A few years after Elliott Smith’s death, his legacy grows. Every struggling songwriter lists Smith as an influence, hoping for skill by association. A few years after losing Elliott, his absence is more pronounced, his brilliance finally being brought to light. This is what happens when a musician...

Chocolate chip cookies are one of the most basic and traditional of all cookie types. Memories of making cookies with mom revolve around the enjoyment captured in every similar tender, chocolatey morsel of goodness. These memories invoke feelings which translate into comfort, safety and love. Ingredients...

For around 61 pages, Mark Helprin’s A Soldier of a Great War is a bit slow. For 61 pages, Helprin’s protagonist, an old Italian man named Alessandro Giuliani walks along an Italian road with a young boy who has missed his bus. The old man and the young boy march to their destination, talking....

Somewhere, between Houston and Missouri, there’s a kid named Larouche, in a big white van. I’m sure he’s driving his mom crazy. He’s loud, and he’s got a lot to say. He’s tough. He speaks like an adult, but I think he must only be around nine. Somewhere, between Houston...

The quiet induction of a new season is a stimulating experience, which is especially true with autumn. No other musician is better at painting a seasonal landscape than Matt Pond. His strongest album, Green Fury, carries proposals of reading by a fire while snow settles outside the window. The Nature...

My pastor asked me to write a short piece on my trip to the G8 for our monthly church newsletter. Our community is very diverse in age, wealth, and political affiliation, and he is looking for ways to help us understand one another and understand our common bond in Christ. Like many of you, I’m...