Arts

Marin's family started calling him Cheech when he was a baby. His real name is Richard.

Books
Arts

Cheech Marin On How His Famed Comic Collaboration Was Like Chicano Art

11:49am March 13, 2017

by David Greene

Marin, who has been collecting Chicano art for years, writes about the art of Cheech and Chong's comedy in Cheech Is Not My Real Name ... But Don't Call Me Chong!

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Books
Arts

'How To Read A Dress' Connects Centuries Of Women Through Fashion

7:00am March 12, 2017

by Genevieve Valentine

Lydia Edwards gives a knowledgeable introduction to Western European dresses. It feels bare at times but Edwards is more interested in providing insights rather than an extensive history.

La Belle Limonadiere, hand coloured etching (1816). Lemonade was ubiquitous in mid-17th century Paris. Where the limonadiers went, piles of spent lemon peels followed. As rats nibbled on the peels, they killed off plague-infected fleas, Tom Nealon argues

How Lemonade Helped Paris Fend Off Plague And Other Surprising 'Food Fights'

7:00am March 12, 2017

by Tove Danovich

Tom Nealon's new book searches through patchy historical records to trace subjects like how chocolate helped lead to war in the Caribbean, or the role a grain fungus played in the Crusades.

Neal Brennan performs at The Improv on June 10, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.

Arts

Not My Job: Comedian Neal Brennan Gets Quizzed On Guys Named Mike

11:10am March 11, 2017

Brennan has gone from working the door at comedy clubs to writing and co-creating Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show. He has a new Netflix special out called 3 Mics.

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Phyllis Diller's File Of 53,000 Jokes

8:30am March 11, 2017

The female comedian would write a joke and have it typed on an index card and put in a file. Now at the Smithsonian, volunteers are digitizing the cards one at a time.

Books
Arts

'Celine' Is An Ace Detective With A Crack Shot, A Quick Wit And A Good Story

7:00am March 11, 2017

by Jason Sheehan

Peter Heller's detective novel is a romp — complete with a taking-names heroine, action-packed adventures, and a sense that you've known these characters for years.

Amy Dickinson is also the author of The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter, and the Town That Raised Them.

Books
Arts

In 'Strangers Tend To Tell Me Things,' An Advice Columnist Comes Home

5:20am March 11, 2017

by Scott Simon

After moving away, Ask Amy columnist Amy Dickinson returned to her hometown of Freeville, N.Y. There, she married a man she first met at age 12, and cared for her mother in her final days.

Michelle McNamara was a blogger and crime writer. When she died, she was writing a book about a series of unsolved cases in California.

Arts

Patton Oswalt Explains How Pop Culture Gets Grieving All Wrong

6:38pm March 10, 2017

by Ari Shapiro

Nevermind the superhero stories; after his wife died, Oswalt wasn't motivated to channel his loss into fitness or crime fighting. He says so far push-ups have not been a part of his grieving process.

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Books
Arts

What's Inside 'The Hearts Of Men'? A New Novel Forages For Answers

6:38pm March 10, 2017

by Lynn Neary

Nickolas Butler's second novel unfolds over three generations at a Wisconsin Boy Scout camp. The story echoes Butler's own experience both at camp and learning about his father's affair.

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Books
Arts

In Many Ways, Author Says, Spanish Civil War Was 'The First Battle Of WWII'

1:38pm March 10, 2017

Adam Hochschild says American involvement in the Spanish Civil War resulted in Americans being bombed by Nazis years before the U.S. entered World War II. Originally published March 28, 2018.

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