Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Dean Moriarty ...
... Neal Cassady was born 85 years ago today: The Grateful Dead, “Cassidy” (Great Moments in Pop Music History). (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
Every man hath a good and a bad angel attending on him in particular all his life long.- Robert Burton, born on this date in 1577
Monday, February 07, 2011
Coffin and ocean ...
... `Growing Grim Around the Mouth'.
I've been to Arrowhead myself, and to the library in Pittsfield that has Melville's desk.
Uneven distribution ...
... A Literary Glass Ceiling? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I suspect The Inquirer might come off pretty well in this regard. I had a lot a women reviewing on a regular basis. But I never thought of it that way. They were just very good reviewers.
Digitizing Iceland's literature
Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive, wants to digitize all the books of Icelandic literature, which apparently consists of around 50,000 volumes, and make it open source. More links and info here.
Thought for the day ...
The trouble with organizing a thing is that pretty soon folks get to paying more attention to the organization than to what they're organized for.- Laura Ingalls Wilder, born on this date in 1867
Sunday, February 06, 2011
A final thought ...
One way to make sure crime doesn't pay would be to let the government run it.- Ronald Reagan, born on this date in 1911
More brilliance ...
... Paywall to Surround Philadelphia. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This is almost funny. A commenter asks me to remove a link to the site, because he can't get back from it, and an email correspondent writes to say, "this design is so terrible and so non-intuitive that I don't know where to begin. It is literally unusable, forcing the user to give up because you can't easily link to articles, respond to comments, much less find anything. This is a suicidal design. ... God, what an embarrassment." And they think people are going to want to pay for this?
I give up ...
... I have already wasted too much time trying to link to individual reviews on the The Inquirer's new website. The links all turned out to send you to the page on which the review appeared. Only The Inquirer could come up with an "improvement" that makes it more difficult to navigate than any newspaper site I know of. Geez.
I hope people will weigh in on this. It may just be I am too dense and too old to get it.
I hope people will weigh in on this. It may just be I am too dense and too old to get it.
Update: I did as my commenter asked.
Post bumped.
On the other hand ...
... the mediocre are always at their best: the unutterable mediocrity of contemporary Britain. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
Should not the Society of Indexers be know as Indexers, Society of, The?- Keith Waterhouse, born on this date in 1929
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Thought for the day ...
Worshiping the Devil is no more insane than worshiping God...It is precisely at the moment when positivism is at its high-water mark that mysticism stirs into life and the follies of occultism begin.- J.-K. Huysmans, born on this date in 1848
Friday, February 04, 2011
Bloggus interruptus ...
Debbie and I will shortly take off for the wilds of New Jersey (yes, there still are some such). I am pretty sure I will be without an internet connection. So you won't be hearing from me until late tomorrow or night or early Sunday.
Cautionary tale ...
... The Virus of Hysteria.
... the Victorian anti-vaccination movement discovered, and maybe even invented, a fundamental principle of modern pressure-group politics: always make lots of noise. It is noise that makes the world go round as much as money, with truth coming in a poor third; and noise is difficult to counteract.
Thought for the day ...
A god who let us prove his existence would be an idol.- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, born on this date in 1906
Thursday, February 03, 2011
This week's batch ...
... of TLS Letters: Howard ends Classics?, Islamic law, Tocqueville, and more!
Highly recommended ...
... Spartacus Road plus?
The book is excellent. Here is my review: 'A Journey Through Ancient Italy': A walk that blends past with present. (Sorry about all those ads.)
The book is excellent. Here is my review: 'A Journey Through Ancient Italy': A walk that blends past with present. (Sorry about all those ads.)
Rumors of obsolescence ...
... The End of Blogging. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Whatever blogs have become, there seems to be universal agreement that the format that made them ubiquitous—the reverse-chronological aggregation accompanied by commentary—is not long for this world, and Mr. Denton's scoop-friendly redesign would seem to be the best evidence of that. In fact, the decline of the blog has come so quickly, one has to wonder whether we ever really liked the medium at all.
"Universal agreement" means, well, that agreement is universal (includes all particulars within a given class). In other words, means nobody disagrees with it. But can that be so? I'm not sure I agree, and because I'm not sure, I can't be said to agree. So that makes agreement at least infinitesimally less than universal.
In his November farewell post, after a five-year stint on the Atlantic blog, Marc Ambinder wrote that it will be a relief to head to the National Journal, where he will feel no compulsion to turn every piece into the opinion of "a web-based personality called 'Marc Ambinder' that people read because it's 'Marc Ambinder,' rather than because it's good or interesting."
This seems a bit disingenuous on Ambinder's part. There are people who read, say, Maureen Dowd or Paul Krugman because it's Dowd or Krugman, not because it's good or interesting. People get to like certain writers and their take on things. It's pretty common, Marc. And it predates blogs.
Have to think about this ...
... a most interesting question is posed at the end of this column: Audio files: Sticking a fork in the (expletive) of my recent Miles Davis obsession.
WFTC editor Scott Stein alerted me that I was referenced in some of the comments. Well, it's not an easy to answer. But I'll see what I can come up with.
WFTC editor Scott Stein alerted me that I was referenced in some of the comments. Well, it's not an easy to answer. But I'll see what I can come up with.
Happy Xin Mao ...
... Today is the first day of Year 4708, the Year of the Rabbit, by the Chinese calendar. Debbie and I went to a wonderful New Year's Eve dinner last night, at which we both stuffed ourselves. A young woman named Kathryn taught me all sorts of things about Chinese, and I even surprised myself by successfully pronouncing a few -- very few -- Chinese words.
Thought for the day ...
In the Church, considered as a social organism, the mysteries inevitably degenerate into beliefs.- Simone Weil, born on this date in 1909
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Turnabout ...
... Mind may be more real than matter. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Perhaps this has some bearing.
... perhaps it's time to consider the possibility that the hard problem of consciousness is not primarily to do with consciousness, but is to do with materialism. Perhaps consciousness is thought hard from this point of view because, in fact, energy, information or something quite like consciousness is the basic stuff of the cosmos? Matter might be the epiphenomenon, not mind. As Keith Ward entertainingly puts it in his new book, More Than Matter: "Minds are not illusory ghosts in real machines. On the contrary, machines are spectral, transitory phenomena appearing to an intelligible world of minds."
Perhaps this has some bearing.
Hmm ...
... A Response to Critics and On Sam Harris's Response to His Critics. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I certainly agree with Brandon Watson that "Harris's tendency to get sidetracked into polemic repeatedly, and I mean repeatedly, weakens the force of otherwise straightforward argument virtually every time he argues." But I also think, if we're going to be scientific about it, that we should start by doing what one usually does when faced with a complex problem: simplify it to whatever extent it can be simplified. I don't think many people doubt that morality can be studied by science, or that there are dimensions to morality worth scrutinizing scientifically. But that by no means suggests that science can serve as a basis for morality, which is what I think Harris is driving at. Biology, for instance, does not serve as the basis for life. Life serves as the basis for biology. Something that is studied necessarily predates the study of that something and that something must find its origin, therefore, is something besides the study of it. So it seems to me that the fundamental premise is dubious.
Not dead yet ...
We missed out on snow this time around, and the rain didn't amount to much, either. But I had to go up onto our deck first thing this morning and clean off the snow that was still there. Took me over an hour I guess. There was a lot of it -- a good foot deep, and the stuff was heavy. For a while, a peregrine falcon -- quite drenched -- kept me company. I have to say that I enjoyed myself. I kept thinking that, if I had my life to live over again, I just might want to be a laborer. It suppose it doesn't pay all that well, and I guess it doesn't garner much respect, either -- though that would change the moment we found ourselves without laborers. But it felt great, and there is something about it that wondrously clears the mind of all distractions. Oh, I know. I liked it precisely because it was an occasional thing, not something I had to face day in, day out, which would surely take the edge off the charm. But I have had jobs working with my hands. I did a lot of construction work back in the '70s, and I loved it. (Does anyone these days remember Eric Hoffer?)
I confess I was impressed with myself. I could do the work steadily. My heart rate still seems to go back to normal very quickly. I felt great when I was done. That was a few hours ago, so I guess this old guy is still in pretty good shape (touch wood).
I confess I was impressed with myself. I could do the work steadily. My heart rate still seems to go back to normal very quickly. I felt great when I was done. That was a few hours ago, so I guess this old guy is still in pretty good shape (touch wood).
Depends ...
... Our Poems, Ourselves: Does Autobiography Make Good Poetry? (Hat tip, Daniel E. Pritchard.)
Let us pause ...
... for Walafrid Strabo: “A garden full of food will be my final contribution to the world…”
Looking forward ...
... Beyond books: what it takes to be a 21st century librarian. (Hat tip, Dave Lull, who, as we all know, is ahead of the game.)
More on those novel questions ...
... Thinking and Feeling.
Like Mark, I "resist writing about my personal experiences in any review I write, and I reflexively think less of any review that starts with a personal anecdote. Some can make it work, but most can’t." But sometimes the personal anecdote proves not only irresistible, but eminently pertinent. I like to think that is the case with this: Spiritual Chuckles. (I hope the link works. I have sometimes had trouble with Google Docs.)
Like Mark, I "resist writing about my personal experiences in any review I write, and I reflexively think less of any review that starts with a personal anecdote. Some can make it work, but most can’t." But sometimes the personal anecdote proves not only irresistible, but eminently pertinent. I like to think that is the case with this: Spiritual Chuckles. (I hope the link works. I have sometimes had trouble with Google Docs.)
Preview ...
... The LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS hasn’t launched yet, but it is already making a stir. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Centennial poet ...
... The essential poet, Elizabeth Bishop, a centennial and three new books. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Thought for the day ...
Speech was given to man to disguise his thoughts.- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, born on this date in 1754
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Chill, dude ...
... Narcissus Regards a Book.
Maybe they're both worth pondering and preserving. They do, after all, serve quite different purposes and are, in fact, quite different. The Simpsons, which I've always enjoyed when I've watched the show, have never interfered with my appreciation of Blake.
The only King book I've read is one he co-authored with Peter Straub, Black House. I did not find reading it a major waste of time. In fact, I found it had a sharper eye for what life is like in America than a lot of so-called literary fiction.
They may sense that Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience are in some manner more valuable, more worth pondering, more worth preserving than The Simpsons. They may sense as much. But they do not have the terminology to explain why. They never heard the arguments.
Maybe they're both worth pondering and preserving. They do, after all, serve quite different purposes and are, in fact, quite different. The Simpsons, which I've always enjoyed when I've watched the show, have never interfered with my appreciation of Blake.
What's not asked in the review and the interview and the profile is whether a King book is worth writing or worth reading. It seems that no one anymore has the wherewithal to say that reading a King novel is a major waste of time. No chance. If people want to read it, if they get pleasure from it, then it must be good. What other standard is there?
The only King book I've read is one he co-authored with Peter Straub, Black House. I did not find reading it a major waste of time. In fact, I found it had a sharper eye for what life is like in America than a lot of so-called literary fiction.
Some poems ...
... courtesy of Rus Bowden.
... Roses by Billy Collins.
... Psychology Today by Darnell Arnoult.
... Like Bloody Noses by Emily Greenberg.
... 3 poems by Fiona Sampson.
... Roses by Billy Collins.
... Psychology Today by Darnell Arnoult.
... Like Bloody Noses by Emily Greenberg.
... 3 poems by Fiona Sampson.
A terrific journalist for sure ...
... Rachel Maddow and NBC Struggle With Satire.
You have to be dumb as a post not to double- or even triple-check something like this. Geez.
You have to be dumb as a post not to double- or even triple-check something like this. Geez.
Had it ever begun?
... Is the age of the critic over? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
When I was in high school, and some newspaper reviewer dismissed music or movies or TV shows that my buddies and I liked, we just thought the reviewer was some old fool who was out of touch with what was going on. I doubt very much if that has changed. Reviews can be very useful -- if you know how to read them. They can help you decide how to spend your money and your time. But people who go to movies or shows or concerts or read books or whatever just because somebody writing in the Times says they should are seriously in need of intellectual independence.
See also: Everyone's a critic now.
See also: Everyone's a critic now.
Double the pleasure ...
... The Advantage Of Dual-Identities (A Case Study of Nabokov). (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Hmm ...
... What Happens In the Dark.
If it is known solely through its gravitation effects, why do we assume it is matter at all? Could it not simply be a force or a presence?
Some new, unknown sort of matter seems to make up 23% of the universe. This so-called dark matter is observed solely through its gravitational effects, visible for instance in the way stars orbit the centers of galaxies.
If it is known solely through its gravitation effects, why do we assume it is matter at all? Could it not simply be a force or a presence?
I think I'll pass ...
... Anyone for Bunga-Bunga? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Baseball? Boring? At last we discover that even Dr. Dalrymple has a touch of provincialism. Baseball is leisurely and contemplative -- except of course when it's exciting.
Latin countries are not supposed to have sex scandals, they are too sophisticated or relaxed (not quite the same thing) about matters sexual for that. I have some sympathy with this view, because the prurience of the Anglo-Saxons is both ridiculous and generally-speaking hypocritical. It is also boring, like feminism, critical theory and baseball.
Baseball? Boring? At last we discover that even Dr. Dalrymple has a touch of provincialism. Baseball is leisurely and contemplative -- except of course when it's exciting.
Thought for the day ...
If you're going to do a thing, you should do it thoroughly. If you're going to be a Christian, you may as well be a Catholic.- Muriel Spark, born on this date in 1918
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