Thursday, January 31, 2008
The things you find ...
... when you just poke around the Web: The Rebelution's Keep Moving Forward series/ Book note: Do Hard Things.
Oh, goody ...
... let's annoy some people (you know who you are): The two faces of Amis. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Never enough ...
... More Cavafy. (Hat tip, Dave Lull., who also sends along this: Question of the day ... )
Dave also sends this: Introduction to Cavafy´s poems.
Dave also sends this: Introduction to Cavafy´s poems.
A confession ...
...from Alexander Cockburn: I am an intellectual blasphemer. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Well, Cockburn's sure no conservative.
Well, Cockburn's sure no conservative.
Beats talk radio ...
... Birdsong and Buffalo.
"... when birdsong is used as a test transmission, or to keep a channel open, it can get more listeners than the programmes."
Doesn't surprise me.
"... when birdsong is used as a test transmission, or to keep a channel open, it can get more listeners than the programmes."
Doesn't surprise me.
Big chill ...
... One Snowflake in a Blizzard. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
... PROFOUND COLD. (Hat tip, Dave Lull, who reports that, In Superior, Wisc., it's "17 below (45 below wind chill) this morning and there's a promised high of 0.")
Then there's this: Snow storm brings China to a halt.
And this: UPDATE: Jerusalem grinds to halt as snow falls.
Nothing of note weather-wise to report from Philly, however.
Update: Well, that was fast.
Also, check out this: An experiment that hints we are wrong on climate change.
... PROFOUND COLD. (Hat tip, Dave Lull, who reports that, In Superior, Wisc., it's "17 below (45 below wind chill) this morning and there's a promised high of 0.")
Then there's this: Snow storm brings China to a halt.
And this: UPDATE: Jerusalem grinds to halt as snow falls.
Nothing of note weather-wise to report from Philly, however.
Update: Well, that was fast.
Also, check out this: An experiment that hints we are wrong on climate change.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Great minds ...
... I see that Patrick Kurp isn't exactly thrilled with The Reserve, either. I also see that Patrick also makes the Natty Bumppo connection. I would have to agree that, while there is a lot of description in Banks's book, much of it well-written, it doesn't tend to conjure anything particularly specific about the Adirondacks. I don't know them anywhere near as well as Patrick, but I have hiked there.
As one of Patrick's readers notes, Sven Birkerts disagrees with Patrick and me. But Michiko agrees! So there.
As one of Patrick's readers notes, Sven Birkerts disagrees with Patrick and me. But Michiko agrees! So there.
Inquirer reviews ...
... I am not enchanted by Russell Banks's latest: Scenes are vivid, but characters are contrived.
... Carlin Romano is not convinced by an academic's theory of bar-hopping: Penn prof dives deep into Philly nightlife.
... and Fred Bortz considers whether dinosaurs could have used some Deet: Thinking small when thinking of extinction.
... Carlin Romano is not convinced by an academic's theory of bar-hopping: Penn prof dives deep into Philly nightlife.
... and Fred Bortz considers whether dinosaurs could have used some Deet: Thinking small when thinking of extinction.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
In praise of youth ...
... well, not really. In praise, rather, of a particular young person.
All this month I have been graced with the help of Jennifer Berger, a junior at Germantown Friends School. For whatever reason, Jen wanted to spend her junior project month working alongside a newspaper book editor. (My stepdaughter Gwen, who also went to GFS, built a clavichord during hers.) Jen's options were limited, so I lucked out, and have had her helping me for the past 28 days.
And help me she has. The book room is in order because of Jen. I have a list of reviews that I have in hand, complete with the email addresses of the reviewers - because of Jen (and trust me, this is very important). Jen will have a review in Sunday's Inquirer, and it is quite a good review.
I do not exaggerate when I say that, given a few more weeks, Jen could easily take over for me.
Most of all I have had the pleasure of her company. To say that she is extraordinarily bright is really to say nothing. (Did I mention that she plays the cello and is fluent in German?) Anyway, intelligence isn't necessarily accompanied by personality, and Jen's personality sparkles. Our talks have been genuine conversations, and I have easily learned as much from her as she has from me. In fact, I probably got the better of the bargain. Tomorrow is her last day.
I will miss her.
And help me she has. The book room is in order because of Jen. I have a list of reviews that I have in hand, complete with the email addresses of the reviewers - because of Jen (and trust me, this is very important). Jen will have a review in Sunday's Inquirer, and it is quite a good review.
I do not exaggerate when I say that, given a few more weeks, Jen could easily take over for me.
Most of all I have had the pleasure of her company. To say that she is extraordinarily bright is really to say nothing. (Did I mention that she plays the cello and is fluent in German?) Anyway, intelligence isn't necessarily accompanied by personality, and Jen's personality sparkles. Our talks have been genuine conversations, and I have easily learned as much from her as she has from me. In fact, I probably got the better of the bargain. Tomorrow is her last day.
I will miss her.
Something we missed ...
... Robert Burns's birthday, which was last Friday. So here is Seamus Heaney: A Birl for Burns. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
An overview ...
... Blogs. (Hat tip to Dave Lull and Rus Bowden.)
I think it worth noting that Sarah Boxer misses the point of the Dan Rather-CBS dispute, which had to do with the authenticity of the documents, not Bush's TANG service.
I think it worth noting that Sarah Boxer misses the point of the Dan Rather-CBS dispute, which had to do with the authenticity of the documents, not Bush's TANG service.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Deep fiction ...
... Clive Thompson on Why Sci-Fi Is the Last Bastion of Philosophical Writing. (hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Eureka!
... Bryan has hit on something important: On Opinion.
"... a large number of people I know seems to define themselves through opinions and to judge others by theirs. I am incapable of doing this, which is, I'm afraid, a very disabling condition."
I suffer from the same disability. And it's growing worse as I grow older.
"... a large number of people I know seems to define themselves through opinions and to judge others by theirs. I am incapable of doing this, which is, I'm afraid, a very disabling condition."
I suffer from the same disability. And it's growing worse as I grow older.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The weeping ...
... and the gnashing of teeth: Critics are becoming an endangered species. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I find it odd, at a time when everyone is obliged to do obeisance before the altar of natural selection, that so few people seem to think it will apply to blogs and Amazon reviewers: Over time the vast numbers will dwindle to a precious few - at least those who prove good and reliable will garner audiences, while the rest will not.
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... Carlin Romano considers Wallace Stegner: Literary keeper of the West.
... Paul Halpern looks at A guide to understanding the bomb.
... Christine Ma is inderstandably unnerved a bit: An Iranian woman stunned by prison and torture.
... Susan Comninos ponders Geraldine Brooks's latest: Haggadah in the pages of time .
... and Karen Heller finds Rachel Pastan's latest to be ambitious: Swarthmore writer's comic novel has it all, and then some .
... Paul Halpern looks at A guide to understanding the bomb.
... Christine Ma is inderstandably unnerved a bit: An Iranian woman stunned by prison and torture.
... Susan Comninos ponders Geraldine Brooks's latest: Haggadah in the pages of time .
... and Karen Heller finds Rachel Pastan's latest to be ambitious: Swarthmore writer's comic novel has it all, and then some .
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Attention Lee Siegel ....
... you want some high-toned intellectual content, dude? Try this: The Smithy. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
(The cowled figure to the right bears a certain resemblance to Jacques Brel.)
(The cowled figure to the right bears a certain resemblance to Jacques Brel.)
We link ...
... you decide.
Here's Lee Siegel on the Internet's Destructive Side. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Siegel blames the Internet for "dumbing down daily life."
Maybe he should read what Bryan had to say last Sunday.
Here's Lee Siegel on the Internet's Destructive Side. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Siegel blames the Internet for "dumbing down daily life."
Maybe he should read what Bryan had to say last Sunday.
E pluribus unum ...
... I guess I'm not supposed to, but I tend to agree with this: Fred Scuttle eclesiology.
Nice work ...
... if you can get it: The £3,000 an hour man.
He must be really good, right? I wonder how much Terry Eagleton gets.
He must be really good, right? I wonder how much Terry Eagleton gets.
Writing a Book? Piece of Cake ...
... at least compared to blogging. (Hat tip, Roger Miller.)
Try telling it to someone who runs a newspaper.
Try telling it to someone who runs a newspaper.
Maxine gathers ...
... Some thoughtful posts. (Which will make my day easier, since I can do little blogging today - I ma behind schedule in a couple writing gigs.)
Friday, January 25, 2008
One critic ...
... regards another: John Freeman on fearsome literary critic, James Wood. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I think this is true:
But I'm not sure about this:
I think it is that preoccupation with technique that can get in the way of knowing human beings.
I think this is true:
The result - in America at least - is novels of immense self-consciousness with no selves in them at all,” Wood wrote a piece about the American social novel that Franzen and others were writing, “curiously arrested and very ‘brilliant' books that know a thousand things but do not know a single human being”.
But I'm not sure about this:
... now [Wood] feels that he can have a greater impact by sharing his opinion with students. “I really felt a connection,” he says of his Columbia University Master of Fine Art students in particular, “because these were people very interested in technique, and were willing to take what they learnt and go away and apply it."
I think it is that preoccupation with technique that can get in the way of knowing human beings.
Apocalypse now?
... Amazon's Top Reviewers and the fate of the literary amateur. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Priceless ...
... Ed on Lee Siegel, that is, and Mark's novel sounds intriguing: Night at the Boxcar. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Bryan notices ...
.. what I have suspected for years: Irony and the New York Times.
The Times of London should start publishing an American edition.
The Times of London should start publishing an American edition.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Against reviewing ...
... Reading the Book: A Novel Approach to Reviewing. (Hat tip, Roger Miller.)
I read reviews - always have - for the pleasure of reading them. I've never felt constrained by them.
I read reviews - always have - for the pleasure of reading them. I've never felt constrained by them.
Score one for Roger ...
... Roger Miller, that is, who yesterday predicted that we had not heard the last of the Ishmael Beah story. And he was right: Back and Forth Over Beah's Memoir Continues.
Genuine protest ...
... not mere posturing: Myanmar poet arrested for critical poem. (Hat tip, Jeff McDonald.)
Speaking of thinking ...
... A while back, on this post, I tossed out this thought:
The underlying premise of science is that if we get to the bottom of nature we will understand reality. Suppose that premise is false?
This was not meant to disparage science in any way, and I should have put it more precisely, since I was not, in fact, referring to the underlying premise of science - which is the perfectly sound one that by observation, experiment, trial and error we can arrive at an understanding of the structure and processes of nature. What I was intending to refer to is a premise many often posit about science, which might well be true if nature and reality were the same - or, to put it another way, if nature encompassed the whole of reality - but I suspect that neither is the case.
Let me explain by means of analogy. For Hamlet to be fully realized, it must be staged. But the most thoroughgoing analysis of the theater in which it is performed will tell you absolutely nothing about the play. Likewise, a complete understanding of telecommunications won't tell you anything about the message your mother left on your answering machine last night. In other words, suppose nature is simply the platform for reality.
A similar problem arises with the notion that one can arrive at an ultimate understanding of reality - that is, figure it out - solely by means of reason. The problem there, though, is the presumption that reality is primarily something to be figured out. I don't think it is, anymore than a poem is something meant to be explicated. Whatever understanding of reality we may hope for is best arrived at through the portal by means of which we most directly enter it: ourselves. And no one really experiences himself in terms of chemical or physical processes. Reality is more like Hamlet than a theater and has at least as much to do with such ambiguous matters as character and motive as it does with atoms and stars.
The underlying premise of science is that if we get to the bottom of nature we will understand reality. Suppose that premise is false?
This was not meant to disparage science in any way, and I should have put it more precisely, since I was not, in fact, referring to the underlying premise of science - which is the perfectly sound one that by observation, experiment, trial and error we can arrive at an understanding of the structure and processes of nature. What I was intending to refer to is a premise many often posit about science, which might well be true if nature and reality were the same - or, to put it another way, if nature encompassed the whole of reality - but I suspect that neither is the case.
Let me explain by means of analogy. For Hamlet to be fully realized, it must be staged. But the most thoroughgoing analysis of the theater in which it is performed will tell you absolutely nothing about the play. Likewise, a complete understanding of telecommunications won't tell you anything about the message your mother left on your answering machine last night. In other words, suppose nature is simply the platform for reality.
A similar problem arises with the notion that one can arrive at an ultimate understanding of reality - that is, figure it out - solely by means of reason. The problem there, though, is the presumption that reality is primarily something to be figured out. I don't think it is, anymore than a poem is something meant to be explicated. Whatever understanding of reality we may hope for is best arrived at through the portal by means of which we most directly enter it: ourselves. And no one really experiences himself in terms of chemical or physical processes. Reality is more like Hamlet than a theater and has at least as much to do with such ambiguous matters as character and motive as it does with atoms and stars.
Great minds again ...
... Patrick likes crows. So do I. I've always wanted one, in fact: `A Stiff Turn-the-Eye-Inward Old Man'.
I don't know P.K. Page, but that's a very good poem. As for coincidence, I'm one of those who tends to lend it some importance, but then I'm given to magical thinking.
I don't know P.K. Page, but that's a very good poem. As for coincidence, I'm one of those who tends to lend it some importance, but then I'm given to magical thinking.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Ergo bibamus ...
... though I myself have had enough, I assure you: Take a Dipso like You. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Squaring off ...
... Blog Comments and Peer Review Go Head to Head to See Which Makes a Book Better. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Good question ...
... David Simon asks, does news have any value? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Well, there's a diffrence between news and the vehicle for delivering it. But this true:
Well, there's a diffrence between news and the vehicle for delivering it. But this true:
... the great newspaper editors and publishers were simply incapable of stepping out of their mental frameworks in order to explore a genuinely new and different news environment. They would dabble; they would set up their little adjunct Web sites and even hire a Web-only columnist or two, and the most radical of them would make their reporters drag along video cameras to do “multimedia reporting.” But why would any of them have said, “The Web is the future — let’s move there as fast as we can?” It simply made no sense for them. Only the dispossessed emigrate.
A poem for the month ...
... George Barker's January Jumps About.
I am a George Barker fan and have been since I was in college.
I am a George Barker fan and have been since I was in college.
Another thank you ...
... this time to Maxine, who is, as readers of this blog must know, one of my all-time favorite people: Frank and Books, Inq. in the news.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Too much good stuff ...
... from PJ Harvey to the TS Eliot Prize at Surroundings. So just keep scrolling.
Check out ...
... Jessica Schneider's Interview with Valerie Raleigh Yow author of 'Betty Smith'.
Here's Jessica's review: Betty Smith by Valerie Raleigh.
Here's Jessica's review: Betty Smith by Valerie Raleigh.
Sticking to his story ...
... evidently because it's true: Ishmael Beah Takes Public Stand. (Hat tip, Roger Miller - who think, probably correctly, that we haven't heard the last of this.)
A good week for me ...
... first Bryan says very nice things about me and this blog in the Sunday Times. Now comes Peter Stothard's Five links in a blog chain. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Coming from the man who runs what remains the gold standard when it comes to book reviews on Planet Earth I feel honored indeed. Thank you, Peter.
Coming from the man who runs what remains the gold standard when it comes to book reviews on Planet Earth I feel honored indeed. Thank you, Peter.
Missing the point ...
Yesterday, I posted this.
I gather, from the comments appended thereunto, that it was taken by some as a sort of martial tub-thumping. As it happens, that was not its point. The point - which I think ought to have been fairly obvious from the actual words that I wrote - was to indicate the lag time in reporting the mainstream media often displays. Yon has been doing this for years. Only now has the New York Times got around to noticing it, apparently. To the Times' credit, they did notice it, and have brought it to public attention. Now the rest of the media world may pay attention as well, since it often seems that the Times is their principal source of information (there are other ways of finding things out). What I did not realize myself is the Pavlovian response anything pertaining to the war in Iraq that does not feed into opposition to such often elicits. My post had to do with reportage, getting information about a story out there - I do the same with issues such as the one designated by the redundant phrase "climate change." Let's all repeat with Michel de Montaigne: Que scais-je? What do I know? A lot less than some of us are inclined to think.
A further clarification: By calling the phrase "climate change" redundant I am merely noting that climate is never static but is a process of continuous change, sort of like the ocean, which is never really still.
A further clarification: By calling the phrase "climate change" redundant I am merely noting that climate is never static but is a process of continuous change, sort of like the ocean, which is never really still.
Great minds ...
... Nige and I seem to have seem to have similar tastes, even down to a fondness for polo shirts. Now he's discovered Helen Waddell's wonderful The Wandering Scholars, one of my favorite books. Everything he says about it is true: Books: Another Coda.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sad and lovely ...
... The Owl by Edward Thomas. (Hat tip, Dave Lull - Omnipresent Wisconsin Librarian.)
Something I left out ...
... of yesterday's Inquirer reviews - Karl Kirchwey on Robert Hass: Images of war, 'sweetness' of art.
A terrific post ...
... The piece I'll never read.
What more could you want - Mencken, Beerbohm and Enoch Soames. I am envious of Terry over that Beerbohm caricature.
Here's something else wonderful: From Tu Fu.
What more could you want - Mencken, Beerbohm and Enoch Soames. I am envious of Terry over that Beerbohm caricature.
Here's something else wonderful: From Tu Fu.
Paper of record ...
... discovers someone many of us have been reading for quite some time: Frontline Blogger Covers War in Iraq With a Soldier’s Eyes.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Cry Wolfe ...
... at 76, the first pop journalist finds new exotic creatures to marvel at. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
A second opinion ...
... and maybe not such a losing proposition after all: Translation: Rhyme & Reason. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
George Steiner roundup ...
... Carlin Romano did this for The Inquirer at the end of last year: An epilogue to empty pages.
Now others are weighing in:
The Sunday Times: My Unwritten Books by George Steiner.
And the Guradian: The sex life of a polyglot.
Now others are weighing in:
The Sunday Times: My Unwritten Books by George Steiner.
And the Guradian: The sex life of a polyglot.
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... include:
... my review of Christian Wiman's Ambition and Survival: A poet reconciling verse and living.
... the aforementioned Ed Pettit on Arthur Conan Doyle: More Doyle, yet still unsated.
... Ed Champion pondering A.L. Kennedy's latest: World War II novel has heart but lacks spine.
... Dan DeLuca being impressed with Kenneth J. Harvey's Inside: Freed at last from prison, scarred and angry.
... Katherine Bailey praising C.J. Sansom's take on Franco's Spain: Spanish Civil War, stripped of Hemingway's romance.
... my review of Christian Wiman's Ambition and Survival: A poet reconciling verse and living.
... the aforementioned Ed Pettit on Arthur Conan Doyle: More Doyle, yet still unsated.
... Ed Champion pondering A.L. Kennedy's latest: World War II novel has heart but lacks spine.
... Dan DeLuca being impressed with Kenneth J. Harvey's Inside: Freed at last from prison, scarred and angry.
... Katherine Bailey praising C.J. Sansom's take on Franco's Spain: Spanish Civil War, stripped of Hemingway's romance.
Maybe it's Ed Pettit ...
... Mystery man's annual visit to Poe grave. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Update: Ed admits to being in Baltimore this weekend and even says he saw the mysterious visitor. Hmm.
Update: Ed admits to being in Baltimore this weekend and even says he saw the mysterious visitor. Hmm.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
The art of the Internet ...
... courtesy of Bryan: From Bach to Beckett, it’s now a gold mine for lovers of highbrow art, too. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
This includes a nice mention of the very blog you are reading. Thanks, Bryan.
Bryan, by the way, offers as proof - conclusive, in my view - this link to Samuel Beckett's Ohio Impromptu, with Jeremy Irons.
On Friday, Toby Zinman reviewed Fiona Shaw in Beckett's Happy Days, The review included this wonderful quote: "To have always been what I am - and so changed from what I was."
This includes a nice mention of the very blog you are reading. Thanks, Bryan.
Bryan, by the way, offers as proof - conclusive, in my view - this link to Samuel Beckett's Ohio Impromptu, with Jeremy Irons.
On Friday, Toby Zinman reviewed Fiona Shaw in Beckett's Happy Days, The review included this wonderful quote: "To have always been what I am - and so changed from what I was."
Proto-modern ...
... The Munro Doctrine of Humor. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This plot line is certainly prescient: "... two boys deprived of war toys quickly transform their John Stuart Mill doll into the 18th-century French army commander Marshal Saxe."
The idea of a John Stuart Mill doll is truly terrifying.
This plot line is certainly prescient: "... two boys deprived of war toys quickly transform their John Stuart Mill doll into the 18th-century French army commander Marshal Saxe."
The idea of a John Stuart Mill doll is truly terrifying.
I better not blog anymore ...
... today: `A Near Spiritual Hunger'.
"... one wonders how and why people, young and old, spend their days watching television or surfing the more worthless regions of the Internet."
I do find it hard to watch television - unless it's a film. And when I go see a new film it better be good, because otherwise I'll sit through it thinking I could have spent my time better at home reading.
"... one wonders how and why people, young and old, spend their days watching television or surfing the more worthless regions of the Internet."
I do find it hard to watch television - unless it's a film. And when I go see a new film it better be good, because otherwise I'll sit through it thinking I could have spent my time better at home reading.
Evidence and experience ...
... Defensor fidei. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I think it interesting how faith and belief changed meanings. Belief originally meant trust in God, and faith meant loyalty grounded in a promise or an obligation. Faith came to mean loyalty to a set of doctrines (now thought of as beliefs). Too bad, because it is in the codification of faith - reducing it to a set of doctrines - that trouble starts and we move away from a way of life and being to a kind of campaign platform and the accompanying sloganeering.
... aren’t scientific conclusions supposed to be held tentatively, in contrast to the firmness with which articles of religious faith are to be held – even in the face of countervailing evidence if need be? Yes, there’s some genuine difference there (though the tentativeness with which scientists hold their conclusions is somewhat exaggerated by people – scientists include – who talk about science). Think, by analogy, of your faith in a friend who’s been accused of murder. You’d be a funny sort of friend if you took too “scientific” an attitude toward your friend’s guilt – if, for example, you said “I regard the probability of your innocence as 87%,” or “The conjecture of your innocence has not yet been falsified.” Perhaps religious faith is more like loyalty to a friend than it is like a scientific conclusion.
I think it interesting how faith and belief changed meanings. Belief originally meant trust in God, and faith meant loyalty grounded in a promise or an obligation. Faith came to mean loyalty to a set of doctrines (now thought of as beliefs). Too bad, because it is in the codification of faith - reducing it to a set of doctrines - that trouble starts and we move away from a way of life and being to a kind of campaign platform and the accompanying sloganeering.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Very worth celebrating ...
... The Wind in the Willows Turns 100. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I think the chapter "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" i s one of the great episodes in literature.
I think the chapter "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" i s one of the great episodes in literature.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Publishers and blogs ...
... Candlewick Press has taken to sending emails about what they call BWBA (Books Woerth Blogging About) Selections.
Here are links to the latest: Swan Kingdom and My Dad's a Birdman.
Here are links to the latest: Swan Kingdom and My Dad's a Birdman.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Nigel Warburton ...
... on The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia by Bernard Suits. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Let's have a toast ...
... to the Top 10 Drunk American Writers. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I'm not sure about Poe. He's always sounded to me like a guy who just couldn't hold his liquor.
Update: A distinguished collegue wonders where all the women drunks are. I just read about Edna St.Vincent Millay, who I gather could put it away with the best of them. Any others?
I'm not sure about Poe. He's always sounded to me like a guy who just couldn't hold his liquor.
Update: A distinguished collegue wonders where all the women drunks are. I just read about Edna St.Vincent Millay, who I gather could put it away with the best of them. Any others?
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Poetic cross-pollination ...
... Vikram Seth's Three poems inspired by George Herbert. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Curiouser and curiouser ...
... Big Brain Theory: Have Cosmologists Lost Theirs? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The underlying premise of science is that if we get to the bottom of nature we will understand reality. Suppose that premise is false?
The underlying premise of science is that if we get to the bottom of nature we will understand reality. Suppose that premise is false?
Oracular, not sensible ...
... my colleague, Carlin Romano, on John Gray: The Triumph of 'Smugism'.
Is it any wonder that ... some Grayisms make no sense except on Alice-in-Wonderland terms? ("Nihilism is the idea that human life must be redeemed from meaninglessness.")
Is it any wonder that ... some Grayisms make no sense except on Alice-in-Wonderland terms? ("Nihilism is the idea that human life must be redeemed from meaninglessness.")
Monday, January 14, 2008
Jonathan Goodman has died ...
... according to Jacques Barzun, "the greatest living master of true-crime literature". (Hat tip, Dave Lull._
Thanks to Maxine ...
... who sent me this splendid post: Death on Helvellyn and walking in Ethiopia.
Don't miss this link.
Don't miss this link.
There is no idea ...
... so idiotic that some intellectual - or college president - will not embrace it: Glenn links to yet another.
The future of publishing?
... Salem author self-publishes herself into a novel $2m payday. (Hat tip, Karen Heller.)
This is excellent ...
... Prophet Motive.
... Gibran was familiar with Buddhist and Muslim holy books, and above all with the Bible, in both its Arabic and King James translations. (Those paradoxes of his come partly from the Sermon on the Mount.) In “The Prophet” he Osterized all these into a warm, smooth, interconfessional soup that was perfect for twentieth-century readers, many of whom longed for the comforts of religion but did not wish to pledge allegiance to any church, let alone to any deity who might have left a record of how he wanted them to behave. It is no surprise that when those two trends—anti-authoritarianism and a nostalgia for sanctity—came together and produced the sixties, “The Prophet” ’s sales climaxed. Nor is the spirit of the sixties gone from our world. It survives in the New Age movement—of which Gibran was a midwife ...
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The case for eloquence ...
... When Words Work a Special Magic. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The reason to study rhetoric is to be able to distinguish between mere eloquence and eloquence put to the service of substance. To have a nice voice, a commanding presence, and a way with words is not enough - it helps to have something to say. And sometimes the fellow who doesn't have such a great voice or a commanding presence or a way with words has precisely that.
The reason to study rhetoric is to be able to distinguish between mere eloquence and eloquence put to the service of substance. To have a nice voice, a commanding presence, and a way with words is not enough - it helps to have something to say. And sometimes the fellow who doesn't have such a great voice or a commanding presence or a way with words has precisely that.
Close that volume ...
... A Bookworm’s Holiday. (Hat tip, Dave Lull, who is for whatever reason still in Wisconsin and not in Philly at the 2008 ALA Midwinter Meeting Information.
Me, too ...
... late to this lists, that is, just like Peter Stothard. In fact, Peter's ahead of me. I haven't done one yet:
J K Who?
Evolution at work ...
...
Mandarin can use some variety, I gather. I am told Cantonese is much more interesting.
It's an ing mystery
Mandarin can use some variety, I gather. I am told Cantonese is much more interesting.
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... I look at Cardinal Schönborn's new book: A Catholic theologian on God and science.
... Desmond considers a real Elizabethan romance: A sympathetic look at Elizabeth and her Leicester.
... Scott Esposito explores the odd world of Quim Monzó: A subtle but potent, very potent, tale of sex, death.
... David Walton consider the Wagners, a tense and peculiar family if ever there was one: The soap opera that is the Wagners.
... and Sandy Bauers listens to A monologue that is by turns harrowing and compelling .
... Desmond considers a real Elizabethan romance: A sympathetic look at Elizabeth and her Leicester.
... Scott Esposito explores the odd world of Quim Monzó: A subtle but potent, very potent, tale of sex, death.
... David Walton consider the Wagners, a tense and peculiar family if ever there was one: The soap opera that is the Wagners.
... and Sandy Bauers listens to A monologue that is by turns harrowing and compelling .
Friday, January 11, 2008
An interesting Top 10 ...
... Top Genres of 2007.
What is most interesting is that poetry beat out medical and politics didn't even make the cut - newspaper editors might want to take note of this (actually, they should, but probably won't).
What is most interesting is that poetry beat out medical and politics didn't even make the cut - newspaper editors might want to take note of this (actually, they should, but probably won't).
Thursday, January 10, 2008
A mystery solved ....
... why we've heard so little from Bryan: A Note from the Lazy Hungover Bastard.
Good news, bad news ...
... A "grand narrative." (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This is great:
But I suspect the late David Stove would have some interesting things to say about a Darwinian theory of art.
This is great:
... Theory (capitalization is an English department affectation) never operated as a proper research program in any scientific sense — with hypotheses validated (or falsified) by experiment or accrued evidence. Theory was a series of intellectual fashion statements, clever slogans and postures, imported from France in the 60s, then developed out of Yale and other Theory hot spots. The academic work Theory spawned was noted more for its chosen jargons, which functioned like secret codes, than for any concern to establish truth or advance knowledge. It was all about careers and prestige.
But I suspect the late David Stove would have some interesting things to say about a Darwinian theory of art.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Filling a need ...
... one-stop shopping: Climate Debate Daily. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Everyone should applaud this - all the information, pro and con, gathered into one place.
Everyone should applaud this - all the information, pro and con, gathered into one place.
The holiday is past ...
... but it's never too late for Poem of the week: the Christmas competition. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
Monday, January 07, 2008
First it was asteroids ...
... now it's bugs: Scientists: Biting Insects May Have Killed Off Dinosaurs.
Think there's any possibility we haven't the faintist idea?
Think there's any possibility we haven't the faintist idea?
Not funny ...
... Lynne Scanlon on David Mamet. (Via Bill Peschel.)
The only thing of Mamet's I've really liked was the film House of Games. I think Glengarry Glen Ross, for instance, is completely unbelievable. First, I found it impossible to think the characters would have been able to sell an air conditioner in the Mojave Desert. I sensed no real understanding of business in general or the real estate business in particular. This is an "artist's conception" of what the business world is like (which is to say like the "art business" - strictly dog eat dog).
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Just as I thought ...
... Evolution Book Sees No Science-Religion Gap. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I went to Catholic schools and I was taught evolution in biology class. When I was in college, Teilhard de Chardin (whose Phenomenon of Man had an introduction by Julian Huxley) was big. I'm still something of a Teilhard disciple. But we'd better not go there just now. This was intended as a brief post.
I went to Catholic schools and I was taught evolution in biology class. When I was in college, Teilhard de Chardin (whose Phenomenon of Man had an introduction by Julian Huxley) was big. I'm still something of a Teilhard disciple. But we'd better not go there just now. This was intended as a brief post.
Two views ...
... of the same book: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
Here's Maxine's.
Here's the Guardian's: Let's play corpse and robbers.
I have to say I prefer Maxine's because it's more show than tell, though I understand - who better? - that Guttridge had a greater space constraint.
Here's Maxine's.
Here's the Guardian's: Let's play corpse and robbers.
I have to say I prefer Maxine's because it's more show than tell, though I understand - who better? - that Guttridge had a greater space constraint.
Bryan returns ...
... bearing wit and wisdom: What I Learned Over Christmas.
Having watched last night's Democratic Party debate, I can certainly agree that Barack Obama hides his intelligence well. And yes, Hillary does tend to be a-charming. But I don't think human beings are all dreadful. The tragedy of human beings is that they are all doing their best (myself excepted - I could do much better).
Earth vs. world ...
... The Taste of Silence. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
"If the poet is primarily concerned with earth—with displaying particular being and concrete reality—he will tend to conceive of poetry as a passive art, concerned with perception and preservation. ... If, on the other hand, the poet is more concerned with world—with the historical, mythic, and spiritual context that the poem creates or invokes—he will tend to see poetry as an active art, and in some sense even a domineering one."
This is a very thought-provoking piece, well worth reading and pondering. I am myself always uncomfortable with dichotomies and I am sure Kirsch does not mean that the two poetries are altogether mutually exclusive. I also think that Heidegger's oracular preferences and predilections may make him somewhat insensitive to pure song.
Just as I thought ...
... Alice Pitney has it in for Martin Manning: I endorse a candidate. Hat tip, Dave Lull, who I see has been in touch with Alice. Hmm.)
"There is more day to dawn ....
... The sun is but a morning star." Patrick Kurp on `Hard to Set in Motion'.
Usually, I am glad to awaken, and I like the pre-dawn darkness. I would also second Alec Guinness's Haydn suggestion. The sonatas especially are consistent demonstrations of sanity. And God knows, Patrcik is sure right about Stockhausen:
I’ll take Haydn under advisement. A saner choice, certainly, than Karlheinz Stockhausen, whose passing in December belatedly brightened an otherwise drab year. The composer will be remembered for describing the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as “the biggest work of art there has ever been.” Not surprisingly, he died of heart failure.
Ouch.
Ouch.
Today's Inquirer book page ...
... featuring the funky '70s, the Devil in Maine, and my disappointment in J.M. Coetzee's latest - and much more!
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Normal blogging ...
... should resume tomorrow. I still have obligations that are taking me away from my desk,
Friday, January 04, 2008
Bottoms up ...
... `They Observe Faraway Worlds'. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Drink is something I know a good deal about - though I haven't had once since 1989. I believe that, if one has a problem with it, the best thing is not to intellectualize it, but simply to admit that you like to get drunk. By reducing the problem to its lowest common denominator you have a better chance at arriving at a quick and correct solution to it.
Drink is something I know a good deal about - though I haven't had once since 1989. I believe that, if one has a problem with it, the best thing is not to intellectualize it, but simply to admit that you like to get drunk. By reducing the problem to its lowest common denominator you have a better chance at arriving at a quick and correct solution to it.
In memoriam ...
... Today in Literature notes that on this date in 1965 T.S. Eliot died. They quote some lines from "East Coker":
…You say I am repeating
Something I have said before. I shall say it again.
Shall I say it again? In order to arrive there,
To arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,
You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.
In order to arrive at what you do not know
You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.
In order to possess what you do not possess
You must go by the way of dispossession.
In order to arrive at what you are not
You must go through the way in which you are not.
And what you do not know is the only thing you know
And what you own is what you do not own
And where you are is where you are not....
For those who like that sort of thing ...
... that's the sort of thing they like: The Pleasures of Assassination. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Move to my neighborhood, Nige ...
... there's a gun store and firing range only yards from my house (you didn't know that, did you?): From Bloggery to Burglary.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
But first ...
... more on George MacDonald Fraser: The Times obit.
... also: Flashman and the Man from The Times. (Note original report of the Charge of the Light Brigade.)
... also: Flashman and the Man from The Times. (Note original report of the Charge of the Light Brigade.)
You may have noticed ...
... I have been too busy to blog much these past few days. I'm out of time now, too, but the pace will pick up. Till later.
Sad news ...
... George MacDonald Fraser has died and Bryan seems to have disappeared: A Few Words on George McDonald Fraser.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
The pornography of despair ...
... like the other kind, it sells: In 2008, let us challenge the Politics of Apocalypse.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
To predict ...
... or not to (courtesy of Dave Lull.)
David Warren is skeptical (as am I).
Some people at Edge are bold.
David Warren is skeptical (as am I).
Some people at Edge are bold.
Mostly cloudy ...
... In 2008, a 100 Percent Chance of Alarm.
Roger A. Pielke Jr., a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado, recently noted the very different reception received last year by two conflicting papers on the link between hurricanes and global warming. He counted 79 news articles about a paper in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, and only 3 news articles about one in a far more prestigious journal, Nature. ... It was, of course, the paper in the more obscure journal, which suggested that global warming is creating more hurricanes. The paper in Nature concluded that global warming has a minimal effect on hurricanes.
A comic debut ...
... of sorts. Levi Asher reviews Steve Martin's autobiography: Martin's brainy guide to stand-up comedy.
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