Sunday, November 23, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
BTW, Nineteenth-Century Euphemisms . . .
. . . intended only to bring a smile your way :):
Emptying the Saloon
Pocket Punch 'n' Judy
Signing the John Hancock
Dragging Thyself to Hell, One Hand's Breadth at a Time
Waving to Queen Victoria
Trying for a Scarlet "M"
Oiling the Pennywhistle
Assaulting the Tower of London
Cleaning the Musket
Quashing the Southern Uprising
Monitoring your Merrimac
Driving the Golden Spike
Delivering the Ejaculation Proclamation
Churning the Codpiece Butter
Square Dancing with Satan < ---- Personal Fave
Addressing Lord Palmer
Emptying the Saloon
Pocket Punch 'n' Judy
Signing the John Hancock
Dragging Thyself to Hell, One Hand's Breadth at a Time
Waving to Queen Victoria
Trying for a Scarlet "M"
Oiling the Pennywhistle
Assaulting the Tower of London
Cleaning the Musket
Quashing the Southern Uprising
Monitoring your Merrimac
Driving the Golden Spike
Delivering the Ejaculation Proclamation
Churning the Codpiece Butter
Square Dancing with Satan < ---- Personal Fave
Addressing Lord Palmer
Pastor Initiates Seven-Day Sex Challenge
WTFs? Does this constitute a variation on The Ejaculation Proclamation?
"The pastor of a mega-church says he will challenge married congregants during his sermon Sunday to have sex for seven straight days – and he plans to practice [sic] what he preaches."
(Erm, uninterruptedly? What about eating, sleeping, and visiting the WC, for example? I don't know anyone who can hold it for seven days; well, maybe I do know someone; but, s/he failed to brag about it. Subliminally or, at least subtly, the use of the word "straight" speaks to Pastor Young's old-fogeyism, unfortunately.)
"The pastor of a mega-church says he will challenge married congregants during his sermon Sunday to have sex for seven straight days – and he plans to practice [sic] what he preaches."
(Erm, uninterruptedly? What about eating, sleeping, and visiting the WC, for example? I don't know anyone who can hold it for seven days; well, maybe I do know someone; but, s/he failed to brag about it. Subliminally or, at least subtly, the use of the word "straight" speaks to Pastor Young's old-fogeyism, unfortunately.)
The Decameron
In The Globe and Mail's ongoing Greatest Fifty Books series, Konrad Eisenbichler explores the values and vices of Boccaccio's masterpiece with gusto (although, personally, I prefer Dante over Boccaccio; the former makes a necessity of virtue while the latter makes a virtue of necessity, IMO) . . .
Energetic, fast moving, bubbling over with life, this is a world where stupidity, not sin, is punished; where wit, not faith, is rewarded; where sexual pleasure, not chastity, is the object of the game.
Energetic, fast moving, bubbling over with life, this is a world where stupidity, not sin, is punished; where wit, not faith, is rewarded; where sexual pleasure, not chastity, is the object of the game.
Take 2: Schrödinger's Goose (4 Jeff & Ted)
Another angle on Steven Shapin's The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation by Theodore M. Porter:
. . . For an outsider, it is difficult to know how seriously to take the scientists' avowals of intention to do good in the world. Even the most idealistic of biotech researchers are destined to become dependent on medical corporations to test their products and bring them to market. "Big Pharma" and its ilk have acquired, I think justly, a bad reputation, and any residual altruism on the part of the scientists will be the first victim of their involvement. They profess to be humanitarians, but if we measure that claim against the actual consequences of high-tech science-based medicine, our admiration must surely fade. . . .
. . . For an outsider, it is difficult to know how seriously to take the scientists' avowals of intention to do good in the world. Even the most idealistic of biotech researchers are destined to become dependent on medical corporations to test their products and bring them to market. "Big Pharma" and its ilk have acquired, I think justly, a bad reputation, and any residual altruism on the part of the scientists will be the first victim of their involvement. They profess to be humanitarians, but if we measure that claim against the actual consequences of high-tech science-based medicine, our admiration must surely fade. . . .
An Interview with Karl Iagnemma
On the Nature of Human Romantic Interaction: Stories.
. . . Whether people noticed his minor is another matter. He says that after he had defended his thesis on rough-terrain mobile robots and had published several short stories, an engineering professor told him that he was surprised to read in a local magazine that Iagnemma wrote fiction. "I said, 'Well, you know that, because that was my minor, and you were on my thesis committee.' And he said, 'Oh, I thought you were studying friction.'"
Check out ...
... Pax Americana.
Bear in mind this blog is now a joint Canadian-American enterprise. (Oh Judith, would you stop Bogarting that spiff, please?)
Bear in mind this blog is now a joint Canadian-American enterprise. (Oh Judith, would you stop Bogarting that spiff, please?)
Good luck ...
... Philadelphia paper starts magazine for affluent. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
I think such a publication aimed at those who attend theater, opera, the orchestra - and those who read something besides the racing form - would prove to be a great success. Back in the day, the now-defunct radio station WFLN turned a handsome profit broadcasting classical music - a marketing survey in the late '50s indicated its audience, while hardly as large as that tuning in to the rock stations, did represent one-third of the buying power of the entire Delaware Valley. Of course, you have to remember that the people who actually manage newsrooms tend not to be able to distinguish Brahms from Anouilh or Giorgio Morandi. Still, if anyone can make a success of I, it is Sandy Clarke, whom I have known since she was an intern - so I know who I'm talking about.
Hmm ...
... What type is that blog? Typealyzer.
Since this blog's posts tend to be pretty evenly divided between Judith and me I assume the resulting analysis is of the resulting duet. We are classified among the scientists. A lot of it seems applicable to both us - though I don;t think either of us has ever been "physically hesitant to try new things." Patience is the one thing I have learned in life. Judith can speak for herself on the matter. I also don't think either of us tends toward the abstract, though I suspect I do more than she. But then, she's a Scopio and I'm a Libran.
I plugged in Petrona (sorry Maxine, I couldn't resist) and it types Maxine among the Mechanics. I don't find the image suits my dear friend, and I can't see her as race driver or firefighter, but in other respects it sounds like what she in fact does day in, day out.
I plugged in Petrona (sorry Maxine, I couldn't resist) and it types Maxine among the Mechanics. I don't find the image suits my dear friend, and I can't see her as race driver or firefighter, but in other respects it sounds like what she in fact does day in, day out.
Populated by the deceased ...
... Regina Marler on Ted Hughes’ Letters.
Quite a fine piece.
Perhaps you have to have been married to a tormented and talented woman to really sympathize with Hughes - which is not to suggest that he is deserving only of sympathy. But the love of a man and a woman can prove to be a most entangling allaince.
Quite a fine piece.
Perhaps you have to have been married to a tormented and talented woman to really sympathize with Hughes - which is not to suggest that he is deserving only of sympathy. But the love of a man and a woman can prove to be a most entangling allaince.
World Philosophy Day ...
... was a couple of days ago. But we can be philsophocal about that, can't we? In the meantime, Four philosophical questions to make your brain hurt. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Hmm.
Hmm.
In case you wondered ...
... How Wood Works: The Riches and Limits of James Wood. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I think it is worth reminding ourselves that the value of critics and criticism can be - and often often has been - exaggerated.
I think it is worth reminding ourselves that the value of critics and criticism can be - and often often has been - exaggerated.
Friday, November 21, 2008
A select best ...
... Signs of Life 2008: The Best Books We Read This Year. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The only one that holds any allure for me is Sebastian Barry's The Secret Scripture, which I have but have not yet read.
The only one that holds any allure for me is Sebastian Barry's The Secret Scripture, which I have but have not yet read.
I'll Take, What Is Synchronicity . . .
. . . for a Grand, Alex?
Amazing. Had planned to post this when I found a moment today; and, of all things winding up right beneath it, I swear, sans façon, this really eerifies yours truly . . .
But, thanks; thought Michael Antman's poem @ WFTC gut-rippingly gripping.
Amazing. Had planned to post this when I found a moment today; and, of all things winding up right beneath it, I swear, sans façon, this really eerifies yours truly . . .
But, thanks; thought Michael Antman's poem @ WFTC gut-rippingly gripping.
Demonstrating our commitment ...
... to the free market of ideas: Michael Crichton and authorship. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I had the temerity to add a comment to the post Maxine links to. Again I remind readers: I am agnostic on this issue, perhaps because I think it worth taking this sort of thing into consideration: Evidence of sunspot involvement in climate change compelling.
I had the temerity to add a comment to the post Maxine links to. Again I remind readers: I am agnostic on this issue, perhaps because I think it worth taking this sort of thing into consideration: Evidence of sunspot involvement in climate change compelling.
A study in hypocrisy ...
... Pot, Meet Kettle. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Wolff's views may not be above reproach, but they certainly are beneath contempt.
Wolff's views may not be above reproach, but they certainly are beneath contempt.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Aids Sutra:
Untold Stories from India.
"The country takes a back seat to Africa when it comes to world awareness of the disease. Essayists reveal a culture of repression and shame."
Actually, India's epidemic deserves this collection devoted to raising awareness about a third-world catastrophe; however, it seems to me HIV/AIDS doesn't even warrant a back seat in the various media of first-world countries (where it's lucky to catch a lift in the trunk) of the lovely bullet-proof limosine at the ready for members of the celebritocrisy.
(Look no further than the book's provocative title which inspires ambivalence in yours truly. On the one hand, one hopes the book will sell kazoodles; on the other, it borders on poor taste. Put both hands together and say a prayer for the needlessly departed. Does the end justify the means? I can't help but wonder what Jay Scott or Gina-Sue Romero or Freddie Mercury or . . . [^i^] would've thought about it, for example.)
The facts: Every five minutes, a human being perishes from the affliction; statistics indicate two-thirds of the infected reside in Africa; but, it's a global problem rarely making headlines in this, the twenty-worst century (unless the scouraged one happens to be a somebody). Millions suffer; millions die; but, IMO, neither vaccine nor cure exists since BigPharma would go bullistic ipso-quicko. (No punchline could possibly do justice to the carnage wrought by this universal plague.)
"The country takes a back seat to Africa when it comes to world awareness of the disease. Essayists reveal a culture of repression and shame."
Actually, India's epidemic deserves this collection devoted to raising awareness about a third-world catastrophe; however, it seems to me HIV/AIDS doesn't even warrant a back seat in the various media of first-world countries (where it's lucky to catch a lift in the trunk) of the lovely bullet-proof limosine at the ready for members of the celebritocrisy.
(Look no further than the book's provocative title which inspires ambivalence in yours truly. On the one hand, one hopes the book will sell kazoodles; on the other, it borders on poor taste. Put both hands together and say a prayer for the needlessly departed. Does the end justify the means? I can't help but wonder what Jay Scott or Gina-Sue Romero or Freddie Mercury or . . . [^i^] would've thought about it, for example.)
The facts: Every five minutes, a human being perishes from the affliction; statistics indicate two-thirds of the infected reside in Africa; but, it's a global problem rarely making headlines in this, the twenty-worst century (unless the scouraged one happens to be a somebody). Millions suffer; millions die; but, IMO, neither vaccine nor cure exists since BigPharma would go bullistic ipso-quicko. (No punchline could possibly do justice to the carnage wrought by this universal plague.)
Sarah Weinman on the Disappeared . . .
. . . in The Los Angeles Times:
"According to the U.S. Department of Justice, just more than 2,000 children are reported missing every single day. The vast majority of them are found, sometimes quickly, but for the families and loved ones of those who are not, a canvas of unanswered questions opens up ready to be painted with a palette of psychological complexity."
Now, that's what I call a helluva colourful come-hither lead to drool for . . .
N. B. There's an audio excerpt featuring one of the authors under review at the publisher's website, FYI.
On the Side of the Angels:
An Appreciation of Parties and Partisanship.
Nancy L. Rosenblum actually appreciates parties and partisanship? That's one and counting . . . :).
And this was science ...
... not religion. Or maybe ... Destructive Delusions. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Perhaps the most alarming (or depressing) thing about this story -- clearly, economically and sometimes amusingly told by Dr. McHugh -- is that the worst excesses did not take place among the poorly educated class of society, whom one might expect to be easiest prey to ludicrous notions, but among the well educated.
This does not surprise me. The well-schooled are quite superstitious when it comes to degrees, fashionable theories, and books praised in the right places by the right people.
NBA Tries to Glam Things Up . . .
"For us there is only the trying . . ."
". . . Who invited all the fancy people, publishing peons wonder?"
I thought this kind of embarrassing shit only happened here @ HOME (which really ought to have scooped it; but, then, who said the best book wins, let alone receives a nom-nod? Not me, especially after hearing through the gripe-vine the equally deserving poet and critic, A. F. Moritz, didn't receive his due here in Canada Tuesday either. What a kick-in-the-head egregiosity. Sorry. Can't link to a story 'cause I can't bear to read the endless stream of bullshit issuing from Ottawa, Nepotistic Capital of Nuthin' Special).
". . . Who invited all the fancy people, publishing peons wonder?"
I thought this kind of embarrassing shit only happened here @ HOME (which really ought to have scooped it; but, then, who said the best book wins, let alone receives a nom-nod? Not me, especially after hearing through the gripe-vine the equally deserving poet and critic, A. F. Moritz, didn't receive his due here in Canada Tuesday either. What a kick-in-the-head egregiosity. Sorry. Can't link to a story 'cause I can't bear to read the endless stream of bullshit issuing from Ottawa, Nepotistic Capital of Nuthin' Special).
Faith in Forgiveness
In his latest novel, The Fire Gospel, the former militant aetheist, Michel Faber, addresses the consolations of religion:
Prometheus's tale is one of enlightenment and its consequences. In Faber's retelling, enlightenment comes in the form of a fifth gospel which falls into the hands of a Canadian academic scavenging around a looted Iraqi museum. This new gospel reveals Christ to be nothing more than a good man, made of flesh like us, whose final words on the cross were, "Please, somebody, please finish me."
— Helen Brown
Prometheus's tale is one of enlightenment and its consequences. In Faber's retelling, enlightenment comes in the form of a fifth gospel which falls into the hands of a Canadian academic scavenging around a looted Iraqi museum. This new gospel reveals Christ to be nothing more than a good man, made of flesh like us, whose final words on the cross were, "Please, somebody, please finish me."
— Helen Brown
Paper-Tigerianisto Sam Leith Blogs . . .
. . . on the annual Literary Review's "Bad-Sex Writing" finalists . . . Well, not literally . . . He actually typed the post on a regular keyboard (I hope).
Eye-Opening . . .
. . . A friend sent this pic to me earlier today with the following translation:
This photograph, "The Eye of God," was taken with the aid of a NASA telescope, and this event only occurs every three-thousand years. A lot of miracles happened to those that have gazed upon this, so make seven wishes, even if you do not believe in it, and see what happens, what changes in your life. Send this to eighteen (Chai) people on whom you would like to bestow well wishes. Do not keep it to yourself.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, involves creating a better Title for this image than the one up there.
A clash of dawns ...
... Bjørn Lomborg's.
... Ian McEwan's.
(Hat tip to Dave Lull, for both links.)
... Ian McEwan's.
(Hat tip to Dave Lull, for both links.)
I'll opt for Lomborg's myself. Among other things, I don't think McEwan has a clue as to how politics in the U.S. works.
Sui generis ...
... Alistair Cooke, 100.
For me, acquaintance with Alistair Cooke began with Omnibus, a Sunday afternoon show on NBC TV. One of the episodes (actually, I think it was more than one) was a dramatization of parts of Boswell's Life of Johnson, starring Peter Ustinov as the great doctor - all of it deftly introduced by Mr. Cooke.
God help us ...
... THE RISE OF THE JOURNO-GURUS. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The operative word is the one that appears in the deck: hacks. These are people who coin a phrase and then around that phrase frame an argument and marshal evidence. Among the intellectually underprivileged, this is regarded as original thought.
In case you wondered ...
... Bolaño's 2666: The Best Book of 2008. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I haven't read 2666. The best book I read this year was Tan Twan Eng's The Gift of Rain. As I said in my review it's one of the best books I've ever read. My tai chi trainer liked it, too. It's about to come out in paperback. And there's a Kindle version.
I haven't read 2666. The best book I read this year was Tan Twan Eng's The Gift of Rain. As I said in my review it's one of the best books I've ever read. My tai chi trainer liked it, too. It's about to come out in paperback. And there's a Kindle version.
Dissent with a price ...
... Prison court sentences blogger to 20 years, poet to two years.
... Myanmar activists jailed for 65 years: family.
I should have posted these awhile ago, but I got sidetracked. Hat tip to Rus Bowden for both links.
... Myanmar activists jailed for 65 years: family.
I should have posted these awhile ago, but I got sidetracked. Hat tip to Rus Bowden for both links.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Well- deserved praise ...
... for our friend Jim Carmin: Gems of the Private Press Movement.
... and here is information about the exhibition: Gems of the Private Press Movement:Kelmscott, Ashendene, Doves, Golden Cockerel.
This really does look wonderful.
This really does look wonderful.
A finding place ...
... not a hiding place: Jeanette Winterson on Shafts of sunlight. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
In the land of reality TV and confessional talk shows, Eliot's wish to withdraw the personal from his poetry - from any poetry - is easy to misread. But the paradox of the best writing is that while the writer's voice is unmistakable, the writer has somehow performed the Indian rope trick and disappeared. Celebrity culture can't imagine anyone wanting to disappear, or that such a thing might be necessary. Now, when we are told that everything depends on our "personality", it seems strange to hear Eliot saying, as he does in his essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent", that "poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But of course only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from those things."
Read the whole. It is excellent.
'T aint necessarily so ...
... Jonestown and 'confirmation bias'. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I try to restrict my policy reading to data analyses. But I find myself reading less and less about politics, principally because after a while it becomes so predictable.
It would be interesting if Shermer would write a piece about how he has dealt with his own biases.
Link fixed and post bumped.
I try to restrict my policy reading to data analyses. But I find myself reading less and less about politics, principally because after a while it becomes so predictable.
It would be interesting if Shermer would write a piece about how he has dealt with his own biases.
Link fixed and post bumped.
Unsuited for Stockholm ...
... Zbigniew Herbert: The Collected Poems - review: Lies have to be beautiful. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Most interesting ...
... THE PERELANDRA PROJECT. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I hope Henry Gee can attend and tell me about it. What about you, Maxine? Can you attend?
I hope Henry Gee can attend and tell me about it. What about you, Maxine? Can you attend?
Well worth attending ...
... Actor supreme Christopher Plummer will be at the library tonight in connection with his just-published memoir In Spite of Myself. I have a copy and, so far, it is quite, quite good. How resist a book with this opening line: "I was brought up by an Airedale." Here are details of the library event.
Legendary Leonard Cohen at London's O2
Leomania:
[A] 73-year-old Canadian remembered mainly as a 1960s bedsitter balladeer is hardly the stuff of 21st century pop stardom, however brilliant his poetry and songwriting may be. But we live in strange times and what started with a successful summer tour and a much-lauded appearance at the Glastonbury Festival has turned into Lenny-mania this winter, and last night he started his four-night, sell-out London season (two at the O2 and two at the Albert Hall) with a memorable concert in front of an adoring audience.
— Graham Boynton
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Always steady ...
... Never Wobbly. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Artist Nelson Shanks told me that when he was painting Lady Thatcher's portrait, one of the things that impressed him about her was her obvious self-discipline. Sitting for a portrait can be tiring. Once, when it was suggested she take a break for some tea, she declined. "We haven't earned it," she said.
Something I missed ...
... Francoise Sagan: Sex, Drugs and Literature.
Sagan was so, so big a name when I was in high school.
Sagan was so, so big a name when I was in high school.
From the birds ...
... Essays in Orni-Theology. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The contentious crowd of English sparrows that I watch every morning in my back yard seem to me at times all too human.
Maxine poses a question ...
... What is the most longstanding influential book commenting on science? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Snow's book came out when I was in college. Later, when I became editor of the college newspaper, I wrote an editorial proposing a change in curriculum: that the non-lab biology course that arts majors were required to take, and which was pretty useless, be replaced with a two-year course in the history and methodology of science. Naturally, this never happened, but I still think it's a good idea.
Introducing ...
... Paul Davis.
I first to know Paul when he reviewed for me. After I retired I got to know him better, since we live only minutes away from each other.
More cause for doubt ...
... why bet on climate forecasts? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... in the wake of a financial crisis brought on (partly) by a reliance on the financial community's consensus statistical modeling, it's not a bad time to question the reliability of these models in the first place.
The Kennedy Tapes (Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow, Eds.):
Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis.
"Readers deserve to know that even now The Kennedy Tapes cannot be relied on as an accurate historical document," advises Sheldon M. Stern (Historian, Boston's JFK Library, 1977-1999) in this (recycled) review for The Altlantic Monthly.
p.s. As promised to a friend, The 26-Second Zapruder Clip
Beating my own drum ....
... My new column — quotations, essays and following a train of thought wherever it leads.
Dave Lull has sent me a very complimentary email, which leads me think I may not make a complete fool out of myself in this endeavor.
Dave Lull has sent me a very complimentary email, which leads me think I may not make a complete fool out of myself in this endeavor.
Would You Like Some Cheese . . .
. . . with that wine? Ontario vineyard launches wine with poetry. Perhaps Kraft™ could launch a complementary line featuring fiction writers? Velveeta™ and Verse? (Things could be worse; but, I'm not sure how, exactly.)
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