First Brian Williams, then Bill O’Reilly, now VA Secretary Robert McDonald.  All have confessed to making overblown claims about their military service and achievements. To be fair, all three have since apologized. But is that enough? As last year’s winner of the Pulitzer Prize for journalism, history and blintze making, I declare that it is […] Read more…

I think about her every spring. The champ of 94th Street, the girl with the golden palm who ruled the handball courts at Arthur S. Somers Junior High School in Brooklyn. She was small and wiry and uncoordinated, but she could smash a ball like nobody else. She disappeared a long time ago and I’m […] Read more…

Music lovers everywhere will honor Johann Sebastian Bach at a number of upcoming festivals. Most of us are familiar with Bach’s music, but how much do we know about the man? I asked my good friend, Mischa Goss, a part time musicologist, to write a brief biography for us. Here it is: Johann Sebastian Bach […] Read more…