"A GREAT DEAL OF VIRTUE AND PIETY” wrote Thomas Merton in Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, “is simply the easy price we pay in order to justify a life that is essentially trifling. Nothing is …

I have no context, no history (other than remote; remoter than remote; wholly, utterly adventitious) to plug into when I listen to classical music, no environment in which to meet and greet it even halfway.

Ignoring a deluge of requests, we’ll end the year with our annual pop quiz designed to show you how much smarter you are now than you were 364 days ago — ail thanks to the …

Between preparation, class time, grading, and office hours, only a magician or malingerer could teach and manage a three-unit class in less than 10 hours each week, so four classes each semester easily requires 40 hours.

Dear Matt-o-matic: Unable to resist the lure of a good fad, I stopped drinking alcohol several years ago. Now, since I still enjoy at least the illusion of wine with a meal, I sip the …

The tone of things changes with the arrival of Dietrich. His voice and manner make you feel both at home and that there is a great deal to be done, and right away.

Dear Matthew Alice: Where did the expression “spring cleaning” come from? Did someone somehow determine that springtime is the best time to thin out our possessions? — Cathy McCormick, San Diego Well, you can bet …

One of us said that if you gave it a French name, people happily would eat dog food. No sooner was this thought spoken than Reginald and I were throwing on coats and heading to Safeway.

I happened to be born colored, like York. By 1950, with Marcus, we had become Negro. Today we are African Americans. However, when the snapshot was taken with Shawn and Andre, we were all known as black.

Mr. Alice: There’s a puzzle I’ve had in my mind for a long time. Every time I see those full-page color ads in Parade magazine and other magazines for “collectors plates” and “collectors dolls” and …

Matthew Alice: I’m planning a sailing trip around the world. You’re invited! What is the difference between true north and magnetic north? Do the north and south poles really change polarity? What is dead reckoning? …

Spanos would get the practice field and accompanying improvements as part of his new 25-year stadium lease, the same deal under which the city will be paying for the controversial seat guarantee.

Dear Matt: Every time I talk on the phone, my cat rubs against my legs and gets in my face and generally makes a nuisance of herself. What is it about the telephone that she …