Category: Uncategorized
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Venice Biennale Art Show 2024 – Part 2
My wife and I spent April 2024 in Venice, mostly to relax, soak up history and culture, and indulge in more than a few happy hours, mostly centered on drinking Aperol Spritzes and eating cicchetti, the ubiquitous, cheap and addictive Venetian appetizers. But in addition, we chose April in part because we could attend the…
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Paintings that announce “I’m here”
My most recent post was about the Venice Biennale art show, which my wife and I visited in April of last year. It was a long one, maybe setting my personal blog-post length record, but that was not because I was going for a record (LOL) but because I wanted to talk about a lot…
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Genocidal colonialism in the U.S.
Book review: An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. (Four out of five stars) This is a very interesting, well-researched and (not surprisingly) somewhat polemical book. Be prepared for some eye-opening, disturbing and likely disillusioning information, including: <1> The young USA could not have survived financially (or at least would have…
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NYC Rabble-Rouser Jane Jacobs takes on the Establishment
Book review: Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took on New York’s Master Builder and Transformed the American City, by Anthony Flint A very interesting, well-written & well-researched book. (5 out of 5 stars) Anybody with an interest in New York City, big city politics or urban design should find it worth reading. I came…
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The uniqueness, struggles and triumphs of Thelonious Monk
Book review: Thelonious Monk: the Life and Times of an American Original, by Robin D. G. Kelley (4 out of 5 stars). I enjoyed this book enough to give it 4 out of 5 stars, and the author obviously did a tremendous amount of research. But unfortunately it was too long for my taste and,…
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Welcome to my blog!
Hi all, I’m Doug Thomson and this is my blog. I recently retired so I now have time to write about some of my interests and publish them for others to read and comment. My primary writing interests are book & music reviews and commentary. I have been writing book reviews on GoodReads.com for some…
Heard and Seen Around Town 