“…Marketed as ‘part documentary, part concert film, part fever dream,’ [Martin Scorsese’s film, Rolling Thunder] uses documentary's visual language to ostensibly tell the story of Dylan's legendary 1975 tour…but takes substantial liberties with the facts… the most bewildering feature of the film lies in what was left on the cutting room floor: Dylan's collaboration with [my father,] Jacques Levy, a relatively obscure New York avant-garde theater director whose contributions to Rolling Thunder, both as a songwriter and one of the tour's central creative architects, represent one of the most substantial partnerships in Dylan's career…culled together from as many primary sources as I could get my hands on and interviews with some key players from the tour, [this piece] is neither a biography nor a comprehensive chronicle of events, but simply the story of Rolling Thunder that the film declined to tell. It is also the story of my family.”

“Every night across the five boroughs, bartenders […] are relied upon as therapist, sage, clown, cheerleader, spiritual advisor, janitor, referee, party animal, cop. Forever caught between the demands of their trade and the desire to help strangers in need, bartenders are expected step into roles beyond their theoretical job description. Now, spurred by a growing number of overdoses attributed to cocaine laced with fentanyl, the New York City Department of Health has launched a pilot initiative to train bar staff on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in lifesaving measures, adding a new role to bartenders’ already expansive repertoire: first responder on the frontline of the American opioid crisis.”

“With 31 wins, four losses and a single draw, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is the reigning ONE Championship Mixed Martial Arts Flyweight World Champion and, arguably, the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport’s history. He’s defended his title 11 times. He’s accomplished a streak of 13 consecutive wins. Johnson once won a fight by suplexing an opponent off his feet and locking him in an inescapable submission hold, mid-air. If Johnson had a mind to strut and flex and crow about his achievements, nobody would say he hasn’t earned the right. But that’s just not who he is. Fighting, he says with a shrug, is just what he does. “You do it for so long that you kinda get adjusted to it.” The Greatest of All Time speaks with actions, not with words.”

“‘If you were a dick before COVID to bartenders, you’re probably a dick again.’ [says bartender, George, noting] the grim reemergence of finger-snapping and hand-waving for attention. [As barenders, our] job is to give you what you want, but we’re not obliged to sacrifice our dignity or safety or judgment. We aim to accommodate you, but that’s at our discretion. Kind words are nice, but compliments don’t pay the rent. We’re here to serve, but we’re nobody’s servant. Don’t agree? There’s the door.”

“…If you’re an aspiring dental practice manager, managing owner, or practitioner leading a team–you are the [orchestra’s] conductor, and it’s your job to unify every element under a single vision. Below you’ll find a list of best practices for managing a dental practice. These are not merely opinion, but formulations derived from statistical data we generated from our survey of over 600 participants, The Dandy Dental Survey: Patient Experience [E-Book written by Julien Levy] along with our reasoning. We’ll go over creating a welcoming office, streamlining communication, safeguarding patient data, the importance of leadership, flexible payment plans, marketing, and using new tech. Along with these, you’ll find suggestions and tips from experts in the field.”

“On the morning of Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 63-year-old single mother Karyn Kay called 9-1-1. Her 19-year-old son, Henry Wachtel, was having a grand mal seizure. Neighbors later told police they heard sounds of struggle, Henry screaming “I’m sorry mommy!” over and over, then nothing. In the 1980s, after finding some success with her own writing (including three books about film, several episodes of America’s Most Wanted, and the screenplay for the 1988 thriller, Call Me,) Karyn Kay discovered her calling as Creative Writing teacher at New York City’s public performing arts high school, LaGuardia. A kooky, dark-lipsticked sprite of a woman, Ms. Kay danced, laughed loudly, freely dispensed hugs and “snaps” for spirited poetry readings—the kind of teacher that made countless students feel like they were her favorite, me included.”

“‘Social-media has become somewhere in-between the town-square of 100 years ago -- where you’d get your news and gossip -- and a postcard,’ [says Shake Shack founder and fine-dining restaurateur Danny Meyer] ‘Nobody ever wrote a postcard hoping nobody would see it. All the information that’s out there in the public that can help inform us, it’s the best way I know to build and sustain strong relationships.’ The practice of researching the patron behind a reservation, typically with regard to potential VIPs, is routine at many restaurants. ‘When someone calls and makes a reservation, we’ll google their name,’ says [Union Square Restaurant Group] Digital Marketing Manager Ben Turndorf. ‘Maybe they’re an ambassador or something -- we want to make sure we use their right title. Your eminence or whatever it is.’ What’s new is the immediacy and the ability to interact with guests not named in the reservation; or those who haven’t made one at all. It goes beyond trying to figure out your honorific. Now, restaurants strive to keep up with your minute-to-minute cyber experience, and respond on the spot. “

“…I suggested that the initial phase of Horn’s interviews is reminiscent of the negotiation phase in kink and sex work; in laying out limitations and ground rules before diving in, participants are obliged to have an honest dialogue about boundaries. ‘I fucking love this observation,’ Horn said […] We climbed onto a crowded city bus and continued our interview. ‘I’m never going to say, ‘There’s only one way to piss in someone's asshole!’ Horn said. ‘I can say, ‘Here’s all the ways I've done it.’ Horn told me that she hates the idea of “sexperts.” ‘Being prescriptive about sexuality is almost always a false pretense. It’s a con, it’s a scam. It’s assuming that there’s some ‘normal’ but it’s also assuming that people want to be told that there is a rule and if they just follow the rule, they’ll get what they want, and that’s just not how sexuality works.’”

The Witching Hour

52:02

“Sawa offers no major revelations, but that isn’t a critique. It’s Lebanese cuisine calibrated with New York savvy. Nothing overthought, overworked, or to ‘get.’ Sawa delivers on the promise made when you’re welcomed through the door: an honest, delicious, satisfying dining experience well worth a night out with family and friends.”

“It would’ve felt to them like providence; a sparkling glimpse upon which they’d resolve to change, be better. They couldn’t be blamed for thinking that it was all hypothetical, possibility rather than set destiny. They couldn’t know it had simply been time calling through itself, that what they’d seen coming had already been ordained by what’s past, and that even though we’d all felt our fate’s shadow moving across us at that moment, it had been just the same as the few days prior, when we’d all watched the angry globule of [hurricane] Steven pulsing across the TV and decided: we’re staying right where we are.”

“[The band] New Years Day was born in Southern Transylvania in 1666 A.D. when Lady Gaga and Marilyn Manson had a baby on Halloween. And the godparents were KISS and No Doubt. And the delivery doctor was actually Korn’s Jonathan Davis in a Pogo the Clown costume.

At least, that’s what I heard.

’Anything fucking people say, believe it,’ says [guitarist, Nicky] Misery. ‘It’s all true. In fact, it’s 10 times worse.’”