... San Francisco’s “finger man”: Zborowski revisited.
What I am envious of is that Cynthia is going to meet and talk with the great Robert Conquest. I can't wait to read what comes out of that. (BTW, thanks to having had friends in low places, I knew what a finger man is.)
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Gird your loins ...
... for the next big Nabokov controversy: Freeing "Pale Fire" From Pale Fire. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... 'The Hundred-Foot Journey' by Richard C. Morais: Slumdog sous-chef.
... The Washington Post and the Web revolution.
... Pearl Buck made the Chinese visible in the West.
... 'City of Lost Girls': A hard-boiled detective story with a romantic touch Factual nuggets, folksy insight in a Phillies doubleheader.
... The Washington Post and the Web revolution.
... Pearl Buck made the Chinese visible in the West.
... 'City of Lost Girls': A hard-boiled detective story with a romantic touch Factual nuggets, folksy insight in a Phillies doubleheader.
Thought for the day ...
In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.- Eric Hoffer, born on this dare in 1902
(Bear this in mind the next time you hear someone from old media complaining about new media.)
Saturday, July 24, 2010
OK, let's take a look ...
... I love this song (it evokes intense personal reminiscence). But let's be honest. It is utterly contrived. "I'm just livin' in a dump like this." Well, Bruce wasn't living in any dump at the time, and never had. "I'm sick of sittin' around here tryin' to write this book." Oh, come on. And yet, as I say, I love it. Maybe because I did live what he imagined. And he imagined it well.
In case you wondered ...
... Is It Safe to Eat Breakfast. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I usually don't get around to it until about noon, though I am usually up by 6. I don't usually wake up hungry and I only eat when I feel hungry. And yes, I do have coffee, but not until about 8:30. The bacon I eat is made up the street by Sonny D'Angelo and has no preservatives. I tend to eat a lot of fruit, and I prefer game meat. As for exercise, it's Chen-style tai chi and walking. Yesterday, despite blistering heat, I did nearly 10 miles.
Not so fast ...
... Your Move: The Maze of Free Will. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
It’s undeniable that the way you are initially is a result of your genetic inheritance and early experience.
OK. Well, here's my move: To begin with, one could argue -- and it seems a reasonable argument to me and sounder scientifically -- that while we are conditioned by our genetic inheritance and early experience, we are not determined by them. Since when do my experiences determine my subsequent behavior? They certainly influence it. Moreover, I don 't see that the notion of free will necessarily implies full and ultimate responsibility. My responsibility and my knowledge are both as finite as I am. My judgment is imperfect, and my choices may -- and often are -- flawed. Get real, professor.
(You may also know, contrary to popular opinion, that current science gives us no more reason to think that determinism is false than that determinism is true.)
Well, apparently Ian McEwan doesn't know that, given what he is quoted as saying in the final paragraph, that the "arguments [against free will] seem watertight." McEwan also says that "I take on full accountability for the little ship of my being, even if I do not have control of its course. It is this sense of being the possessor of a consciousness that makes us feel responsible for it.” But by his logic he isn't taking on anything. That's just the way he happens to feel, and he can't help feeling that way because he has been determined from the start to feel that way. You're either free -- to whatever extent -- or you're not.
Thought for the day ...
All human wisdom is summed up in two words; wait and hope.- Alexander Dumas, born on this date in 1802
Friday, July 23, 2010
Warning ...
... this may offend. I looked on YouTube for some of the punk bands I rather liked in the early '80s. Real punk bands. Not the synthetic crap that came later and persists to this day. I still have a whole bunch of 45s that I have to transfer to CD. Anyway, this is actually quite funny, as much of the original punk was. Though it is, I forewarn thee, raunchy humor. Remember that these were Frank's wild years. And, trust me, they were quite wild. Just think: You may be so offended, you'll never visit this site again! But there is so much unnecessary seriousness among litblogs. Bet Ed Champion likes this.
Ans jere's something even more offensive (though do note that the speaker could not speak if he met them):
Most underrated ...
.. great true rocker. What's a true rocker? Well, let's put it this way. I am a first generation rock 'n' roller. Bruce Springsteen is second-generation. Hence, even his best album -- Nebraska -- is in fact mannerist. My buddies and I in high school laughed our asses off about Charlie Starkweather. Hey, give us a break. We were only teenagers. Bruce was 9 when Charlie and Caril went on their spree.
Intriguing ...
... The Struggle for the (Possible) Soul of David Eagleman. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Though Eagleman’s scientific and literary lives seem radically different on the surface, they are part of the same creative endeavor: to deepen our understanding of a complex world we can never fully grasp. Since scientists mostly talk about what they know, Eagleman’s emphasis on our ignorance may seem out of character. Eagleman offers an analogy: The work of science is like building a pier out into the ocean. We excitedly add on to the pier little by little, but then we look around and say, “Wait a minute, I’m at the end of the pier, but there’s a lot more out there.” The ocean of what we don’t know always dwarfs what we do know, he says. “During our lifetimes, we will get further on that pier. We’ll understand more at the end of our lives than we do now, but it ain’t going to cover the ocean.”
Thought for the day ...
An age which is incapable of poetry is incapable of any kind of literature except the cleverness of a decadence.- Raymond Chandler, born on this date in 1888
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Birthday boy ...
... On Edward Hopper's SUMMER EVENING.
There is an excellent poem that pertains to this painting in Seeded Light, a review of which is scheduled to run soon, I hope, in The Inquirer.
Thought for the day ...
My scientific studies have afforded me great gratification; and I am convinced that it will not be long before the whole world acknowledges the results of my work.- Gregor Mendel, born on this date in 1822
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Why does it not surprise ...
... that Jacques Brel would have been taken with the role of Don Quixote? For if he as a madman lived, he surely as a wise one died.
Explaining my absence ...
Blogging has been light because (a) I had a review due that I found found hard to write (only so much space and I wanted to say more than I could) and (b) I just had the first of two root canal sessions. The second is on Friday morning, then they fit the cap. Ah, the pleasures of growing old.
Birthday boy ...
... Happy Birthday, Papa. Ernest Hemingway's Life In Photos/Hemingway On Crime.
I knew it was Hemingway's birthday and thought of quoting him for the thought for the day. But, being perverse, I went with Marshall McLuhan.
I knew it was Hemingway's birthday and thought of quoting him for the thought for the day. But, being perverse, I went with Marshall McLuhan.
Wasting passions, religious fervour ...
... and fits of torpor. What more could you want? Life in exotic Palo Alto.
Hmm ...
... Times loses almost 90% of online readership. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I already subscribe to the WSJ online and to the TLS (both Murdoch properties). I like the Times, but thought two subscriptions was enough.
I already subscribe to the WSJ online and to the TLS (both Murdoch properties). I like the Times, but thought two subscriptions was enough.
Danger zone ...
... Sticking the world together with words. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Foreign languages are unsettling. They remind us how arbitrary the mental world we live in is. Silence is worse. When we try to imagine consciousness without words, when we think of a day, even an hour, without any words in the head, we are overcome by a kind of vertigo. As when we think of death.
Thought for the day ...
An administrator in a bureaucratic world is a man who can feel big by merging his non-entity in an abstraction. A real person in touch with real things inspires terror in him.- Marshall McLuhan, born on this date in 1911
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Philly book scene ...
... Local Area Events. Featuring Sloane Crosley. I remember when Sloane used to visit my office in the days when she was a publicist. Glad to see she's doing well.
Thought for the day ...
Often have I wondered with much curiosity as to our coming into this world and what will follow our departure.- Petrarch, born on this date in 1304
Monday, July 19, 2010
Thought for the day ...
A human life is a schooling for eternity.- Gottfried Keller, born on this date in 1819
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Indeed ...
... Sentimentality is poisoning our society. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I am, I am pretty sure, immune to sentimentality.
Sentimentalists try to make up for a lack of feeling by emotional exhibitionism. Men who feel little for women or children often have their names tattooed on their arms; the tattoo says, in effect, "Look what I am prepared to do for you." This is all too often a prelude to abandonment; the man is prepared to have himself tattooed, but not prepared for the slow grind of lasting support, which requires genuine feeling.
I am, I am pretty sure, immune to sentimentality.
Recommended ...
... by Ed Champion: Jennifer Howard's review of Nicholas Carr's "The Shallows" and William Powers's "Hamlet's Blackberry".
Thought for the day ...
For me, poetry is always a search for order.- Elizabeth Jennings, born on this date in 1926
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Oh, really ...
... The Trouble With Amazon.
The loss of serendipity that comes with not knowing exactly what one is looking for is lamented by ex-Amazon editor James Marcus: "Personalization strikes me as a mixed blessing. While it gives people what they want—or what they think they want—it also engineers spontaneity out of the picture. The happy accident, the freakish discovery, ceases to exist. And that's a problem."
This morning, the intrepid Dave Lull sent me a link to a piece in the Guardian detailing various summer reading choices. Looking through it I learned that J.A. Baker's diaries and another of his books have been gathered together into a single volume that also includes his preternaturally wonderful The Peregrine. I just went to Amazon UK and ordered a copy. All of this seems to me every bit as serendipitous as stumbling upon it while browsing in a book store, which might never happen anytime soon in this country.
The notion that the more the choices you have the worse choices you make is risible on its face. It all depends on who is doing the choosing and what mental and experiential equipment one brings to the task.
The notion that the more the choices you have the worse choices you make is risible on its face. It all depends on who is doing the choosing and what mental and experiential equipment one brings to the task.
Much of interest here ...
... Let's get together: summer reading recommendations. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Some random comments:
I gather that Margaret Drabble Pharisaically exempts herself from private greed.
Richard Ford says, " think of Flem Snopes with a law degree." That would be Bill Clinton, right?
Thanks to John Gray to alerting all of us to new works by J.A. Baker.
What Richard Mabey has to say about Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini's book is most interesting.
Some random comments:
I gather that Margaret Drabble Pharisaically exempts herself from private greed.
Richard Ford says, " think of Flem Snopes with a law degree." That would be Bill Clinton, right?
Thanks to John Gray to alerting all of us to new works by J.A. Baker.
What Richard Mabey has to say about Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini's book is most interesting.
Bryan discusses ...
... Secular Britain. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Jesus said that his kingdom is not of this world. It might be better if more of his followers took him at his word. "... Smallbone is different, he is passionate. He prays intently. His relationship with God is the heart of the matter and we are intended to approve this relationship." It is so easy to think that one's political activities involve doing God's work. The work of the faithful is to pray.
Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler write in their book Connected, “One way to make social networks stable is to arrange them so that everyone is connected to a node that can never be removed… If God were seen as a node on a network, large groups of people could be bound together not just by a common idea but also by a specific social relationship to every other believer.”
Jesus said that his kingdom is not of this world. It might be better if more of his followers took him at his word. "... Smallbone is different, he is passionate. He prays intently. His relationship with God is the heart of the matter and we are intended to approve this relationship." It is so easy to think that one's political activities involve doing God's work. The work of the faithful is to pray.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Thought for the day ...
Real love is a pilgrimage. It happens when there is no strategy, but it is very rare because most people are strategists.- Anita Brookner, born on this date in 1928
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Conversation ...
... Hugh Hewitt and Christopher Hitchens. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Well, I mean, I don’t mind. It doesn’t hurt me. But for the same reason, I wish it was more consoling. But I have to say there’s some extremely nice people, including people known to you, have said that I’m in their prayers, and I can only say that I’m touched by the thought.
Great minds ...
... Nige on Kay Ryan's Ladder.
I don't know Kay Ryan well, but I can tell you that she is super-cool. I, too, am immersed in the great Muriel Spark, for reasons that will emerge soon enough.
I don't know Kay Ryan well, but I can tell you that she is super-cool. I, too, am immersed in the great Muriel Spark, for reasons that will emerge soon enough.
Student of crime ...
.. who studied in the right place: On crime & thrillers: Get Capone, the Secret Plot That Captured America’s Most Wanted Gangster.
FYI again ...
... Notes from the Anthony Powell Society.
I've probably mentioned this before, but the first book I reviewed for The Inquirer -- way back in 1976 -- was of Anthony Powell's Hearing Secret Harmonies, the concluding volume of A Dance to the Music of Time.
I've probably mentioned this before, but the first book I reviewed for The Inquirer -- way back in 1976 -- was of Anthony Powell's Hearing Secret Harmonies, the concluding volume of A Dance to the Music of Time.
I'm late with ...
... but lately I am late with everything: Spontaneous combustion (June 2010). (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Wonderful ...
... The upshot: “Guardian” contest for blurbing Dan Brown. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I would have Brown's book beyond satire, but it seems I was wrong.
I would have Brown's book beyond satire, but it seems I was wrong.
Thought for the day ...
To know much and taste nothing -- of what use is that?- St. Bonaventure (1221-1274), the Seraphic Doctor, whose feast is today
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Brilliant ...
... Chaos theory and divine action. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I am routinely astounded by Mark's clarity and insight.
I am routinely astounded by Mark's clarity and insight.
Last week's batch ...
... of TLS Letters: Sporty Churchill, 'My Animal Life', Foreign Secretaries, and more!
Something for Nige ...
... a photo by my friend Eric Mencher of a butterfly with transparent wings, taken in Guatemala.
Thought for the day ...
The very essence of literature is the war between emotion and intellect, between life and death. When literature becomes too intellectual - when it begins to ignore the passions, the emotions - it becomes sterile, silly, and actually without substance.- Isaac Bashevis Singer, born on this date in 1904
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The education underground ....
... 'I'm a Saboteur.' (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This certainly bears looking into, which I will do once I climb out from under a pile of deadlines.
This certainly bears looking into, which I will do once I climb out from under a pile of deadlines.
Thought for the day ...
Cowards die many times before their actual deaths.- Julius Caesar, born on this date in 100 B.C.
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