mary Oliver. 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: Derek Chauvin’s ex-wife; the best American hotel for readers; a great unknown movie, and an Oscar podcast featuring.. uh, me - THE LINE THAT JUMPED OUT AT ME THIS WEEK (BECAUSE I’M FEELING THAT WAY, AS YOU MAY BE) All the people we used to know They’re an illusion to me now - Bob

Weekend Butler: Did the Eiffel Tower inspire Van Gogh? Italian nuns take a selfie at Michelangelo’s David. Paul Simon finds no bridge over troubled water. A week early: the Holiday Ham recipe. And more. - BEAUTY BEYOND CLASSIFICATION Long ago, we liked to have dinner downtown in warm weather and drive home on deserted Madison Avenue with the radio on and the sunroof open.. One night

Weekend Butler: Do you have/need an air purifier? Van Gogh’s Cypresses and a Van Gogh movie. Ban the Bible in schools? Shrimp Salad. 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: Don’t-miss NYC art show (Pierre Bonnard). Meet me on Saturday night (Josh Ritter). Lin-Manuel Miranda raps (at the White House). Wisdom from Smarties. A one-skillet recipe. - PIERRE BONNARD: DON’T MISS THIS I wrote a play about Matisse and knew Bonnard was his friend, but in the mental ranking that art-lovers are prone to, I didn’t consider Bonnard

Weekend Butler: E. Jean Carroll. Leonard Cohen in the Sinai. Arsène Lupin, gentleman burglar. Hurray for the Riff Raff. Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese. Elon Musk. - E. JEAN CARROLL Donald Trump was found guilty of forcing himself on E. Jean Carroll (photo, above) in a Bergdorf's dressing room in the mid-1990s.  Despite this, he continues to insist