Daily Circuit Blog

Op-ed pick: Is ‘The Great Gatsby’ all that great?
"Gatsby as a literary creation leaves me cold. Like one of those manicured European parks patrolled on all sides by officious gendarmes, it is pleasant to look at, but you will not find any people inside."
Five great thinkers about race
James Baldwin is "still ahead of us by 10 years in terms of understanding and thinking about and talking about race."
"When garment factories were still mainly based in retail countries, consumers knew people who held jobs in factories, and had a personal connection with those who had been injured or put at risk in the workplace."
Does Sideshow Bob constitute true artistic excellence?
"Honestly what comes to mind right away -- one of the reasons I am such a big critic of everything -- is because I remember Seasons 3 through 10 of 'The Simpsons'."
"There are good reasons why pros always put in three or four visits before formulating an opinion. You should, too, though just two visits would still be better than one."