Wednesday, October 31, 2007
I notice ...
... that posts have been appearing again on Read in Unison. Scroll down to read the posts about Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon.
And the winners are ...
... Francis Collins, Harper Lee, and Brian Lamb - among others: Bush Names Prestigious Medal Winners. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Those who have eyes ...
... to see, let them see: Theodore Dalrymple's What the New Atheists Don’t See.
(Not surprisingly, Dave Lull also sent me this link.)
For Dennett, to prove the biological origin of belief in God is to show its irrationality, to break its spell. But of course it is a necessary part of the argument that all possible human beliefs, including belief in evolution, must be explicable in precisely the same way; or else why single out religion for this treatment? Either we test ideas according to arguments in their favor, independent of their origins, thus making the argument from evolution irrelevant, or all possible beliefs come under the same suspicion of being only evolutionary adaptations—and thus biologically contingent rather than true or false. We find ourselves facing a version of the paradox of the Cretan liar: all beliefs, including this one, are the products of evolution, and all beliefs that are products of evolution cannot be known to be true.
(Not surprisingly, Dave Lull also sent me this link.)
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The wages of PC ...
... Disgrace: How a giant of science was brought low. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Much I have heard suggests that James Watson is an arrogant SOB. But I seriously doubt that he is racist. And this sort thing does no one any credit.
Much I have heard suggests that James Watson is an arrogant SOB. But I seriously doubt that he is racist. And this sort thing does no one any credit.
Astounding ...
... Indoctrination At Delaware. I'm not the litigious type myself, but I would make an exception in this case.
The jackpot ...
... The Embiggened O # 1,001: Another Day, Another Million Dollars. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
Let's heart it ...
... In Praise of the Town Library. (Hat tip, Dave Lull - admittedly, a somewhat interested party.)
The rest is silence ...
... Robert Shields, Wordy Diarist, Dies at 89. More here: The World’s Longest Diary. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Monday, October 29, 2007
A belated Happy Birthday ...
... to Patrick Kurp: `The Celestial Blueness of Those Distant River Reaches'. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Professional amateur ...
... or is it the other way around. Either way, it says something - I'm not sure what - about the Internet: Download This:YouTube PhenomHas a Big Secret. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Strong evidence ...
... in support of Bryan's thesis: Remembering Raleigh.
It takes a tough man to write a poem on the eve of his own execution.
It takes a tough man to write a poem on the eve of his own execution.
Poetic nation ...
... Bryan Apleyard on Poetry and the English Imagination. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This is a splendid piece. I think Bryan is right about Hughes and Larkin: "Ted Hughes seldom works for me and Philip Larkin is superbly second rank." But there's also R.S. Thomas and Elizabeth Jennings, whom I think are better than either Larkin or Hughes. Bryan's ear for and understanding of American poets simply amazes me.
German decline ...
... they used to be so noble: Tacitus and Political Correctness in the Roman Empire. (Via Instapundit.)
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The wonder of the world ...
... Face to faith. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Methinks it worth pondering the words of Bacon that Mark Vernon quotes: "The secrets of nature are better revealed under the torture of experiments than when they follow their natural course."
Considering how much of a reality torture was in Bacon's day, this seems a most unsettling trope.
Methinks it worth pondering the words of Bacon that Mark Vernon quotes: "The secrets of nature are better revealed under the torture of experiments than when they follow their natural course."
Considering how much of a reality torture was in Bacon's day, this seems a most unsettling trope.
And in this corner ...
... Dinesh D’Souza & Christopher Hitchens Debate
“Is Christianity the Problem?” (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
“Is Christianity the Problem?” (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... I anticipate Halloween with a look at Charles Williams' 1945 novel All Hallows' Eve: A haunted tale in London - with the cuteness exorcised.
... Roger Miller ponders Weimar: Doomed stab at democracy.
... Martha Woodall is much taken with Jonis Agee's The River Wife: Wife on the Mississippi, plumbing the depths of her forerunners.
... Katie Haegele finds a new source of poetry: The words go round and round and they come out here.
... Katie also likes Jutta Richter's new novel: Young Adult Reader | 8-year-old learns about the world, through a cat's words.
... David Montgomery praises Walter Mosley: A warm welcome back, Easy Rawlins.
During the past week ...
... John Rossi had praise for Michael Korda's biography of Eisenhower: Passage of time is kind to Ike.
... Roger Miller ponders Weimar: Doomed stab at democracy.
... Martha Woodall is much taken with Jonis Agee's The River Wife: Wife on the Mississippi, plumbing the depths of her forerunners.
... Katie Haegele finds a new source of poetry: The words go round and round and they come out here.
... Katie also likes Jutta Richter's new novel: Young Adult Reader | 8-year-old learns about the world, through a cat's words.
... David Montgomery praises Walter Mosley: A warm welcome back, Easy Rawlins.
During the past week ...
... John Rossi had praise for Michael Korda's biography of Eisenhower: Passage of time is kind to Ike.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The grand finale ...
... The Sting of Death. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
One of the benefits of having been raised and educated a Catholic - at least I regard it as a benefit - is the constant awareness of my eventual death that it bestowed upon me and that I have lived with all my life.
One of the benefits of having been raised and educated a Catholic - at least I regard it as a benefit - is the constant awareness of my eventual death that it bestowed upon me and that I have lived with all my life.
Bleak but tangy ...
... A writer's exhilarating dead end. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Earlier today Dave appended this poem of Tom Disch's as a comment to another post: QED.
You should also visit Endzone.
I should add, by the way, that while I agree with Daniel Kalder when he says that "being enthusiastic all the time just ain't natural," I'm not so sure about some other things he says. For instance: "In the US, certainly, the dominant idea is that if you're not permanently pumped up with enthusiasm for life you're completely buggo: there's even an ad on TV that demonstrates how your downer can spread to your dog - and you wouldn't want that, would you? Personally, I think this militaristic insistence on maintaining an upbeat mood at all times may in itself be a contributing source to the great river of melancholy that, to judge by the quantity of uppers consumed, runs through so many American souls."
I don't think a TV ad is good evidence for a "dominant idea" in the U.S. or anywhere else. As for "the quantity of uppers consumed" - could we have some figures, please. Most ordinary people I meet are neither consumed by melancholy nor obsessed with pumping up their enthusiasm - nor consuming quantities of uppers. But then, I live in an ordinary neighborhood populated with ordinary people. Most writers and intellectuals hang with other writers and intellectuals and project their parochial outlook onto the rest of society. That explains why so much that is written is such a bummer. And, by the way, I don't find "QED" at all bleak - and am I wrong in detecting no small measure of mordant humor in much else over at Endzone?
Earlier today Dave appended this poem of Tom Disch's as a comment to another post: QED.
You should also visit Endzone.
I should add, by the way, that while I agree with Daniel Kalder when he says that "being enthusiastic all the time just ain't natural," I'm not so sure about some other things he says. For instance: "In the US, certainly, the dominant idea is that if you're not permanently pumped up with enthusiasm for life you're completely buggo: there's even an ad on TV that demonstrates how your downer can spread to your dog - and you wouldn't want that, would you? Personally, I think this militaristic insistence on maintaining an upbeat mood at all times may in itself be a contributing source to the great river of melancholy that, to judge by the quantity of uppers consumed, runs through so many American souls."
I don't think a TV ad is good evidence for a "dominant idea" in the U.S. or anywhere else. As for "the quantity of uppers consumed" - could we have some figures, please. Most ordinary people I meet are neither consumed by melancholy nor obsessed with pumping up their enthusiasm - nor consuming quantities of uppers. But then, I live in an ordinary neighborhood populated with ordinary people. Most writers and intellectuals hang with other writers and intellectuals and project their parochial outlook onto the rest of society. That explains why so much that is written is such a bummer. And, by the way, I don't find "QED" at all bleak - and am I wrong in detecting no small measure of mordant humor in much else over at Endzone?
In case you wondered ...
... Why Blog? Interview with Janet Ruhl. (Hat tip, Dave Lull - who is mentioned in this post. Have you ever thought that, perhaps, Dave is the man behind the entire blogosphere?)
World Series Beat ...
... Kerouac, baseball and Denver. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
I suspect this preoccupation with man's greatest sporting event must mystify our friends in other lands.
I suspect this preoccupation with man's greatest sporting event must mystify our friends in other lands.
Now you see it ...
... Free will is not an illusion. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... more from Raymond Tallis (also from Dave): Why blame me? It was all my brain’s fault.
... more from Raymond Tallis (also from Dave): Why blame me? It was all my brain’s fault.
Friday, October 26, 2007
And well-deserved, too ...
... Sympathy for the Old Devil. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
And what about that character in I Want It Now - Ronnie Appleyard! Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Only the other day, in For Bryan the Buddhist, Bryan himself was saying "it's a very rare name after all."
And what about that character in I Want It Now - Ronnie Appleyard! Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Only the other day, in For Bryan the Buddhist, Bryan himself was saying "it's a very rare name after all."
La Farge and Parrish ...
... I mentioned, in responding to a comment by Levi on this post, that I thought there might be a connection with John La Farge and Maxfield Parrish. This makes clear, I think, what I was getting at.
Let's hear it ...
... for them: Don't Stone the Crows.
I've always been fond of crows. Would love to have one in fact. Have to make do with a wooden one perched just above where I am writing.
I've always been fond of crows. Would love to have one in fact. Have to make do with a wooden one perched just above where I am writing.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Precocious Maxine ...
... Millais in London.
There is a nice collection of pre-Raphaelite art at the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington. I've always had a warm spot in my heart for the pre-Raphaelites.
There is a nice collection of pre-Raphaelite art at the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington. I've always had a warm spot in my heart for the pre-Raphaelites.
Miracles of every day ...
... `The Chair was Just a Chair'. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Years ago I worked as the director of a small art gallery. And once I had a job - again, many years ago, that afforded me the opportunity to spend a great deal of time in Washington's museums. Practically all that I know - or think I know - about art comes from just having looked at a lot of paintings for as long as I wished. On the whole, I prefer still lifes and interiors. I like landscapes, but the paintings of scenes outdoors that I like best are of odd, out-of-the-way spots - factories, alleys, rooftops - I guess because my earliest years were spent in settings that were filled with such. But a good still life seems to me to offer a glimpse into the eternal.
Oldies but goodies ...
... if you're going to be near Princeton, this might be of interest: The Greater Princeton Antiquarian Book Fair.
Literary village ...
.... Book reviews: Can you believe what you read? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I think people who like to read - and can write - are the best reviewers. But what struck me most about this piece was this: "What Sir Howard is belatedly stumbling upon is the essay topic of many a current English A-level student – that modern novels sacrifice plot for form and structure. If that is the case, it is literary trends that Sir Howard should be annoyed with, not reviewers, who have every right to take a contrary view to him on the supremacy of form over plot." There is a confusion here of plot and action. Plot, as the late Aristotle indicated, "is the soul of the drama." It is the form given to whatever action is recounted. When people complain about an absence of plot what they usually mean is that not a lot happens. Now a paucity of action can be a shortcoming, for sure, but it is not the same as an absence of plot, which would in fact amount to a lack of form or - more likely - faults of form.
Future imperfect ...
... Internet offers book reviewers a new chapter. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Heretic that I am, I think that online book reviewing will have to be more than a duplicate of print reviewing.
Heretic that I am, I think that online book reviewing will have to be more than a duplicate of print reviewing.
Good news ...
... The Weekly World News may have folded, but luckily Bat Boy has been able to find a new job at The New New Republic. (Via Instapundit.)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Normal blogging ...
... will resume tomorrow. Tonight, after spending two nights working on a review for Sunday, I am going to relax in front of the TV and watch the World Series (full disclosure: Josh Beckett is my kind of pitcher).
Looking forward ...
... I have never read Paul Scott's highly praised Raj Quartet. Someday I'll get around to it:
The Glittering, Insufferable Raj. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The Glittering, Insufferable Raj. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The wonder continues ...
... What's become of Wystan? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I don't see the problem myself. I find both Audens have their rewards.
I don't see the problem myself. I find both Audens have their rewards.
More on Coren ...
... from Bryan: Alan Coren 2.
I certainly agree that Waugh and Coren were funnier than Thurber (the American in their league, I think, was Peter De Vries). But no, Bryan, let's not have any academics writing learned texts on their techniques."
Calling all journo-poets
If you're in New York on Nov. 8, The Poetry Foundation is sponsoring Make It News: A Symposium on Poetry and Journalism. Without disturbing the proceedings, be sure to give a shout-out to former Inquirer editor and now prize-winning poet and symposium panelist, Dave Tucker.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Time for a laugh ...
... Dave Lull - God bless him! - has tracked down the column by the late Alan Coren that I mentioned yesterday: Only Keats would understand the trouble I've had writing this piece.
We interrupt ...
... the hand-wringing over global warming to bring you word - from a French philosopher no less - of a perhaps more pressing cause for apocalyptic concern: From the H-Bomb to the Human Bomb.
The fight to avoid the Somalization of the planet is just beginning, and it will probably dominate the twenty-first century. If they resist the sirens of isolationism, Americans will learn from their mistakes. Europe will either resolve to help them or abandon itself to the care of the petro-czar Vladimir Putin, who stands ready to police the old continent, while preaching antiterrorist terrorism, with his devastation of Chechnya as a case in point. The borderless challenge of emancipated warriors allows us little leisure for procrastination.
André Glucksmann, by the way, is an advisor to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
André Glucksmann, by the way, is an advisor to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Au contraire ...
... a couple of pieces from spiked:
... Al Gore’s ‘good lies’. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... and Martin Amis strikes back: Come on, bin Laden, make my day.
... Al Gore’s ‘good lies’. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... and Martin Amis strikes back: Come on, bin Laden, make my day.
Sad news ...
... Alan Coren.
I remember laughing uncontrollably while reading a piece Coren wrote about trying to file his column from someplace without a computer.
I remember laughing uncontrollably while reading a piece Coren wrote about trying to file his column from someplace without a computer.
Smart ...
... but not that smart: John Timpane on “Unfortunate” James Watson.
... Bryan had some thoughts on this also: James Watson.
... Bryan had some thoughts on this also: James Watson.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Poe doings ...
While I was away much seems to have happened on the Poe front opened by Ed Pettit.
... Carlin Romano weighed in: Quoth the blogger: Bring Poe home.
... Ed himself was on Comcast's Your Morning show on CN8, NBC10 News, Dom Giordano's radio show, and tomorrow he'll be on Marty Moss-Coane's Radio Times (91 FM. 11:00 A.M.). Here's a roundup at Ed's blog: Mo' Poe Radio.
And don't miss The Inquirer's Poe Poll. I notice that Baltimore is winning. How can this be? He wrote "The Raven" here, for God's sake. What did he write in Baltimore? I'm pretty sure I know how Baudelaire and Mallarmé and Rimbaud would vote.
... Carlin Romano weighed in: Quoth the blogger: Bring Poe home.
... Ed himself was on Comcast's Your Morning show on CN8, NBC10 News, Dom Giordano's radio show, and tomorrow he'll be on Marty Moss-Coane's Radio Times (91 FM. 11:00 A.M.). Here's a roundup at Ed's blog: Mo' Poe Radio.
And don't miss The Inquirer's Poe Poll. I notice that Baltimore is winning. How can this be? He wrote "The Raven" here, for God's sake. What did he write in Baltimore? I'm pretty sure I know how Baudelaire and Mallarmé and Rimbaud would vote.
A good question ...
... Does the Atheist Deny What the Theist Affirms? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This is the problem I have had with the recent spate of atheist tracts: The authors don't seem to have any real grasp of what those they say the disagree with really think. This passage in particular interested me: "Now I hope it is obvious that naturalism as defined is not a proposition of natural science. Nor is it a presupposition of natural science. Natural science studies the spacetime system and what it contains. It does not and cannot study anything outside this system, if there is anything outside it. Nor can natural science pronounce upon the question of whether or not the whole of reality is exhausted by the spacetime system." It interested me because it reminded me that naturalists and IDers commit coplementary errors: The latter pose a scientific question and serve up a metaphysical answer, while the former pose a metaphysical question and serve up a scientific answer.
This is the problem I have had with the recent spate of atheist tracts: The authors don't seem to have any real grasp of what those they say the disagree with really think. This passage in particular interested me: "Now I hope it is obvious that naturalism as defined is not a proposition of natural science. Nor is it a presupposition of natural science. Natural science studies the spacetime system and what it contains. It does not and cannot study anything outside this system, if there is anything outside it. Nor can natural science pronounce upon the question of whether or not the whole of reality is exhausted by the spacetime system." It interested me because it reminded me that naturalists and IDers commit coplementary errors: The latter pose a scientific question and serve up a metaphysical answer, while the former pose a metaphysical question and serve up a scientific answer.
We are back ...
... and here are some shots of where we were. Three of these were taken along the Susquehanna at the new Endless Mountains Nature Centeron Vosburg Neck, which is also where the cabin we rent happens to be located.
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... Vikram Johri thinks Paul Theroux is on to something about India - and Vikram should know: More than it seems.
... Patrick Kurp isn't exactly charmed by John Cowper Powys: His one subject: 'I am I'. (Ed Pettit sends along a link to a conversation with A.N. Wilson - a Powys admirer - about Powys on the BBC's Open Book.)
... Suzanne Blair likes Laurie Kutchins's latest collection: Her riskier poems are still rooted in nature.
... Sandy Bauers didn't enjoy listening to a Tiresomely cute attempt to make science fun, interesting.
During the past week:
... Carlin Romano considered Alice Sebold's new novel: A second fictional trip into murder.
... Jen Miller got an inside look at the Chelsea Hotel: A building with a story worth telling.
... Elizabeth Fox loved some stories by a neglected Sicilian author: Portraits of Sicilian women's despair, loss.
... and Kelly Jane Torrance took a look at Nobelist Doris Lessing's latest: In the beginning - were women.
... Patrick Kurp isn't exactly charmed by John Cowper Powys: His one subject: 'I am I'. (Ed Pettit sends along a link to a conversation with A.N. Wilson - a Powys admirer - about Powys on the BBC's Open Book.)
... Suzanne Blair likes Laurie Kutchins's latest collection: Her riskier poems are still rooted in nature.
... Sandy Bauers didn't enjoy listening to a Tiresomely cute attempt to make science fun, interesting.
During the past week:
... Carlin Romano considered Alice Sebold's new novel: A second fictional trip into murder.
... Jen Miller got an inside look at the Chelsea Hotel: A building with a story worth telling.
... Elizabeth Fox loved some stories by a neglected Sicilian author: Portraits of Sicilian women's despair, loss.
... and Kelly Jane Torrance took a look at Nobelist Doris Lessing's latest: In the beginning - were women.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Frank has blogged about and met Kay Ryan.
Here's a short Q & A with the -- and I use the term admiringly -- almost famous poet.
It's tough trying to live by the Good Book
Dave points out this L.A. Times piece on how just going out for a meal can be a real test of faith.
Speaking of revisiting,
.........this piece in Christianity Today takes another look at the so-called confessional poets and Adam Kirsch's book on them.
Book Reviews Redux
Dave points out that CSPAN2 will be airing a program of knowledgeable panelists discussing the current state of book reviewing in the print media.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
One last nod to Doris Lessing
Dave points out this perhaps little-known side of this year's Nobel laureate.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Stephen Fry's book on poetry.....
.....was recently published in paperback. Eric Ormsby finds much to admire in it.
Sure, there a plenty of blogs out there, but.....
Dave Lull points out, via Anecdotal Evidence, Spurious is one that for sheer reading pleasure, may be worth your while or your whilst (if you're in the UK).
Of course, as I myself once so wittily said in a previous life in ancient Rome, "De gustibus, non disputandum est" so you may not agree.
Of course, as I myself once so wittily said in a previous life in ancient Rome, "De gustibus, non disputandum est" so you may not agree.
This is good
After announcing the relatively unknown Anne Enright as Man Booker Prize winner, Sir Howard Davies also had a few choice words about what he considers the state of book reviewing today.
Critical Mass......
....has lots of good stuff today. Dave points out a piece on required reading by Morris Dickstein (scroll down a bit) but there is also a salute to newest Man Booker winner, Anne Enright whom I must admit I hadn't heard of til I read Liesl Schillinger's rave a couple of weeks ago.
As Gandhi said.....
"That service is the noblest which is rendered for its own sake" and in this case, it can make you an Ig Nobelist. Hat tip, Dave.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
It's a jungle out there
For our readers who worry there aren't enough things to worry about, Dave Lull points out this piece by Terry Teachout, a review of a new book by Daniel J. Solove.
In the U.S. we call this "enhanced self-interrogation"
Survey: Shortage of health service dentists forces some Britons to pull their own teeth
Short Stories
While Frank's on vacation, Dave Lull and I have sneaked into his blogging cave. There's stuff all over the place including this from the Grumpy Old Bookman.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Heading for the hills ...
... today is my birthday. So Debbie and I are taking off to the mountains, where I can brood in peace and quiet. So that's it for blogging until later in the week.
Mind probes ...
... Bryan Appleyard loooks to see if Steven Pinker knows what’s going on inside your head.
... Bryan also looks at The new space race.
... Bryan also looks at The new space race.
A Lessing roundup ...
... Carlin Romano's story on the Nobel: Doris Lessing wins Nobel Prize for literature.
... some excerpts from a John Freeman interview with Lesing that The Inquirer ran last years: Thoughts from Nobelist Doris Lessing.
... Lessing on Questions You Should Never Ask a Writer. (God bless her.)
... and some advice from the new laureate: Lay off men, Lessing tells feminists. (Via Instapundit.
... some excerpts from a John Freeman interview with Lesing that The Inquirer ran last years: Thoughts from Nobelist Doris Lessing.
... Lessing on Questions You Should Never Ask a Writer. (God bless her.)
... and some advice from the new laureate: Lay off men, Lessing tells feminists. (Via Instapundit.
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... Carlin Romano has high praise for Richard Russo: Russo knows where to look.
... Ed Champion had hoped for more from Kate Christensen's latest: Satiric barbs meander off-course.
... Glenn Altschuler takes a peek with Jeffrey Toobin Inside the Rehnquist court.
... Katie Haegele discovers an odd mix online: New media: Computer programming meets embroidery.
... Katie was also very impressed with Jenny Downham's Before I Die: Young Adult Reader | 16 years old and terminally ill, living on a list of life's joys.
... Sarah Weinman is also impressed - with Nikita Lalwani's Gifted: A 'gifted' mind longing to be average Rumi's aptitude propels her to Oxford at 15. She's a girl struggling to reconcile East and West, fantasy and reality.
During the past week ...
... Karen Heller was thrilled with Andrea Barrettt's The Air We Breathe: Author mines romantic view of science.
... David Adler liked Ben Ratliff's Clarifying why Trane matters .
... and Christine Ma was impressed with Dalia Sofer's The Septembers of Shiraz: Family's story illuminates life under mullahs.
... Ed Champion had hoped for more from Kate Christensen's latest: Satiric barbs meander off-course.
... Glenn Altschuler takes a peek with Jeffrey Toobin Inside the Rehnquist court.
... Katie Haegele discovers an odd mix online: New media: Computer programming meets embroidery.
... Katie was also very impressed with Jenny Downham's Before I Die: Young Adult Reader | 16 years old and terminally ill, living on a list of life's joys.
... Sarah Weinman is also impressed - with Nikita Lalwani's Gifted: A 'gifted' mind longing to be average Rumi's aptitude propels her to Oxford at 15. She's a girl struggling to reconcile East and West, fantasy and reality.
During the past week ...
... Karen Heller was thrilled with Andrea Barrettt's The Air We Breathe: Author mines romantic view of science.
... David Adler liked Ben Ratliff's Clarifying why Trane matters .
... and Christine Ma was impressed with Dalia Sofer's The Septembers of Shiraz: Family's story illuminates life under mullahs.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
The long run ...
... Brendan Wolfe is reading War and Peace and blogging about it at The Beiderbecke Affair.
I don't think length is a problem with War and Peace. It's long, for sure. But it doesn't read long.
I don't think length is a problem with War and Peace. It's long, for sure. But it doesn't read long.
A toast ...
... Here's to Henry Miller. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
It was Henry Miller and J.B. Priestley who turned me on toe John Cowper Powys. Priestley, in fact, summed up Powys perfectly in a phrase: "that eccentric novelist of genius." Could have said the same of Miller.
It was Henry Miller and J.B. Priestley who turned me on toe John Cowper Powys. Priestley, in fact, summed up Powys perfectly in a phrase: "that eccentric novelist of genius." Could have said the same of Miller.
Poetry ...
... by Various. (Dave Lull, who sent me this link, draws my attention in particular - as I would draw yours - to James Andrew Miller's "Contraries." Just scroll down. They're all worth reading.
Maud Newton speaks ...
... A Talk With Maud Newton. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The photo doesn't do Maud justice. I particularly liked this comment:
"I don’t think it’s possible to generalize about the effect of book blogs. They’re a different, more immediate, more flexible medium for discussion about books, with all the positives and negatives inherent in that kind of immediacy and flexibility."
Amen.
The photo doesn't do Maud justice. I particularly liked this comment:
"I don’t think it’s possible to generalize about the effect of book blogs. They’re a different, more immediate, more flexible medium for discussion about books, with all the positives and negatives inherent in that kind of immediacy and flexibility."
Amen.
For some poets, though ...
... the art comes at a high price: A war on words. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Not a complaint ...
... really: Vocation, vocation, vocation. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
"Poetry is an imaginative necessity for the poet, for good or ill. It provides many of the writer's greatest joys, but writing poetry is often very difficult and frustrating, while not writing it can be intolerable, and not only for the poet. Whether a poet is writing or not, a good deal of his or her time is likely to be taken up with thinking about it, remembering poems, examining rhythms, finding a way in to the next poem. In blank patches nothing you have learned seems of any help: it's as though you have woken up in a world that no longer speaks your language."
So true.
So true.
Outsourced ...
... Writers publish on internet, but where's the income? (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money," opined Dr. Johnson. Does this mean fewer will write if there is less money to be made? I suspect not. The economic climate, like the other kind, changes continuously. It has seemed relatively stable for quite some time, but a major shift seems to be taking place. What things will look like when the change comes fully about, neither I nor anyone else can quite say.
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money," opined Dr. Johnson. Does this mean fewer will write if there is less money to be made? I suspect not. The economic climate, like the other kind, changes continuously. It has seemed relatively stable for quite some time, but a major shift seems to be taking place. What things will look like when the change comes fully about, neither I nor anyone else can quite say.
I'm confused, too ...
... O Body Swayed to Music, O Brightening Glance...
She was moving clockwise when I first clicked it on, then I looked away for a moment and when I looked back she was moving counter-clockwise. At point, she actually changed direction while I was watching. Of course, I think the dichotomy is dubious. It is altogether possible both to ponder one's feelings and to feel one's ideas.
She was moving clockwise when I first clicked it on, then I looked away for a moment and when I looked back she was moving counter-clockwise. At point, she actually changed direction while I was watching. Of course, I think the dichotomy is dubious. It is altogether possible both to ponder one's feelings and to feel one's ideas.
Genuine discussion ...
... involves an exchange of views. Here are plenty: Politics and Religion, Home and Abroad. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Friday, October 12, 2007
No contest ...
... really: Greeks vs Romans: YOU DECIDE. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I'm with Peter on this: One for the Greeks.
I'm with Peter on this: One for the Greeks.
Get ready ...
... for Halloween: Halloween Poetry Reading and Goblin Fruit. (Hat tip, Laurie Mason.)
Either you do ...
... or you don't: Acquiring a taste for John Cowper Powys.
I think it's "his espousal of magical thinking" that attracts me. I, too, am given shamelessly to magical thinking. Incidentally, a review (by Patrick Kurp) of Morine Krissdottir's new biography of Powys will run in The Inquirer on Oct. 21.
I think it's "his espousal of magical thinking" that attracts me. I, too, am given shamelessly to magical thinking. Incidentally, a review (by Patrick Kurp) of Morine Krissdottir's new biography of Powys will run in The Inquirer on Oct. 21.
Just so ...
... Why Pigs Don't Have Wings. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I see that Bryan has also linked to this. Great minds,
The years after Darwin witnessed a remarkable proliferation of other theories, each seeking to co-opt natural selection for purposes of its own. Evolutionary psychology is currently the salient instance, but examples have been legion. They’re to be found in more or less all of the behavioural sciences, to say nothing of epistemology, semantics, theology, the philosophy of history, ethics, sociology, political theory, eugenics and even aesthetics. What they have in common is that they attempt to explain why we are so-and-so by reference to what being so-and-so buys for us, or what it would have bought for our ancestors. ‘We like telling stories because telling stories exercises the imagination and an imagination would have been a good thing for a hunter-gatherer to have.’ ‘We don’t approve of eating grandmother because having her around to baby-sit was useful in the hunter-gatherer ecology.’ ‘We like music because singing together strengthened the bond between the hunters and the gatherers (and/or between the hunter-gatherer grownups and their hunter-gatherer offspring)’. ‘We talk by making noises and not by waving our hands; that’s because hunter-gatherers lived in the savannah and would have had trouble seeing one another in the tall grass.’ ‘We like to gossip because knowing who has been up to what is important when fitness depends on co-operation in small communities.’ ‘We don’t all talk the same language because that would make us more likely to interbreed with foreigners (which would be bad because it would weaken the ties of hunter-gatherer communities).’ ‘We don’t copulate with our siblings because that would decrease the likelihood of interbreeding with foreigners (which would be bad because, all else being equal, heterogeneity is good for the gene pool).’ I’m not making this up, by the way. Versions of each of these theories can actually be found in the adaptationist literature. But, in point of logic, this sort of explanation has to stop somewhere. Not all of our traits can be explained instrumentally; there must be some that we have simply because that’s the sort of creature we are. And perhaps it’s unnecessary to remark that such explanations are inherently post hoc (Gould called them ‘just so stories’); or that, except for the prestige they borrow from the theory of natural selection, there isn’t much reason to believe that any of them is true.
I see that Bryan has also linked to this. Great minds,
The years after Darwin witnessed a remarkable proliferation of other theories, each seeking to co-opt natural selection for purposes of its own. Evolutionary psychology is currently the salient instance, but examples have been legion. They’re to be found in more or less all of the behavioural sciences, to say nothing of epistemology, semantics, theology, the philosophy of history, ethics, sociology, political theory, eugenics and even aesthetics. What they have in common is that they attempt to explain why we are so-and-so by reference to what being so-and-so buys for us, or what it would have bought for our ancestors. ‘We like telling stories because telling stories exercises the imagination and an imagination would have been a good thing for a hunter-gatherer to have.’ ‘We don’t approve of eating grandmother because having her around to baby-sit was useful in the hunter-gatherer ecology.’ ‘We like music because singing together strengthened the bond between the hunters and the gatherers (and/or between the hunter-gatherer grownups and their hunter-gatherer offspring)’. ‘We talk by making noises and not by waving our hands; that’s because hunter-gatherers lived in the savannah and would have had trouble seeing one another in the tall grass.’ ‘We like to gossip because knowing who has been up to what is important when fitness depends on co-operation in small communities.’ ‘We don’t all talk the same language because that would make us more likely to interbreed with foreigners (which would be bad because it would weaken the ties of hunter-gatherer communities).’ ‘We don’t copulate with our siblings because that would decrease the likelihood of interbreeding with foreigners (which would be bad because, all else being equal, heterogeneity is good for the gene pool).’ I’m not making this up, by the way. Versions of each of these theories can actually be found in the adaptationist literature. But, in point of logic, this sort of explanation has to stop somewhere. Not all of our traits can be explained instrumentally; there must be some that we have simply because that’s the sort of creature we are. And perhaps it’s unnecessary to remark that such explanations are inherently post hoc (Gould called them ‘just so stories’); or that, except for the prestige they borrow from the theory of natural selection, there isn’t much reason to believe that any of them is true.
Important anniversary ...
... on this date, in 1694, one of the greatest of poets died: Basho.
I am reminded of this by Today in Literature, which also mentions that another poet, Cecil Frances Alexander died on this date as well, in 1895. She was no Basho, to be sure - Basho was unique - but she did write a very famous poem: Maker of Heaven and Earth.
I am reminded of this by Today in Literature, which also mentions that another poet, Cecil Frances Alexander died on this date as well, in 1895. She was no Basho, to be sure - Basho was unique - but she did write a very famous poem: Maker of Heaven and Earth.
Judgment calls ..
... In critical condition.
I've read a good bit of the Library of America Edmund Wilson volumes. I don't think he was that good a judge of poetry, period - hence, his undervaluation of Frost. As I recall, he didn't get Wallace Stevens, either, though he was probably right about Cummings. Anyway, I think we're better off without anyone wielding the sort of critical power Wilson was thought to have.
By the way, I had a very pleasant visit from Kelly Jane Torrance, the author of this piece, only yesterday.
I've read a good bit of the Library of America Edmund Wilson volumes. I don't think he was that good a judge of poetry, period - hence, his undervaluation of Frost. As I recall, he didn't get Wallace Stevens, either, though he was probably right about Cummings. Anyway, I think we're better off without anyone wielding the sort of critical power Wilson was thought to have.
By the way, I had a very pleasant visit from Kelly Jane Torrance, the author of this piece, only yesterday.
Art and life ...
...collide again - and rather gruesomely: Writer suspect in dismembering girlfriend. (Hat tip, Scott Stein.)
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Just in case ...
... anyone might think otherwise, I'm with Roger on this one: Ann "Sharia" Coulter and "Imperfect" Jews.
Never too late ...
... for something this interesting: A Four-Dimensional Tribute to the Late Madeleine L'Engle. (Hat tip, Charlene D.)
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Speaking of Ed ...
... his students are blogging away - and you can see that yours truly had some influence on Monday night (see first entry): Weekly Scribblers.
Poe fight ...
... Baltimore has dared to challenge Philly's claim to Edgar Allan Poe - and our own Ed Pettit: We have the body, and we're keeping him.
...Philly Mag weighs in: Baltimore Officially Declares Poe War.
...Philly Mag weighs in: Baltimore Officially Declares Poe War.
I'll take Manhattan ...
... `A Tourist Destination'.
"Last year, at a party here in Houston, a man wearing a Che T-shirt and a black beret held court in the hosts’ garden. He was 60-ish, the sort of man who talks softly and slowly because he knows some people think that makes him sound wise. He added another layer of irony to the scene by pontificating against capital punishment"
Yes, a garden variety buffoon.
"Last year, at a party here in Houston, a man wearing a Che T-shirt and a black beret held court in the hosts’ garden. He was 60-ish, the sort of man who talks softly and slowly because he knows some people think that makes him sound wise. He added another layer of irony to the scene by pontificating against capital punishment"
Yes, a garden variety buffoon.
More on fat ...
... Where We Went Wrong about Diet and Health. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The comments bring to mind that on this date in 1895 Lin Yutang was born. He penned the following: "If a chicken is killed and not cooked to perfection, that chicken has died in vain? My kind of guy.
The comments bring to mind that on this date in 1895 Lin Yutang was born. He penned the following: "If a chicken is killed and not cooked to perfection, that chicken has died in vain? My kind of guy.
NBA Shortlist
No, it's not a roster of the tiniest professional basketball players.
We're talkin' National Book Awards here.
We're talkin' National Book Awards here.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Maybe ...
... then again, maybe not: The poet of collision. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I like Hammett. Red Harvest has one of my favorite lines in it: "I haven't laughed so hard hard since the hogs ate my kid brother." But I'm not sure I buy into Ellroy's thesis. I know something about drinking, for instance. You can always find a reason for it, but for a natural born drunk it's its own reason. And I've known, far more than most people, and known quite well, plenty of so-called low lifes. I say "so-called" because when you get to know them you realize they're really not all that much different from most other people. What I don't see is how you can validly project from their milieu to a grand sociolgical conclusion about American or anyplace else. America has its jungles, to be sure. But it isn't all or even mostly jungle.
Word sculpture ...
... Sentences. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
"... Charles Williams once wrote, 'When the means are autonomous, they are deadly.' "
That is in part because when the medium - which is meant to convey something from one place or person to another - becomes itself the message, there is no message.
"... Charles Williams once wrote, 'When the means are autonomous, they are deadly.' "
That is in part because when the medium - which is meant to convey something from one place or person to another - becomes itself the message, there is no message.
Another consensus ...
... bites the dust: Diet and Fat: A Severe Case of Mistaken Consensus.
Hence the need to think clearly and precisely - and for yourself.
Hence the need to think clearly and precisely - and for yourself.
Covered ...
... Pulp and Cthulhu Sex.
I spent a very pleasant hour and half last night in the class that Ed Pettit teaches at La Salle University. I don't know if his students learned anythinmg from, but I learned plenty from them
I spent a very pleasant hour and half last night in the class that Ed Pettit teaches at La Salle University. I don't know if his students learned anythinmg from, but I learned plenty from them
Hints from God ...
... otherwise known as possibilities: Robert Cheeks praises an intellectual memoir by Roger Scruton. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Monday, October 08, 2007
Credulous atheist ...
... Richard Dawkins may not believe in God, but he does believe that the Israel lobby is all its critics make it out to be: Atheists arise. (Hat tip, dave Lull.)
More here.
And yes, I did remove the anti-Jewish rantings that were posted as comments. So don't bother posting any more of them, whoever it was who did so.
More here.
And yes, I did remove the anti-Jewish rantings that were posted as comments. So don't bother posting any more of them, whoever it was who did so.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Something I missed ...
... and shouldn't have: Is this the way the world ends?
I presume Guyatt claims that "nearly 50 million Americans who believe that the coming of the Antichrist is on hand." That's one-sixth of the population. You'd think I would have met one by now. I have met a few Christian crazies in my time, but they were no crazier than people like Guyatt.
I presume Guyatt claims that "nearly 50 million Americans who believe that the coming of the Antichrist is on hand." That's one-sixth of the population. You'd think I would have met one by now. I have met a few Christian crazies in my time, but they were no crazier than people like Guyatt.
Great minds ...
... Maxine links to a post of Bryan's that I should have linked to, because I feel the same way Maxine does: Was Beckham murdered?
I'll second this ...
... even though I'm not Australian: One of our greatest works is 50 — let's show we care. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... feature:
... Glenn Reynolds reviewing Larry Sabato: You say you want a new Constitution? Well . . .
... Carlin Romano considering a couple of Garibaldi bios: Two views, one of them respectful, of Garibaldi.
... Greg Feeley praising John Crowley: Ambitious fantasy on magic, history.
... Chris Patsilelis pondering Sputnik: Story behind race to space.
... Len Boasberg looking at life in Pope's London: Flying high with Alexander Pope in a licentious London.
... Rich Di Dio enjoying Pete Jordan's Dishwasher: Memoir of menial tasks, free livingThe weaving of a rich yarn and an incomparable narrator.
... Glenn Reynolds reviewing Larry Sabato: You say you want a new Constitution? Well . . .
... Carlin Romano considering a couple of Garibaldi bios: Two views, one of them respectful, of Garibaldi.
... Greg Feeley praising John Crowley: Ambitious fantasy on magic, history.
... Chris Patsilelis pondering Sputnik: Story behind race to space.
... Len Boasberg looking at life in Pope's London: Flying high with Alexander Pope in a licentious London.
... Rich Di Dio enjoying Pete Jordan's Dishwasher: Memoir of menial tasks, free livingThe weaving of a rich yarn and an incomparable narrator.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
One-dimensional history ...
... Roger Scruton on A.C. Grayling. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Grayling sees all liberal ideas as summed up in a single moral imperative, which is the defence of “human rights”. His hostility to Christianity causes him to ignore the church’s defence of natural law, from which the idea of human rights derives. The rights defended in secular terms by John Locke were spelled out more thoroughly by Thomas Aquinas, who is given only fleeting credit. For Grayling, the political influence of the medieval church is symbolised not by Aquinas but by the Grand Inquisitor, Torquemada. Why not say, rather, that, while Torquemada disgraced the Dominican Order, Aquinas redeemed it? Aquinas stands to Torquemada roughly as Condorcet stands to Robespierre. To lay the sins of Torquemada at the door of his faith is like blaming Grayling’s ideal of liberty for the Terror. After all, didn’t Robespierre describe what he was doing in just those terms – as “the despotism of liberty”?
Advice to bloggers ...
... take a day off, from time to time, the way I did yesterday. I had such a sense of freedom.
I wonder ...
... if it captures the humor: On rereading Kafka's The Trial.
I refer, of course, to Mitchell's translation. Kafka can be quite funny, but the humor tends to be missed by those translating him into English.
I refer, of course, to Mitchell's translation. Kafka can be quite funny, but the humor tends to be missed by those translating him into English.
A distinctive voice ...
... Recommending Eca.
I can't say I know anything about Eca. The only Portuguese writer I know at all well is Pessoa.
I can't say I know anything about Eca. The only Portuguese writer I know at all well is Pessoa.
Sanctity and doubt ...
... Richard Rodriguez on Mother Teresa's Struggles with Faith. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
"With each face she bathed, it was as if she were looking for God's face, and so often all that stared back at her was the face of human suffering."
"With each face she bathed, it was as if she were looking for God's face, and so often all that stared back at her was the face of human suffering."
Friday, October 05, 2007
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Fur flies ...
... But, no, [Howard W.] Robertson spends. In which Robertson takes issue with B.T. Shaw's review of Robertson's most recent book.
Dancing chimps ...
... and their bearing on thought: Mindlessness: The Carey-Appleyard Shootout.
This is very interesting indeed.
This is very interesting indeed.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Worth remembering ...
... James Farrar, who was born on Oct. 5, 1923.
There's more here: He was a poet and you never knew it. "September 1940" is quite a poem, actually.
There's more here: He was a poet and you never knew it. "September 1940" is quite a poem, actually.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Brights duped ...
... Dawkins rails at 'creationist front' for duping him into film role. (Hat tip, Vikram Johri.)
But he's on the stump: Atheists arise: Dawkins spreads the A-word among America's unbelievers.
But he's on the stump: Atheists arise: Dawkins spreads the A-word among America's unbelievers.
Civilized discourse ...
... Dangerous Considerations: A Notebook. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I like this: "... Musil defended artistic individualism and warned against the collectivism growing in various European states. He also insisted that there was no connection between culture and politics; the very existence of culture contains something fragile, capricious, unpredictable, he said, and even a decent political system won't necessarily produce great art."
I like this: "... Musil defended artistic individualism and warned against the collectivism growing in various European states. He also insisted that there was no connection between culture and politics; the very existence of culture contains something fragile, capricious, unpredictable, he said, and even a decent political system won't necessarily produce great art."
A missing review ...
... One of thereviews on Sunday didn;t make it online until today. Here it is: Love, fragile and long-lasting, in Dillard’s deceptive account.
Unsuspended disbelief ...
... Ed Champion isn't taken with Ann Patchett's latest: Follow the advice of Patchett's latest title.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Maybe it's Kerouac fever
In the lobby of my local bank there is a small cork community bulletin board on which is posted all sorts of messages, mostly of the transactioanl sort.
Prominently positioned among the latest batch is this one:
"Will trade book collection for good used car".
Prominently positioned among the latest batch is this one:
"Will trade book collection for good used car".
Apropos of nothing ..
... a post inspired by m,y wife (which is not say she agrees).
The Merriam-Webster's definition of capitalism reads as follows: "an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market." As opposed, presumably, to the ownership of such goods being in the hands of the state. But note that capital goods are a common and essential ingredient in both cases. In other words, the difference is between private capitalism and state capitalism, the point being that you can't have a complex economy without capital goods. I mention this because, when I hear people ranting against capitalism, I realize they are underinformed about economics or they are tossing about slogans for purpsoes of propaganda. The underlying economic issue has to do with who controls the capital goods. History seem to suggest that the widest and most varied control is best - for no other reason than that the alternatives are all worse.
Dictionaries record how words are used, but words are often used loosely and imprecisely. Socrates made a career out of questioning what would have been in his day dictionary definitions of key terms such as beauty. Dictionary definitions are snapshots. The words keep moving.