Thursday, March 06, 2008
Will it never end ...
... and what is it with these people? More Plagiarism, Same Times Reporter. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
Ready, set, go ...
... Write about science books for World Book Day. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Apparently, while I wasn't looking, Petrona got a makeover.
Apparently, while I wasn't looking, Petrona got a makeover.
Fabulously funny ...
... and perhaps the definitive piece on fake memoirs: Karen Heller: Those other writers lie, but not I - no, not I.
In the European best-seller Mischa: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years, Misha Defonseca claimed to be a Jewish girl raised by wolves while hiding during the Holocaust, until it was revealed last week that none of it was true. Except the girl part.
Who would fall for such hooey? Wolves? Wolves constituted pampering during my tortured youth. I was raised by rats, a vicious strain of locusts and one fat, stupid hen blindly loyal to Mussolini, though she was always Momma Cluck to me. Until Uncle Benito ate her.
To think I sat just a few feet away Karen all those years - and I never knew!
In the European best-seller Mischa: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years, Misha Defonseca claimed to be a Jewish girl raised by wolves while hiding during the Holocaust, until it was revealed last week that none of it was true. Except the girl part.
Who would fall for such hooey? Wolves? Wolves constituted pampering during my tortured youth. I was raised by rats, a vicious strain of locusts and one fat, stupid hen blindly loyal to Mussolini, though she was always Momma Cluck to me. Until Uncle Benito ate her.
To think I sat just a few feet away Karen all those years - and I never knew!
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
The skeptical empircist ...
... knows the value of Antiknowledge. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I think that our satisfaction with what we know can keep us from spending more time observing or, what is worse, get in the way of what we observe by prompting us to categorize it in terms what we already know, rather than seeing it on its own terms - and as if we knew nothing. There is as much to be said for methodical ignorance as there is for methodical doubt.
Rumors of decease ....
... once again exaggerated: "Death" deals the critic a cautionary diagnosis. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
A further consideration ...
... of On Eloquence. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The problem nowadays is that people don't seem to know what eloquence is - or isn't. It isn't just an impressive voice and a smooth delivery of well-turned but empty phrases.
The problem nowadays is that people don't seem to know what eloquence is - or isn't. It isn't just an impressive voice and a smooth delivery of well-turned but empty phrases.
The new barbarism ...
... At the forest’s edge. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... mass man is the man who has no transcendent purpose in life, who lives in an eternal present moment which he wants to make pleasurable in a gross and sensual way, who thinks that ever-increasing consumption is the end of life, who goes from distraction to distraction, who is prey to absurd fashions, who never thinks deeply and who, above all, has a venomous dislike of any other way of living but his own, which he instinctively feels as a reproach. ... Mass man does not have to be poor or stupid. He can be both highly paid and highly intelligent, in a narrow way, and he can also be very highly educated, or at least trained; indeed, as knowledge accumulates, and as it becomes more and more difficult for anyone to master more than the very smallest portion of human knowledge, so connected thought (of the kind of which mass man is incapable) becomes rarer and rarer.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Fictitious memories ...
... Truth and consequences.
Sadly, as Roger notes, the consequences are rarely what they ought to be.
Sadly, as Roger notes, the consequences are rarely what they ought to be.
Amazing ...
... Lessons from the Skeptics’ Conference. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
What is amazing is how closed so many of the commenters' minds are to anything but what they already take as dogma.
What is amazing is how closed so many of the commenters' minds are to anything but what they already take as dogma.
The Zen of Poetry ...
... the Poetry of Zen.
Amen, brother.
Now a cuckoo's song
carries the haiku master
right out of this world
—Matsuo Basho, 17th century, trans. by Sam Hamill
Who says my poems are poems?
They aren't poems at all.
Only when you understand my poems aren't poems
can we talk poetry.
—Ryokan, 18th century, trans. by Sam Hamill
This is a bracing tonic, that if genuinely absorbed by contemporary poets writing in English could completely change their goals and methods. The poetry of Zen is profoundly anti-egotistical and anti-rhetorical while having a deep understanding of the foibles of human psychology; it de-emphasizes the heroic ego and seeks "no-mind" in the sense that the mind's ceaseless self-regard might become still. It seeks to point at the moon, rather than talking about pointing at the moon.
carries the haiku master
right out of this world
—Matsuo Basho, 17th century, trans. by Sam Hamill
Who says my poems are poems?
They aren't poems at all.
Only when you understand my poems aren't poems
can we talk poetry.
—Ryokan, 18th century, trans. by Sam Hamill
This is a bracing tonic, that if genuinely absorbed by contemporary poets writing in English could completely change their goals and methods. The poetry of Zen is profoundly anti-egotistical and anti-rhetorical while having a deep understanding of the foibles of human psychology; it de-emphasizes the heroic ego and seeks "no-mind" in the sense that the mind's ceaseless self-regard might become still. It seeks to point at the moon, rather than talking about pointing at the moon.
Amen, brother.
Our girl Katie ...
... resurfaces in Minneapolis: The way we 'read'.
This follows through on a column she wrote for The Inquirer in December: Art, film or game? 'Inanimate Alice' redefines 'publish'. Too bad the powers that be at The Inquirer didn't get it.
For the birders ...
... The Nest Big Thing. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I have been interested in birds since my family moved to the Torresdale section of the city when I was 8 years old, into a house that sat in the middle of the woods (yes, at the time the northeastern-most part of the city was still undeveloped). I have feeders in my backyard in South Philly and always take a bird guide with me when I go to the Wissahickon or upstate - or anyplace I might see birds. But I don't think of myself as a birder and have absolutely no interest in joining crowds of people with binoculars following some know-it-all guide. For me, watching birds is ancillary to the deep pleasure of a solitary walk among woods and fields - or something to do while I make my coffee (I can spend quite a while staring out the window at the house sparrows).
Thumbs up ...
... thumbs down: Over and Under. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I think the comment about the Bible being overrated is odd. It's not a single book, but a collection of books. I agree with Richard Grayson (down the bottom) is right about Leviticus - which I don't think I ever managed to get through - but Isaiah, the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Job? They're pretty darn good. The parables of Jesus aren't bad, either.
I think the comment about the Bible being overrated is odd. It's not a single book, but a collection of books. I agree with Richard Grayson (down the bottom) is right about Leviticus - which I don't think I ever managed to get through - but Isaiah, the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Job? They're pretty darn good. The parables of Jesus aren't bad, either.
Today's must-read ...
... Black College Students, Reading, and the Death of the Book. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Judge-to-be ...
... Patricia Smith will be the IBPC judge for April, May and June. Here is the poetic annex of Patricia Smith. And here is Patricia Smith: Online Poems. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden, who has been under the weather and we hope is feeling better.)
As Jimmy Durante used to say ...
... everybody wants to get into the act: Customers Should Read Reviews at Reviews Desk New Web Site Before Purchasing Books. (Hat tip, Paul Davis, from who I blithely stole the lead-in.)
Oh, no ...
... not again: Author admits acclaimed memoir is fantasy.
Maybe it's time for publishers to start being a little less credulous.
Maybe it's time for publishers to start being a little less credulous.
Monday, March 03, 2008
It's not till tomorrow ...
... but an early happy birthday to Alan Sillitoe: The common touch. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The state of journalism ...
... in Britain (and perhaps elsewhere): Riots, Terrorism etc. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thus is certainly true: "Journalists report much less than they used to, and much less than they should, as the papers have switched over to a reliance on columnists and opinion." Which is why newspapers, more and more, seem to be like the game of Telephone.
Thus is certainly true: "Journalists report much less than they used to, and much less than they should, as the papers have switched over to a reliance on columnists and opinion." Which is why newspapers, more and more, seem to be like the game of Telephone.
Perennial questions ...
... How Plato Can Change Your Life. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This is interesting: 'In a wonderful presentation of the "creative evolution" of Henri Bergson (1859–1941) — including his prescient attacks on intelligent design — Mr. Kolakowski praises the great French philosopher particularly for his notion of intuition.' Bergson exerted a considerable influence on Teilhard de Chardin.
This is interesting: 'In a wonderful presentation of the "creative evolution" of Henri Bergson (1859–1941) — including his prescient attacks on intelligent design — Mr. Kolakowski praises the great French philosopher particularly for his notion of intuition.' Bergson exerted a considerable influence on Teilhard de Chardin.
Enjoy some chuckles ...
... The 40 Most Inappropriate Children's Book Covers. (Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald.)
Taking chances ...
... A hazardous comparison. (Hat tip, Vikram Johri, who rightly indicates the pertinence of the Black Swan.)
"In America, demands for more regulation (of the internet, or air quality, say) have often been presented as calls to protect children ..." Yes, which is why, for many, the phrase "for the children" has become derisory.
"In America, demands for more regulation (of the internet, or air quality, say) have often been presented as calls to protect children ..." Yes, which is why, for many, the phrase "for the children" has become derisory.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Straight up ...
... The spirits behind the writers. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I was for many years, like Christopher Hitchens, "an empirical student of the matter." Indeed, I have no doubt whatsoever that at the peak of my drinking career I could hold my own with any imbiber on the planet. I did a lot writing in those days, too. But I can't recall ever writing while drinking, let alone while drunk. Drinking was the reward for having done the writing. Though often enough it took the place of writing.
Next stop, paradise ...
... Paradise Lost, that is: Milton Revisited. (Hat tip, Hedgie.)
Rob's idea is a good one. I'm going to try to fit in some of it, though I doubt if I'll have the time to come anywhere near reading the whole thing. I read a good chunk of it in college, but I mostly remember C.S. Lewis's A Preface to Paradise Lost.
Bryan has some more ...
... On Nothing.
For whatever reason - shallow egoism, I guess - I have never expected that I will cease to exist. I think that once something or someone is, it is for good and all in some way, shape, or form. Death is change, not obliteration. This, as I say, is just how I have always felt.
Update: Dave Lull reminds me that I was on to nothing just this Friday: Can there be nothing?
For whatever reason - shallow egoism, I guess - I have never expected that I will cease to exist. I think that once something or someone is, it is for good and all in some way, shape, or form. Death is change, not obliteration. This, as I say, is just how I have always felt.
Update: Dave Lull reminds me that I was on to nothing just this Friday: Can there be nothing?
A Bryan roundup ...
... Harry, Mad Men and Halibut.
The headline on the second these makes mention of why we love 1960. I turned 19 that year, but don't recall ever having had any special attachment to it. But I do have a special attachment to these lines by Allen Ginsberg:
Not weep? Not weep for 1960?
I'd as lief been born abroad
a cripple Greek
as one not weep for 1960 but
this lone
scribble in the margin of my days.
The headline on the second these makes mention of why we love 1960. I turned 19 that year, but don't recall ever having had any special attachment to it. But I do have a special attachment to these lines by Allen Ginsberg:
Not weep? Not weep for 1960?
I'd as lief been born abroad
a cripple Greek
as one not weep for 1960 but
this lone
scribble in the margin of my days.
Four-part crime ...
... Sunday Salon: a quartet of reviews. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I only had time to read the Val McDermid and thought it excellent, and I remember that Maxine did an exceptionally fine review of another McDermid novel for me during my previous incarnation as a book-review editor.
I only had time to read the Val McDermid and thought it excellent, and I remember that Maxine did an exceptionally fine review of another McDermid novel for me during my previous incarnation as a book-review editor.
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... Dan DeLuca looks at a fictional take on the Summer of Love: Now on to '68, the end of the love.
... Eliza Fox is taken with Oscar Wilde, gumshoe: On the mystery of Oscar Wilde.
... Sam George isn't so sure about an academic take on college dating: Dinner and a movie? Not so fast - sex first.
... Sarah Weinman likes a novel about Nikola Tesla: How a genius misfit came to fit in after all.
... Chris Patsilelis is impressed with a biography of Bill Mauldin: The soldier's artful spokesman.
... Eliza Fox is taken with Oscar Wilde, gumshoe: On the mystery of Oscar Wilde.
... Sam George isn't so sure about an academic take on college dating: Dinner and a movie? Not so fast - sex first.
... Sarah Weinman likes a novel about Nikola Tesla: How a genius misfit came to fit in after all.
... Chris Patsilelis is impressed with a biography of Bill Mauldin: The soldier's artful spokesman.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Splendid ...
... Against Stupidity. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
I still think it is useful to distinguish between faith and belief. Faith is like a poem. Belief is an attempt to explicate that poem in terms of doctrines and codes, which are never equal to the poem, and may well distort it.
Atheism cannot be a scientifically held position, because it relies on the certain knowledge that God does not exist. There is no way that such certainties can be established – for a start, science does not deal in certainties, and adherents of religion believe in the existence of God in a proper sense, that is, irrespective of physical evidence, without asking that such existence should be revealed (that creation scientists do this very thing is, of course, pathological, and traduces religion in the same but obverse sense that Dawkinsian atheism traduces science).
I still think it is useful to distinguish between faith and belief. Faith is like a poem. Belief is an attempt to explicate that poem in terms of doctrines and codes, which are never equal to the poem, and may well distort it.
Crime and holiness ...
... St David's Day in Wales and a crime fiction VIP event in Cardiff. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
Remembering Robert Lowell ...
... on what would have been his 91st birthday: Robert Lowell's Legacy: LIFE STUDIES.
Two great pieces ...
... in today's Inquirer: Howie Shapiro's Chain-saw fete carves a niche in Pa. and David Stearns's The orchestra, Rachmaninoff: Perfect together.
Howie's piece could have been twice as long and would still have seemed a quick read. I was at the concert and everything David says is right on the money.
Howie's piece could have been twice as long and would still have seemed a quick read. I was at the concert and everything David says is right on the money.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Author, author ...
... Author vs. Work; Sainte-Beuve vs. Proust; Dorothy vs. Dan. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I enjoy literary biographies - and loved Richard Holmes on Coleridge - but I think the work reveals more about the writer than vice versa. I still think D.H. Lawrence was right when he said to trust the story, not the storyteller.
A little help ...
... for the paper of record from Jim Lindgren: The meaning of "natural born."
The Times piece mentions that the question was raised when George Romney, who was born in Mexico, ran in 1968. And it was dismissed, because his parents were citizens of the U.S. and the child of U.S. citizens is also a citizen, irrespective of where said child is born.
The Times piece mentions that the question was raised when George Romney, who was born in Mexico, ran in 1968. And it was dismissed, because his parents were citizens of the U.S. and the child of U.S. citizens is also a citizen, irrespective of where said child is born.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
More than just crime ...
... In Crime Fiction, the Crime is not always the point. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
I'll have an idea ...
... soon enough: Will the Kindle spark an eBook device surge? (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
My former colleagues, in an act of extreme generosity, ordered one for me as a retirement present. As soon as Amazon has them back in stock I shall one. And I intend to write about the experience. So stay tuned.
My former colleagues, in an act of extreme generosity, ordered one for me as a retirement present. As soon as Amazon has them back in stock I shall one. And I intend to write about the experience. So stay tuned.
What kind of fool is he?
... The archbishop of Canterbury is a special kind of fool. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Two good questions ...
... What is science and why do we care? (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
I wonder if Sokal "believes" in global warming? He should have followed his own scientific principles and done a bit of research in order to determine what genuine faith consists in, rather than just parrot the cliches of militant atheists. He could start by reading Rudolf Otto's The Idea of the Holy, which he has probably never heard of. Of course, Henry Gee in his comment says all this better than I do.
Update: Dave Lull wonders if Sokal is in fact insufficiently skeptical and sends along Sokal and Bricmont: Back to the Frying Pan and Being an Absolute Skeptic.
Update: Dave Lull wonders if Sokal is in fact insufficiently skeptical and sends along Sokal and Bricmont: Back to the Frying Pan and Being an Absolute Skeptic.
That would be today ...
... and here I almost forgot: Remember those planets… however many there are - February 28, 2008. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
Clauses and propositions ...
... Freedom For Religion.
Of course, Martha Nussbaum would never think of writing in a hostile and contemptuous manner about any religion - except Christianity.
Of course, Martha Nussbaum would never think of writing in a hostile and contemptuous manner about any religion - except Christianity.
Hear, hear ...
... On Wishes and Organisations.
Which is why I am neither pro- nor anti-feminist. I just like women, but then I was raised by my mother and grandmother (with an assist from my rather older brother). Such details count.
It is irrational to assume that what works in one culture would work in another. The irrationality is based on the notion of 'organising' a society. One can organise some things, but one can't organise the inclinations of an entire culture - the desire to do so indicates a failure to understand the meaning of 'culture'.
Which is why I am neither pro- nor anti-feminist. I just like women, but then I was raised by my mother and grandmother (with an assist from my rather older brother). Such details count.
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