I’ve been a subscriber of the Sunday New York Times for decades, a habit originating back in the day when I picked up the heavy, multi-sectioned behemoth, purchased at a New York newstand and hauled to my hotel room. It provided data and ads that helped make decisions on which show to see, or not, on Broadway.
I ordered the home delivery option because from far-away Honolulu, it’s not readily easy to find a one-stop resource for news and advertisements about Broadway shows. Yep, online sites and ticketing resources are plentiful, but not the most convenient way to peruse the Great White Way haps.
Thus, the Sunday Times has been wholly and generously a treat for leisurely Sunday reading.
This past Sunday’s edition (Dec. 5) boasted several genuine surprises, in all the right places. Two mentionables, coincidentally, were in the Book Review section. About literacy. About the value of reading. About a voice coming from youths:
- An interview with Bette Midler, caught my eye, since she is a bona fide children’s book author (latest effort: “The Tale of the Mandarin Duck.”) In one of the questions, on what kind of reader she was as a child, the Hawaii native revealed this: “My mother (Ruth, with whom I had many phone chats when the Radford grad was en route to superstardom) taught me to read when I was 4, and I became a compulsive reader. My parents left us kids in the Honolulu public library (the main branch near Iolani Palace) every Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., while they did their shopping. I wandered all over. I read Grimm’s ‘Hans Christian Anderson,’ the Betsy Tacy and Tib books, ‘Freddy the Pig,’ ‘The Borrowers,’ ‘The Boxcar Children,’ ‘The Secret Garden’ (very important), a lot of boys’ adventure and magazines. Especially Life! It showed me the world. When I was 12, I read ‘The Lash of the Just’ and I never got over it.” …
- My poet friend, Frances H. Kakugawa, formerly of Kapoho and Honolulu and now of Sacramento, submitted a letter to the Book Review section, which published it with the headline, ‘Our Own World.’” It read, “James Yang’s ‘A Boy Named Isamu‘ (Nov. 14) is what excellent children’s literature is, the absence of the adult voice interfering in the telling of a story with the intent to teach a lesson or two. Children are surrounded by adult voices in life – in ‘A Boy Named Isamu,’ there are Isamu and the reader alone. This book will also be excellent for readers in their 80s and 90s as they, too, are surrounded by too many adult voices. What a pleasure to stroll with Isamu, awakening our senses to our own world.” …
Other profound discoveries in the Times:
* There is a threat of a shortage of schmear for bagels. New York is sort of the unofficial capitol of bagel-binging, and what’s a bagel — plain, blueberried, or cheesy with sprinkled herbs – without the cream cheese schmear, plain or with flavors. Oy vey!
* So what’s the favored emoji, among the hundreds of variations available? The Unicode Consortium, which monitors these things, says in a Times piece that No. 1 is the laughing-crying-smiling emoji, reflecting a sunshiny day with sprinkles, I guess. No. 2 is the emoji with the red heart, shouting romance or love. Now you can use these with your emails and know that you’re part of the in crowd. …
* ‘Tis the season to be merry, thankful and joyous, that the Bidens are in the White House, and that Dr. Jill Biden, the First Lady, is responsible for decking the halls and stairways and thus is the chiefess of Christmas. A Times visit to examine the B.C. (Biden Christmas) indicates that tradition has been rediscovered, with predictable but purposeful trees and decor that reflect, well, taste. Gone are the bizarre, isolating forests of red trees, the white wonderland halls devoid of warmth, from the not-quite-normal and isolationist former lady Melania Trump. Her designs were targets for late night talk show hosts. …
* With the NFL football season nearing its finale – I watch as much as any reasonable fan can – I’ve found the Times’ analyses and previews of the coming week’s games enlightening and essential in the Sunday Sports section. It evaluates and predicts each game – an overview that has as many rights as wrongs, considering the uncertainties, unpredictable and see-sawing season…
And that’s Show Biz. …
