In recent weeks, the latest killings of African-Americans by law enforcement have not only anguished our country but locked its attention on police brutality directed at communities of color. As Americans have tried to come to terms with our history of racism, we condemn its presence in our profession and…

Thoughts on the Plague Year, the Actual Book By John Affleck The pestilence came from across the sea. Planning for it was fitful, based on incomplete information. People by the thousands fled the city, which went on lockdown but still sustained a horrifying number of deaths. I’m speaking, naturally, of London in 1665, as described in the semi-journalistic…

By John Affleck The touchstone songs in the canon were played, of course. Let It Be. Yesterday. The Abbey Road medley from Golden Slumbers to The End. All faithfully rendered by a dead-on backup band with a particularly inspired drummer. And there were incredible nuggets as well. Acoustic versions of…

Spending way too much time procrastinating on social media these days gave rise to this list. Want to make a splash? Don’t post this stuff. Think harder. Be clever-er-er. __ Your food. NO ONE cares. Nobody, not even Mom (she was lying). You can be at the French Laundry or…

By John Affleck It’s about this time my criminal career starts. I’m 11. It’s an October like any other — the snow hasn’t stuck yet. But Halloween is different this year. When we were little kids, it was all treats and costumes. Now, the way the cool kids talk about…

By John Affleck In the morning, the light changes from blue to gray, and I know if it’s snowed even before I look out the window, which is the first thing I do every day. Spider-web frost across the panes means it’s cold, and the chances of heavy snow are…

By John Affleck It was cold, and the snow squeaked under our feet on the way into school, but the sky was clear, which meant practice would be outside, on the court by the teachers’ parking lot, behind the elementary school. After classes were over, we changed into sneakers and…

By John Affleck The first time my mom sets the house on fire, the timing could not be worse, about two in the afternoon on December 23rd, 1972. You got it — right in the middle of the Raiders-Steelers playoff game. I am 8 years old, sitting alone on the…