Thursday, June 30, 2011
Homage ...
... A poem for Robert Kroetsch - The Globe and Mail. (Hat tips to Rus Bowden and Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
We do not know the true value of our moments until they have undergone the test of memory.- Georges Duhamel, born on this date in 1884
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Thought for the day ...
A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.- Antoine de Saint-Exupery, born on this date in 1900
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Digital humanities ...
... Poetry in motion : Nature : Nature Publishing Group. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
When the characters are really alive before their author, the latter does nothing but follow them in their action, in their words, in the situations which they suggest to him.- Luigi Pirandello, born on this date in 1867
Monday, June 27, 2011
Odd case ...
... Patrick J. Reilly: Are Catholic Colleges Catholic Enough? - WSJ.com. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Well, if they're only posing as Catholic colleges, they don't deserve to regarded as such.
Well, if they're only posing as Catholic colleges, they don't deserve to regarded as such.
Thought for the day ...
A great many things which in times of lesser knowledge we imagined to be superstitious or useless, prove today on examination to have been of immense value to mankind.- Lafcadio Hearn, born on this date in 1850
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Good for what ails you ...
I have been lying in bed nursing this bloody cold or whatever that I have contracted and to stave off boredom read Don Wentworth's Past All Traps (more regarding which here).
It is a refreshing gathering of concentration, informed throughout by the true spirit of haiku. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so I will only cite two that I especially liked:
The life of the mind
will be the death
of us all
and:
Pinching the bridge
of my glasses
for cleaning --
my father's
fingers
It is a refreshing gathering of concentration, informed throughout by the true spirit of haiku. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so I will only cite two that I especially liked:
The life of the mind
will be the death
of us all
and:
Pinching the bridge
of my glasses
for cleaning --
my father's
fingers
Thought for the day ...
I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.- Pearl S. Buck, born on this date in 1892
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Emendations ...
... Such a loon werrabackwoods in revised Finnegan's Wake | The Australian. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Nothing lackluster ...
... Shelf Life: On 'Granta' | The Nation. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I know John Freeman. I am not in the least surprised that Granta, under him, is "in robust health."
I know John Freeman. I am not in the least surprised that Granta, under him, is "in robust health."
Thought for the day ...
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Change ...
... BBC News - The rise of the indie author. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... See also: Self publishing writer becomes million seller. (Hat tip, Joseph Chovanes.)
... See also: Self publishing writer becomes million seller. (Hat tip, Joseph Chovanes.)
Thought for the day ...
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute! Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Only engage, and then the mind grows heated. Begin, and then the work will be completed.- Jean Anouilh, born on this date in 1910
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Like a true symbol ...
... it is what it represents: Anecdotal Evidence: `They Are Strange Because They Are Solid'.
Thought for the day ...
Out of the dark we came, into the dark we go. Like a storm-driven bird at night we fly out of the Nowhere; for a moment our wings are seen in the light of the fire, and, lo! we are gone again into the Nowhere.- H. Rider Haggard, born on this date in 1856
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
FYI ...
... Big society needs big religion - Philosophy and Life. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Blond had a deeper critique too. Putnam was insisting that it's being part of a community of faith that matters, regardless of the nature of the faith that community represents. But mightn't the reason why an American Buddhist finds they have a lot in common with an American Christian, say, be not because they are both religious, but because they areboth American. In other words, Blond continued, to be American is, in a lower case sense, to be Christian - to be ethically shaped by the religion that predominantly informed the founding of America, and has arguably championed the virtues of equality, social concern and participation more than any other. Putnam replied that research in non-Christian cultures would have to be done to determine the case.
Hmm ...
... Instapundit: Blog Archive - WAR ON SCIENCE: “We may think the charged relationship between science and religion is mainly a problem for Christian fundamentalists, but ....
I knew Hitchens and Dawkins had taken on Islam, but hadn't realize Harris and Dennett had. Good to know they're equal opportunity critics.
I knew Hitchens and Dawkins had taken on Islam, but hadn't realize Harris and Dennett had. Good to know they're equal opportunity critics.
Escape from the literal ...
... A Momentary Taste of Being: Equal Opportunity Offense.
My own problem with Karen Armstrong is that, too often, I find her tendentious.
My own problem with Karen Armstrong is that, too often, I find her tendentious.
Beep, beep ...
... Jack Kerouac Tailgates T.S. Eliot Into the App Store - NYTimes.com. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Flaubert
What’s the story with Madame Bovary?
There’s no question that it’s one of the most celebrated novels out there - and yet, having finished it a few nights ago, I found myself wondering: really, that’s it?
All right, there’s a universe embedded in the detail; and all right, that detail amounts to portraiture of the literary variety. But come on: what is it about Madame Bovary that we are supposed to be attracted to? And another thing: where’s the sexuality? I mean, the real sexuality...
I’ve said this to Frank before, but I have serious trouble connecting with that perfected element of nineteenth century novels. Because for all the precision packed into Flaubert’s book (and others like it), there’s a curious lack of detail when it comes to the important things - like Madame Bovary’s infidelity. I mean: just because she runs her fingers against the cuff of her lover’s coat doesn’t mean that the sex was good. And if it does, well, I missed the hints, the moans.
Come on, Gustave: Madame’s driven to the ultimate act of self-destruction, and yet we’re never given access to her bedroom - and her behavior when she’s in there.
Don’t get me wrong, there were parts of this book that I greatly enjoyed (especially Flaubert’s treatment of rural France), but I found it a frustration: if there is going to be sex and sexuality there need to be ideas hovering around them. And this is where Flaubert, in the end, had me confused: what drives - I mean, what really drives - Madame Bovary toward adultery? And what is the meaning of the sex-act to which she ultimately commits herself?
Take that!
... Flavorwire - The 30 Harshest Author-on-Author Insults In History. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
Bureaucracy, the rule of no one, has become the modern form of despotism.- Mary McCarthy, born on this date in 1912
Monday, June 20, 2011
Convenience at a cost ...
... Reading in the Cloud by Sue Halpern | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
Being an artist means ceasing to take seriously that very serious person we are when we are not an artist.- Jose Ortega y Gasset
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Plus ça change ...
... Character study: the shock of the old - Philosophy and Life. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Eliot redux ...
... Reading Eliot in the 21st Century by Brian Kelly - The New Criterion. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
I'm no fan ...
... but that's not what this blog is about: A good man is hard to find: Carl Weber, Tony Kushner, and Bertolt Brecht onstage in Texas | The Book Haven.
I think Brecht was a genuinely bad man-- I think he treated women horrendously -- and I don't especially like his plays.
I think Brecht was a genuinely bad man-- I think he treated women horrendously -- and I don't especially like his plays.
Joyce revisited ...
... courtesy of Dave Lull, who found these and sent them to me on Bloomsday. Couldn't open them at work, though. So here they are now:
... Changed, but still Joycean at its core.
... Who's afraid of James Joyce? A guide to reading 'Ulysses'.
... Hero of Joyce's gem gets his 100-year due.
... Changed, but still Joycean at its core.
... Who's afraid of James Joyce? A guide to reading 'Ulysses'.
... Hero of Joyce's gem gets his 100-year due.
Profile ...
... Alan Hollinghurst: Sex on the brain | Books | Books | The Guardian. (Hat tip, Lee Lowe.)
Friday, June 17, 2011
The quintessence ...
... of '50s cool. In my teens, when Blossom would appear on the Jack Paar show, I was in love with her. Eventually, I had the good fortune to meet her. I still loved her.
Surprises ...
... The Pleasures and Perils of Creative Translation - NYTimes.com. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Homer of Arabia ...
.. Robert Graves's "A Soldier's Homer" | The New Republic. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Graves is wrong about Eisenhower, however, who in his early days in the Army worked as an editor.
Graves is wrong about Eisenhower, however, who in his early days in the Army worked as an editor.
Well, well ...
... Guardian says digital - not print - now its priority - Press Gazette. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
Men want recognition of their work, to help them to believe in themselves.- Dorothy Richardson, who died on this date in 1957
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Sorry, I cannot agree ...
... In lieu of prison, bring back the lash - The Washington Post.
Whipping a person is cruel. It is an infliction of pain. If I saw someone flogging somebody, I'd rip the whip out of his hand and beat the shit out of him. But that's just me. (Oh, and if you think that's just bluster, well, you're wrong, because you don't know me.)
Whipping a person is cruel. It is an infliction of pain. If I saw someone flogging somebody, I'd rip the whip out of his hand and beat the shit out of him. But that's just me. (Oh, and if you think that's just bluster, well, you're wrong, because you don't know me.)
Elizabethan wiring ...
... Literary Review - Philip Davis on Shakespeare and Neurology. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
It's today ...
... Bloomsday Rosenbach Museum and Library.
... Bloomsday: How to Celebrate James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... Bloomsday: How to Celebrate James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
If you are a writer you locate yourself behind a wall of silence and no matter what you are doing, driving a car or walking or doing housework you can still be writing, because you have that space.- Joyce Carol Oates, born on this date in 1952
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The art of acceptance ...
... Nigeness: Rylance Walks through Wall. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Like Nige, "I hope the trend catches on."
Like Nige, "I hope the trend catches on."
Just plain dumb ...
... People Argue Just to Win, Scholars Assert - NYTimes.com. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Try this thought on for size: Reason serves more than one purpose, can be used correctly or incorrectly, even misused. Ever notice you can do a lot of different things with your hands. Well, you can do a lot of different things with reason, too, some useful, some not.
Try this thought on for size: Reason serves more than one purpose, can be used correctly or incorrectly, even misused. Ever notice you can do a lot of different things with your hands. Well, you can do a lot of different things with reason, too, some useful, some not.
This says it all ...
... for me: Nigeness: Death, etc. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This was also the view of Pope Pius XII.
... the best hope lies in greatly improved palliative care and a more liberal hand with the morphine.
This was also the view of Pope Pius XII.
Thought for the day ...
My spring is just this:
a single bamboo shoot,
a willow branch
a single bamboo shoot,
a willow branch
- Kobayashi Issa, born on this date in 1763
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Poetry collections ...
... Blah blah blah by William Logan - The New Criterion. (Hat tip, Dave lull.)
Progress ...
... A.S. Byatt on men's-only clubs in the United Kingdom. - By A.S. Byatt - Slate Magazine. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
I couldn't claim that I have never felt the urge to explore evil, but when you descend into hell you have to be very careful.- Kathleen Raine, born on this date in 1908
Monday, June 13, 2011
Historical Musings
As a history teacher, I’ve always found it interesting to discuss with high schoolers the complicated idea of ‘causation’ (that is, what caused, what contributed to, past events).
What’s striking about conversations involving this topic is the extent to which students are willing (often through no fault of their own) to attribute events to ideologies - as if Nazism itself were responsible for the Holocaust.
Regarding Nazism (and Fascism, too), I stress that, without Nazis, Nazism (as an ideology) would have been unable to do, well, to do anything.
This, I think, is key: that students confront the idea that systems of belief are not, in and of themselves, capable of destruction. Ideology becomes dangerous - in a historical sense - when individuals activate their core tenets.
At the high school level, conversations involving causation can lead in other directions as well. Most rewarding, I think, are those which involve the idea of ‘attribution.’
Continuing for a moment with the example of the Second World War: students must address in their thinking the notion that Germany (with a capital ‘G’) was not in itself responsible for the Holocaust.
True, that country initiated the events which conspired against Europe's Jews, but again, a nation cannot act without individuals. To attribute to Germany (as many text books do) blame for the Holocaust seems, therefore, as irresponsible as attributing that same umbrella of blame to Nazism.
After discussions involving ideology and attribution, students, I find, are more effectively positioned to handle the crux of the issue involving causation - that is, that individuals, and individual action, trigger historical events. To get at the Holocaust, students need to wrestle with documents which reflect the mindset, the priorities, of the German people.
While it can be an awkward process for students - to say nothing of nations - to come to terms with who, exactly, ‘became’ a Nazi, or a Fascist, or a Collaborator (in France), these discussions are important - vital, even - in our ability to accurately recreate the past in American classrooms today.
Thought for the day ...
Paradoxical as it may seem, to believe in youth is to look backward; to look forward we must believe in age.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Eulogy ...
... Peter Stothard - Times Online - WBLG: Josephine Hart in a few words. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
The priceless galaxy of misinformation called the mind.- Djuna Barnes, born on this date in 1892
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Mr. Kink ...
... Ray Davies Talks About Coming Shows and Albums - WSJ.com. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I thought the reference in this piece to The Fugs as a garage band rather odd. One of its co-founders (along with the late Tuli Kupferberg) was Ed Sanders, whom I first knew in college. St. Joe's literary magazine actually subscribed to Sanders's mimeographed magazine Fuck You: A Magazine of the Arts. The Fugs started, I think, around 1964, long before the term "garage band" came into use.
Thought for the day ...
A playwright must be his own audience. A novelist may lose his readers for a few pages; a playwright never dares lose his audience for a minute.- Terrence Rattigan, born 100 years ago today.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
About time ...
... somebody noticed the Ironstone Sculpture Garden: Art and Architecture � Hue Architecture Thoughts.
David Tothero is the guy who made The General, who graces out patio garden and makes my every morning interesting.
David Tothero is the guy who made The General, who graces out patio garden and makes my every morning interesting.
Quite interesting ...
... given the subject: Duh, Bor-ing - Commentary Magazine.
Of course, it is by the great Joseph Epstein. My only contribution is to note, once again, a key distinction: One may be bored, but it is not boring.
Of course, it is by the great Joseph Epstein. My only contribution is to note, once again, a key distinction: One may be bored, but it is not boring.
Born on this date ...
... the great Carl Nielsen. This is final movement of his Symphony No. 4 ("Inextingushable").
Thought for the day ...
An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.- Charles Dickens, who died on this date in 1870
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Greatest app ever ...
... Faber launches The Waste Land app - video | Books | guardian.co.uk/. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
But does it let you see fear in a handful of dust?
But does it let you see fear in a handful of dust?
RIP ...
... Hans Keilson, Novelist of Life in Nazi-Run Europe, Dies at 101 - NYTimes.com. (Hat tip, John Brumfield.)
More to listen to ...
... "The Enigma of the Infinitesimal" - By Mark Strand - Slate Magazine. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Hmm ...
... Larry Sanger Blog - Is there a new geek anti-intellectualism? (Hat tip, Ed Champion.)
But is opposition to academic knowledge necessarily anti-intellectual? It is ahardly the only approach to knowledge and it may well not be the best. Professors of philosophy are not necessarily philosophers.
But is opposition to academic knowledge necessarily anti-intellectual? It is ahardly the only approach to knowledge and it may well not be the best. Professors of philosophy are not necessarily philosophers.
Thought for the day ...
A young musician plays scales in his room and only bores his family. A beginning writer, on the other hand, sometimes has the misfortune of getting into print.- Marguerite Yourcenar, born on this date in 1903
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
For once I am stunned ...
... and believe me, folks, I've been around the block a few times: Instapundit - Blog Archive - SELF-DESCRIBED “PROGRESSIVE FEMINIST FANGIRLS” swoon for Anthony Weiner…
Camden town ...
... the one across from Philadelphia ... as seem by Debbie in watercolor. (You have to click it on.)
I completely agree ...
... Orwell Watch #9: “I take full responsibility for…” | The Book Haven.
The problem, of course, as Cynthia indicates, is that people who say "I take full responsibility" simply have no idea what responsibility is.
The problem, of course, as Cynthia indicates, is that people who say "I take full responsibility" simply have no idea what responsibility is.
Remembering ...
... Jung at 50 - today, pt 1 - Philosophy and Life. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Jung figured in the only precognitive dream I have ever had. About a year before his death, I had a dream in which I was reading the Evening Bulletin and what I was reading was an obit of Jung. Then, about a year later, I opened the Bulletin one afternoon and there was the obit. It seemed just like the one I had seen in my dream.
World citizens ...
... True Poets Don’t Belong to Any Country: Ilan Stavans on Latin American Poetry | Molossus. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
In a sense, maybe.
In a sense, maybe.
FYI ...
... Practical Tips on Writing a Book from 23 Brilliant Authors | NeuroTribes. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Hmm ...
... Richard Dawkins heads lineup at private 18,000-a-year university | Education | The Guardian. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
And another ...
... born on this date in 1917, Dean Martin, a greater singer than most people realize, here with the wondrous Judy Holliday, who was, by the way, the childhood friend of, of all people. Patricia Highsmith. This is a splendid clip.
Also born on this date ...
... in 1848, Paul Gauguin. This is Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
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