Patrick Cooper: Greetings from Evanston, Ill.

A Springsteen weekend even better than mine

Patrick — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:42:19 +0000

Friend Val, with whom I saw Bruce 10 years ago this fall, got engaged at last night's show and got a Boss shout-out. Congratulations to her!

Meta-audience

Patrick — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:13:25 +0000

You should have had to fall in love, fear death or live independently as a prerequisite. Whatever year of school you had to read Our Town was too soon. You thought Thorton Wilder didn't connect with your new life. Decades published and dead, he knew differently and knew about you. Our Town has always been metatheater [...]

On a postracial America

Patrick — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:54:28 +0000

A hilarious postracial America. Colson Whitehead, taking charge: Pop culture is the arena for our hopes, our fears and our most cherished dreams. It is our greatest export to the world. That’s why as your secretary of postracial affairs I’ll concentrate on the entertainment industry. Some changes will be minor. In television, “Diff’rent Strokes” and “What’s Happening!!” [...]

High Line at night

Patrick — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:26:51 +0000

The High Line years ago made me think of crime. Then the city went to work, and tonight, seeing it for the first time, I thought of restraint. To raise the line from the ground in the first place, then much later to not tear it down, then to attempt to balance wild and controlled [...]

Damn: Patrick Cooper running for mayor

Patrick — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:01:19 +0000

Bad news. The Web rumblings became real yesterday when one-time Birmingham mayoral candidate Patrick Cooper threw his hat back in the ring. Thanks a lot, now-convicted ex-mayor Larry Langford. Your love of white-collar crime is going to cost me my Google rank again. But this fight has just begun, and a man named Tom, who [...]

Six degrees of teenage Patrick crushes

Patrick — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:48:05 +0000

The Post writes yesterday on the NAACP's Maine State Prison chapter, headed by Billy Flynn, locked up since 16 for killing the husband of his teacher/lover's wife, Pamela Smart, played in Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Smart Story by Helen Hunt, which along with her starring role in NBC's Mad About You is why I [...]

Video: Me and Jim and Springsteen

Patrick — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:26:11 +0000

At least, I think you can see my arms and the back of Jim's head.

The two paragraphs that made me fall for 'Shopgirl'

Patrick — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:30:30 +0000

My favorite graf comes in the final pages. These come from the first ones. I think I love the short book for the same reason I loved Vicky Christina Barcelona: each character is different parts of the writer. Every day at lunchtime she walks around the corner into Beverly Hills to the Time Clock Cafe, which [...]

Quotes from a story about pies in the face

Patrick — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:08:20 +0000

And only the quotes.

I'm gonna see the full 'River'

Patrick — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:51:23 +0000

Full album at Madison Square Garden, Sunday, for 1st time ever.

How long does it take to upgrade to Windows 7?

Patrick — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:30:01 +0000

A list of things to do.

Happy birthday on fire

Patrick — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:30:35 +0000

When picture-taking runs long.

Springsteen concert: Closers matter

Patrick — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:42:35 +0000

And the crowd-surfing was pretty cool too.

My Glory Days presentation

Patrick — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:30:06 +0000

Heading to my 15th show tonight… A few people have e-mailed to ask about what I presented, and I owe the doc to a few others from the symposium whose business cards are languishing on my (now much cleaner) kitchen counter. I thought for a long time this summer about writing a paper, real academic-like, but [...]

1 Thing to start your Monday

Patrick — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:00:22 +0000

Amerie's back, so let's play one of my favorite songs of the '00s.

'Bring a snorkel'

Patrick — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:51:45 +0000

Love it: 'Your gaze will stay drenched in an aqueous sublime.'

Pic: Graphic pumpkin-on-pumpkin violence

Patrick — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:23:16 +0000

Courtesy friend Ellen and her BBQ.

The Post debunks my high school's rumors

Patrick — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:30:28 +0000

No secret river under the old gym.

Facebook adds poking to roster of bad advice

Patrick — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:20:43 +0000

Poke a managing editor! Poke a publisher!

Muzak at my CVS

Patrick — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:30:44 +0000

The last time I went inside? Jesse Malin. The time before that? Easy Tiger-era Ryan Adams. So, good for the writer of this Muzak article. The idea that piped-in music could actually be hip is a relatively new one. Perhaps I’m just getting old and out of touch, but lately I’ve been hearing songs I like [...]