Sunday, September 24, 2023

Haze gray nuke …

… “Big E” launched in 1960.

Appreciation …

… The Story Behind the Historian. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Then there was the question of whether the last word hadn’t already been said about it 200 years earlier—the word of Edward Gibbon, the very title of whose imperishable History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776) suggested that late antiquity, which saw the rise of Christianity and the fall of Rome, was an altogether downward proposition. For Brown something close to the reverse of this was the case. When he came to write The World of Late Antiquity (1971), casting aside Gibbon’s scornful view of the age, he set out to show that "late antiquity marked not the end of civilization but its transformation into new and adventurous forms, which would directly influence all subsequent centuries."

In case you windered …

… How do authors’ gardens inspire them? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

What really happened?

… But some things still don’t add up for some people.

Something to think on …

To be kind is more important than to be right. Many times, what people need is not a brilliant mind that speaks but a special heart that listens.
— F. Scott Fitzgerald, born on this date in 1896


Poem for today …;

 … Janet Malcolm — On Meeting Mr. and Mrs. Eliot.

Word for today …

… Heterodox - Word Daily.

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Sherlock Holmes Underground …

… zibaldone: The perfect place for a mystery.

Choosing between thr World and Faery …

 The Weight of Enchantment - by Michael Warren Davis. (Hat tip, Dave Lull..)

Remembering …

 … .A Commonplace Blog

Arms race starting line …

 zibaldone: Causing panic in the American government in 1949.

Blogging note …

 I just got word that my wife’s brother passed away. I have broken the news to her. Blogging will not resume until this afternoon.

Trouble posing …

… Zealotry of Guerin: Poetry and Fiction by Christopher Guerin: Madame X, A Dramatic Monologue (John Singer Sargent).

Something to think on …

What did the earth teach the trees?
 How to speak to the sky.
— Pablo Neruda, who died on this date in in 1973

Poem for today …

 … Kathleen Peirce — Datura.

Word for the day …

… Sanguine - Word Daily.

Friday, September 22, 2023

Tracking the decline …

 … Bryn Mawr College rolls out 59-point plan to combat ‘privilege, oppression perpetuated at the college’.


Those were the days …

 … A Wolfe in Chic Clothing.  (Hat tip, Dave Llll)

Our town …

… A Most Violent Weekend — And The Firearms Preemption Laws.

Odd couple …

… zibaldone: Two tidbits from 9/22 in 1901.

Another word …

… Agglomerate | Word Genius.

Sweets …

… zibaldone: Cold War confections for children..

Poem for today …

…  Angie Estes — Vermeer Fever. 

Watch and listen …

Four Quartets with Peter Wilson. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)  

Word for today …

… Parsimonious - Word Daily.

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Toy Story …

… zibaldone: Two brothers move on from selling candy to selling toys.

Waste not, want not …

… Neolithic Humans Used The Bones of The Dead For an Unorthodox Purpose : ScienceAlert.

As Whitman said ….

… “ Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)” —

Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate Slams Private Planes and Then Flies in One

And then the rain started to pour down …

… brave companions: The Johnstown Flood and Memorial Day in 1889.

This is really worrisome …

 The Attacks Just Keep Coming.

Just ask the J6 protesters who peacefully walked through the Capitol. The feds are still hunting them down and arresting them. And ask the Catholic father who was arrested in a heavily armed FBI raid on his home for the crime of trying to save unborn lives. And ask the father who demanded to know why no action was taken at the school where his daughter was raped why he was treated like a terrorist.

Methinks the FBI may have outlived its usefulness. By the way, guys, I have journalist credentials. Bear that in mind (presuming you have such).

 

A dissenting voice …

 … Radical Wolfe: An Underwhelming Account of the Revolutionary Journalist. (At tip, Dave Lull.)

Something to think on …

If there is no God, nothing matters. If there is a God, nothing else matters.
— H. G. Wells, born on this date in 1866

Rigorous adherence for writers …

… zibaldone: Keeping everything else human and real in sci-fi.

Poem for today …

 … Nora Claire Miller — Rumor.

Lovely …

On the Seafront. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)

And the winner is …

… Astronomy Photographer of the Year: Huge plasma arc wins - BBC News. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden,)

Just so you know …

 20 Myths about the Middle Ages - Medievalists.net. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)

Word for today …

… Collogue | Word Genius.

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Sounds very interesting …

… Giving the devil his due. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

“Red Scare” …

… zibaldone: Time to place suspected Communists in detention camps?

I’ll be joining …

… so should you:St. Therese Novena - Pray More Novenas - Novena Prayers & Catholic Devotion.

I’m very attached to the Little Flowerr. Her authobiigraphy, The Story of a Soul is a masterwork.

Good …

… Man Ticketed 7 Times for Flying Anti-Biden Flag Scores Huge Victory Over Town.

Spotlight on one of the problems …

 brave companions: The exclusive and secret resort at the heart of the story.

Something to think on …

An hour's conversation on literature between two ardent minds with a common devotion to a neglected poet is a miraculous road to intimacy.
— Charles Williams, born on this date in 1886

Job openings …

 zibaldone: Revolving door for residents of the White House.

Poem for today …

 …  Szilárd Borbély — The Stone Tablet.

Word for today …

… Ensorcell - Word Daily.

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

A needed reminder …

 (12) No Day without Cultural Appropriation.

Warning from UN members …

… zibaldone: Cold War concerns about acts of war.

No lie there …

 It's normal for parents to object to graphic sex in kids' books.

Via Nellie Bowles on The Free Press, who adds: "If you can't read the sexy kids' book in Congress without grossing people out and having them tell you to please stop, Dad, maybe children shouldn’t read it."

Begging to differ …

… Finally incoherent? | Helen Vendler on Dickinson’s Poem 243.  (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

I kept asking myself: Pier? Granite? Bell? Face of Steel? A nail or drill? Where might all these things be found? On a 19th century locomotive passing through Concord! That’s where. (And Concord was a railroad town.) 

Hmm …

… Squires: CNN thinks black conservatives who don’t support abortion and ‘Pride’ are race traitors.

Planned Parenthood may now be an abortion factory, but that is not what its founder Margaret Sanger intended. Here is what she had to say on the matter:
When you ask me the question "How can I bring myself around; I am pregnant two months," you are asking for abortion. Please understand that Birth Control, as I understand it, is never abortion. I do not approve of abortion, nor can I give the address of anyone who will perform this operation... The object of this movement is to help women avoid abortion and the dangers attending it.
You can read more here.

Sound advice …

… Paul Davis On Crime: Mark Twain On Age.

Something to think on …

My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step, they are gray faces that peer over my shoulder
— William Golding, born on this date in 1911

Poem for today …

 …  Abigail Luttinger— My Mother Was Always Dressed.

Remembering …

… Marcus Bales, ‘Labor Day 2023 – RIP Jimmy Buffett’. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Word for today …

… Schadenfreude - Word Daily.

Monday, September 18, 2023

Just so you know …

… i-am-speechless-v0-6emw97dju6nb1.jpg 941�1,035 pixels.

Just so you know …

… How Not to Define 'Atheism' - by William F. Vallicella.

Somewhere out there …

… zibaldone: Presidential candidate claims to have seen a UFO.

Well worth your while …

 (21) Moonstone Arts Presents: Philly Loves Poetry - September 2023 - YouTube.

Single subject project …

… brave companions: Introducing a blog that focuses upon books by one author.

Tracking the decline …

Instapundit � Blog Archive � I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP:� I am reviewing the Freedom of Information Act response I recently receive.

Important event in Canada …

… zibaldone: Capitulation in Quebec.

Ouch …

I’ve Been Thinking by Daniel C Dennett review: a masterclass in vanity. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

… perhaps the most wince-inducing moment was his meeting with “a charming and beautiful young philosopher” in Prague. “I later learned that Roger Scruton . . . was extremely irritated by the fact that on his next visit to Prague, all she could talk about was Dan Dennett! A small ignoble pleasure for me.”

Something to think on …

Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.
— Samuel Johnson, born on this date in 1709

Religion in America …

 zibaldone: Englishwoman would become outspoken religious thinker.

Poem for today …

 …  Katrina Haddad — There Is Nowhere to Go Back To.

Word for the day …

… Dally | Word Genius.

Sunday, September 17, 2023

That’s Italian!

… Sherlock Holmes and his fondness for “Cremona fiddles”.

Something new in electronics …

zibaldone : Mass production of 10-inch screen TV sets in 1946

Just so you know …

… Consensus Doesn't Equal Science | Newsmax.com.

“Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled …  “Let’s be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science, consensus is irrelevant. … The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus. There is no such thing as consensus science. If it’s consensus, it isn’t science. If it’s science, it isn’t consensus. Period.”

Poem for today …

 … Katie Ford — Earth,

Q&A …

… Paris Review - The Art of Theater No. 14.

In 1968, during the Black Power movement, when black Americans were, as one sociologist put it, “seeking ways to alter their relationship to the society and the shared expectations of themselves as a community of people.” As a twenty-three-year-old poet concerned about the world and struggling to find a place in it, I felt it a duty and an honor to participate in that search. With my good friend Rob Penny, I founded the Black Horizons Theater in Pittsburgh with the idea of using the theater to politicize the community or, as we said in those days, to raise the consciousness of the people. 

Something to think on …

The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer.
— Ken Kesey, born on this date in 1935

Deep blue mystery …

… Sea’s puzzles still baffle men in pushbutton age.

Word for the day …

 Valediction | Word Genius.

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Very important …

… We've Been Misreading a Major Law of Physics For The Past 300 Years : ScienceAlert.

Into the sunsets …

… History Lessons (2023 edition): Jubilant travelers begin their historic westward passage

Appalling …

… Campus Reform | THE SCROLL: Pre-K teacher only teaches how to 'be gay'.

Encountering great people in a great author’s books …

… zibaldone: David McCullough reintroduces me to a fascinating French aristocrat, Freemason, military officer, and hero of the American Revolution.

Brilliant …

 zibaldone: Back when Congress actually did something worthwhile.

Something to think on …

Language is by its very nature a communal thing; that is, it expresses never the exact thing but a compromise - that which is common to you, me, and everybody.
— T. E. Hulme, born on this date in 1884

Sweet …

“Two of Everything”: Vernon Duke’s Fine Romance. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Read and listen …

… Discussing the New Tom Wolfe Documentary: 10 Blocks podacst | City Journal. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Word for the day …

… Swain | Word Genius,

Friday, September 15, 2023

These people really are crazy …

… Expert sparks fury after claiming that references to darkness in Macbeth are attempts to reinforce ideas of white supremacy | Daily Mail Online

Why woukd that have been on Shakespesre’s mind?

Ah, yes …

 U.S. Phrases That Baffle the Rest of the World.

Lovely legs …

…  Famous scene featuring famous blonde filmed in ‘54l

Sweet remembrance …

 A.M. Juster: ‘For Bayara Manusevitch’. (Hat tip, Dave. Lull.)

Headline …

 zibaldone: One of the biggest news stories in 1950.

Apreciation …

… zmkc: Charles Causley.  (Hat tip, Dave Lull.’

Poem for today …

 … Edwin Kaye — Before Sleep.

Something to think on …

Defining and analyzing humor is a pastime of humorless people.
— Robert Benchley, born on this date in 1889

Good …

The Death of Late Night as We Once Knew It Seems Imminent - The Messenger.

The creative imagination …

… In the Personal Library of Vladimir Nabokov Are Clues to the Esoteric Obsessions of the Supreme Esthete. | Observer. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

… perhaps the single most thrilling object in the collection, one of the single most thrilling graven images I’ve encountered, the one book in the collection that most seemed to speak from beyond the grave and the graven realms, was a unique Nabokov book, one he created himself by hand, one never before seen by the world, and one that I believe discloses an important secret about his esoteric passion.