Ken Johnson,"Fleeting Pleasures of Life in Vibrant Woodcut Prints," NYT, 22 March, reviews"Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770-1900," an exhibit at New York's Brooklyn Museum; and Roberta Smith,"Monkey Gods to Textiles: Far East on the East Side," NYT, 21 March, reviews the New York Arts of Pacific Asia Show at the Gramercy Park Armory.

Eric Foner,"A Massacre and a Travesty," Washington Post, 23 March, reviews Charles Lane's The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction and LeeAnna Keith's The Colfax Massacre: The Untold Story of Black Power, White Terror, and the Death of Reconstruction .

Nigel Reynolds,"Sir Vidia Naipaul admits his cruelty may have killed wife," Telegraph, 22 March, discusses the unattractive personal life of the brilliant V. S. Naipaul that will be told in greater detail in a new biography. Hat tip.

There are long odds against Good Friday, Purim, Narouz and the Eid occurring in the same week. It happens only nine times between 1600 and 2400 CE. They occur within two days only once: in 2008. Happy holidays to all those who celebrate them! Hat tip.