“The usefulness of fungi is, for us, a lucky biproduct of their own independent lifeways, and their constancy, resourcefulness, and apparent equitability are reminders that we are not as special as we think.…

“For such gifts, love (forgiving/their cost, and your digs at performers’ egos, and in hommage/to whatever shakes you wakeful at four a.m./on a May morning to gather a birdsong barrage)/I will bend my…

“We ate, drank, and sang sea shanties while savoring wines from Santorini and waters from Newark. It was so pleasant to be waited on hand and foot after being constrained at home for…

“Advent in general, and in the year 2020 more specifically, arrived with an unimaginable—not imaginable—host of negativities: skepticism, bitter certainties, despair, and cynicism nipping at the outer flanks of what we hope is true. We…

“But the wonderful thing about being on Andros was the fact that all this was normal. We always expect a few disasters after a winter away, so this year’s was no surprise. But…

“We want it all, and we want it for a very long time, and preferably forever, a concept that our deep-seated faith in technology, our fear of death, and our uniquely American vanity…

“In the late 1970’s/early 1980’s, I had the honor and privilege to hold down the lead trumpet chair in The 92nd Street Y Studio Orchestra, conceived of and conducted by a dear, and…

“Influence is subtle yet pervasive. Dine alongside Alberto Giacometti’s emaciated statuary, and most diners will eat less. That has been proven according to a study reported in the January 2017 issue of Appetite.…

“Created by inventor Nicola Tesla in 1891, Tesla coils produce high-voltage, low-current, high-frequency alternating-current electricity. Using some sophisticated controlling equipment, it is possible to produce musical tones by modulating the spark output.”—Tim Bayer…

“Christmas day, our mother began breathing uncomfortably, and that night we stayed up with her as her breathing became more and more labored. There has been virtually no possibility of her exposure to…