December 25, 2007

My family tries to eat healthy, organic, fairly traded, locally and sustainably grown food. This is the case even for the family bunny, whose diet of Timothy hay and salads is fairly easy to provide.

Great stories touch on many themes and give us a long list of things that they could be said to be “about.” As I tell my students, if you think Moby-Dick is just about whale- hunting, you weren’t paying attention. Atonement, based on the best-selling 1992 novel by British author Ian McEwan, is an ambitious tale that explores guilt, forgiveness, remorse, family jealousies, inequities of the class system, the power of imagination, the role of the artist and the sanctity of the creative process.

Peter Himmelman, formerly the bushy-haired hero of the New Wave band Sussman Lawrence, has transitioned into a middle-aged rocker, and his music reveals only the best results. His songs have a muscular, energetic groove that begs comparisons with Bob Dylan—his father-in-law. The lyrics balance pungent humor and well-versed, poignant observations. Yet what ultimately sets Himmelman apart is his ability to see straight to the core of things, digging and mining for slivers of the miraculous.