Author Archives: Mark Willis

In Memoriam: Lou Bourgeois 1916-2018

A Blind Flaneur lost one of its most faithful readers, and I lost one of my dearest friends, with the passing of Lou Bourgeois on Jan. 27 at the age of 101. I would travel to Ontario today, if I … Continue reading






Posted in memoir | Tagged | Comments Off on In Memoriam: Lou Bourgeois 1916-2018

What I’m Reading - January 22, 2023

Minoru Niizuma, Yoko Ono and others at the Chambers Street loft, 1962. Gelatin silver or digital print, printed 2016, 8 x 10 in. Collection of Yoko Ono, New York. © Yoko Ono Left to right: Toshi Ichiyanagi, Toshiro Mayuzumi, Yoko … Continue reading






Posted in Internet Flaneur | Tagged , , | Comments Off on What I’m Reading - January 22, 2023

Celebrating Our Cultural Legacy: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2009 White House Debut

Today is Barack Obama’s last full day in the White House. If that saddens you as it saddens me, here is a consolation. Lin-Manuel Miranda performed a nascent version of “Alexander Hamilton” at a White House poetry jam in 2009. It’s a national treasure, part of a rich cultural legacy hosted by the Obama White House. The WhiteHouse.gov clip belongs to the public domain. I hope the barbarian billionaire populists who take over tomorrow do not purge it from the Internet.






Continue reading






Posted in public sphere | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Celebrating Our Cultural Legacy: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2009 White House Debut

The Presser Was A Snoozer, But The Pee Party Gushes On

John Locke might disapprove, but Rabelais would howl with laughter. On SNL’s Jan. 14 cold open, President-elect Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) holds his first press conference since getting elected. And Maureen O’Conner explains the origin of all the Donald Trump pee jokes this week in The Sheer Perfection of Donald Trump’s Golden Shower in | New York magazine.






Continue reading






Posted in public sphere | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Presser Was A Snoozer, But The Pee Party Gushes On

What I’m Reading - January 8, 2023

Trump Finds That Attack-Dog Strategy Has Its Limits - The New York Times 010617 Glenn Thrush: As a political underdog and now as president-elect, Donald J. Trump has employed the same brutal but effective go-to move when he’s tweeted or … Continue reading






Posted in Internet Flaneur | Tagged , , | Comments Off on What I’m Reading - January 8, 2023