A very special opportunity to see James Taylor perform at Palau de la Música, Barcelona. May 4, 2012. Here are some photos we took from our seats…

And here is a video someone posted on YouTube (hope JT doesn’t mind). For this tour he’s only got two other musicians with him on stage, so he’s using a vintage tape recorder for the backup vocals. It’s controlled by a switch that JT operates with his foot during the song. He says it’s the same machine he used for his SNL appearance in the ’70s. Rock on, JT. Rock on.

In case you were looking for a version of the traditional Christmas song about the cagatió, sung by Catalan children while they hit a log with a stick, performed by Norah Jones with accompanying illustrations and English translation…Anthony Bourdain’s Christmas special provides just that.

HT @bhasday

I’ve been doing the New York Times crossword puzzle every day for almost three years now. For those without the attention span for the wonderful documentary on the subject, Wordplay (2006), here is a short video clip from the Today show featuring an interview with the puzzlemaster himself, Mr. Will Shortz.

Perhaps most puzzling of all: the interview is conducted by former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager. Apparently I’ve been so busy doing the puzzle for the past three years that I failed to notice she’d become a television correspondent.