Author: Jonathan Rowe

Norman Mailer was a major 20th Century author, journalist, and filmmaker who published novels, biographies, and other nonfiction, and won several prizes, including multiple Pulitzers. He courted controversy, with violent views on masculinity, his own violent behavior, and an unsuccessful run for mayor of New York on a platform of making the city the 51st state. His best known novel is The Naked and the Dead, published in 1948, about his experiences in WWII in the Philippines. You can find his novels and critical writing about him in O’Neill Library at call number PS3525.A4152 on level 4.

Oh 🙁 I’m sorry to hear that.

My sources report it’s been flooding lately. I assume we’re waiting on a repair.

Why, thank you! It’s not today, but I’m happy to celebrate! (My birthday is in February.)

Awwwwwww… thanks for the love! ☺️ Back atcha!

I can’t make predictions but my Italian relatives inside the Sistine Chapel might be able to answer (though they go silent during Papal elections). If you are interested in the history of how Popes are chosen, I recommend the book The conclave: a sometimes secret and occasionally bloody history of papal elections (https://bit.ly/bcl-the-conclave) in our library catalog. Major news sources like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have good coverage of the Vatican, and there are also solid Catholic publications like America (the Jesuit Review) and the National Catholic Reporter to watch for developments.

My cousin the magic 8-ball is better at prognosticating. All I can offer is a good source: bit.ly/bleacher-nba-2025. The Knicks will know tonight whether they face Boston or Orlando if they knock out Detroit. Question: would you prefer the Knicks face potential injuries with the dirty play of lower-ranked Orlando, or lose to the clean play of higher-ranked Boston?a

The thing with friends is they’re your friends even when they’re being dumb, or when you disagree with them. Be there for them. It’s OK to comment once or twice when their partner does something disrespectful. But your friend’s only going to change their mind about the relationship when they decide they want to.

IDK. But in Italian, that would be dov’è mia moglie? One of my assistants had to dredge that phrase from memory (before the days of Google Translate) to get sympathy from a gun-wielding member of the carabinieri while parked in Rome where he shouldn’t have parked. A great example of the value of learning a foreign language!

NorCal sounds better for me as a wall. The weather is more variable, so people are indoors more. I love people watching. 

Tough call! It depends on how you define “best.” Paul & Ringo have had the longest, and Paul’s been the most productive & done the most concerts, and Ringo seems the happiest, but John is often credited with the most meaningful and lasting influence with Imagine, and George’s work is heralded for creatively blending many musical styles. It’s important to remember that the arts aren’t sports, so superlatives are necessarily subjective.

No idea, but good luck!