XERXES REVEALS SELF (sort of)

About me:

A good day begins with the NYTimes, NPR, Arts & Letters Daily, Sacred Space, a spin on the web & good coffee; it ends with a Grand Marnier. A truly ideal day would be spent in London, New York or San Francisco -- although Sydney would be right up there. Unwinding would occur in Carmel or Antibbes. Days spent in library or museum with a spirited walk thrown in; evening -- theatre, or music. A nice last meal: Quennelles de Brôchet from Taillevent, Cassoulet from Café des Artistes, Peking Duck from le Tsé-Fung or Lobster Savannah from Locke-Ober, Sacher Torte from Demel and Café Brulot from Antoine. Sazerac as an apéritif, Le Montrachet in the beginning, Stag's Leap Cabernet in the middle, Veûve Cliquot to conclude. As for the objects on my Desert Island (look, I can't even imagine functioning without the internet, so let's just say there is a dish, generator and an Imac there). On the island: Adler's Great Books, New Yorker CD, correspondence with my daughter, IPod with selections from my favorites (see, e.g. below), nice supply of Johnnie Walker Blue Label,..... and, of course, my wife to keep me company. Check out my blog http://www.verbumlogos.blogspot.com

Who I'd like to meet:

Bill Buford, Scarlett Johansson, John Updike, James Levine, Bill Bryson, the late R.W. (Johnny) Apple, Garrison Keillor, Clive James, Woody Allen, Martin Bookspan, Steve Wynn, David Remnick, Keira Knightley, the late George Plimpton, the late Saint Augustine, Tom Stoppard, Quincy Jones, Nick Saban, Kelly Macdonald, Daniel Schorr, Bill Scheiffer, Malcolm Gladwell, Claire Danes, Sarah Vowell, David Sedaris, the late Karl Haas, Keith Richards, William F. Buckley, Jr. Pope Benedict XVI, Ian Frazier, Christopher Hitchens, Warren Buffet, Tony Blair, Bill Cosby, Laura Bush, Tony Bennett, Bill Nighy, Martin Scorsese, Steve Jobs Mike Nicholls, Paul Allen, Roger Staubach, Giada de Laurenttis, the late Thomas Jefferson, John McCain, the late Alistair Cooke, Tina Brown, Mortimer Adler, Peyton Manning, the late Alec Guinness, the late Julia Child, the late Scott Fitzgerald, the late Charles Kurault, Michael Frayn, the late Norman Cousins ............