Passages: Steve Jobs at 56

His contributions were significant, his vision clear, Apple Computers co-founder Steve Jobs passed away yesterday after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56.This quote, from a commencement speech Jobs gave at Stanford University in 2005, gives us a tiny glimpse of the man credited with some of the 21st century’s most important inventions thus far.Remembering that I'll be dead soon

Spelling for a Cause

Here’s a fun event: on October 24th in the Highline Ballroom of the Standard Hotel in New York City, Nancy Franklin and Francine Prose “return to defend the coveted aluminum foil crown against a swarm of usurping spellers.” That’s right: a spelling bee for a good cause. What could be more fun?

The Place to Bee starts with canapes and cocktails and a silent auction at seven pm, followed by the

Crime Fiction: Following Polly by Karen Bergreen

I know it sounds odd to call a book about a stalker “charming,” but that remains the best word to describe Following Polly (St. Martin’s Griffin), the debut mystery by lawyer-turned-comedian Karen Bergreen.

Usually stories about stalkers are too creepy for me, not the sort of thing I want on my bedside table. But this tale of Alice Teakle, a shy and rather forgettable woman who loses her