I guess the phrase "last night on TV" has been rendered obsolete, but last night on TV we watched the fourth episode of the second season of The Path, a Hulu series starring Hugh Dancy, Michelle Monaghan, and Aaron Paul about people in a cult--true believers, skeptics, and apostates (sometimes all in the same character, as Monaghan has been demonstrating this season). I love it, but last night it did a thing I hate that I call Rachel Getting Married syndrome, where somebody's penchant for a particular piece of music results in a set-piece performance that stops the show cold. Last night troubled teen Hawk lucks into a "private concert" by Andrew Bird (a real person) where we have to listen to what feels like ten songs before the story gets going again. There was an attempt to provide narrative movement by having Hawk and his friend talk about their problems during the music, but who does that? Now we're listening to endless music and waiting for someone to tell the kids to pipe down. The only places I remember forgiving this sort of thing are Caetano Veloso's "Cucurrucucú Paloma" in Talk to Her, and Mark Rylance playing a Sandy Denny recording in Jerusalem. Otherwise, move it along, toots.

We're very busy here--baby sis SLJ is coming this Saturday to host a workshop at Simmons for school librarians, where Luann Toth and I will be conversating about publishing, trends, and which of our journals is more fun to read. Annnnd, our Boston Globe-Horn Book judges are coming in to make their decisions, which will be announced by Kwame Alexander and me at the close of Day of Dialog in New York on May 31st. We'll be live-streaming the announcement, and I'll be sure we share with you how and where to watch when I know.