Tuesday, November 07, 2006
If you have not read R.S. Thomas ...
... your education is incomplete: Theodore Dalrymple on A Man Out of Time. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Anglophone wins Prix Goncourt ...
... English speaker is first to win French literary prize. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Something nice ...
... about Harold Pinter from John Baker: Family Voices. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
Who says I'm not fair and balanced?
Who says I'm not fair and balanced?
This morning's OWL Report ...
... from Dave Lull:
Major Minor: Logan Pearsall Smith: All Trivia . Pearsall Smith was born in Millville, N.J., not too far from here.
The displeasure of reading: On Affliction and Reading.
“Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent”: Mindfulness.
Writers speak: Chats with big writers of our age .
John Updike on an endangered species: The Last of His Kind?
And, speaking of endangered species: Panic on 43rd Street.
Major Minor: Logan Pearsall Smith: All Trivia . Pearsall Smith was born in Millville, N.J., not too far from here.
The displeasure of reading: On Affliction and Reading.
“Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent”: Mindfulness.
Writers speak: Chats with big writers of our age .
John Updike on an endangered species: The Last of His Kind?
And, speaking of endangered species: Panic on 43rd Street.
Of all possible guilty pleasures..........
...........this one must be one of the most delightfully arcane.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Reccently ...
there was a discussion here about the relation between objectivity and subjectivity. This, from Bryan Appleyard's excellent Understanding the Present, seems pertinent:
"The quantum was not just a physical limit, it was also an epistemological limit, a frontier beyond which our knowledge could not pass. Built into the fabric of our world was the astonishing certainty of uncertainty. We could not know everything about a particle. The better we knew its velocity, the more vague was our knowledge of its position; the better we know its position, the more inadequate was our knowledge of its velocity. This was not a problem of observation, it was a calculable consequence of experiment, theory and observation. It was not simply that we could not know these facts, it was rather that they could not be known.
"Worse still, the fact of our observation appeared to affect the real world. Particles changed their nature according to whether they were observed. Just as later philosophers adapted Descartes's 'I think' to become 'There is thinking going on', so quantum theorists have effectively changed the experimental 'I observe' to 'There is an observation going on'. The subjective and the objective are blurred in the quantum world." (Emphasis mine.)
Something for True Unbelievers ...
... many of whom have been writing to me lately (God bless them): Philosopher puts religion on the stage.
Today's dispatches ...
... from Maxine:
I agree: Blogging is great.
Quite a range: What a life.
Red and black strategy: Some preliminaries.
I agree: Blogging is great.
Quite a range: What a life.
Red and black strategy: Some preliminaries.
Our man in Delhi ...
... Vikram Johri sends along these:
James Fenton on the problems of anthologizing love poems: 'Don't ask, don't tell'.
How to be the next John Banville: Do not do any of the following...
James Fenton on the problems of anthologizing love poems: 'Don't ask, don't tell'.
How to be the next John Banville: Do not do any of the following...
Today's OWL report ...
... from Dave Lull:
An incomparable joy that is "magnificently useless" : Paul Auster's I want to tell you a story.
Good question: Can Belief in Man Substitute for Belief in God?
Media detente: Google To Announce New Ad Program With Newspapers.
Happy birthday, Bob: The qualities of Robert Musil.
Simon Blackburn on Harry Frankfurt: Up from Bullshit.
An incomparable joy that is "magnificently useless" : Paul Auster's I want to tell you a story.
Good question: Can Belief in Man Substitute for Belief in God?
Media detente: Google To Announce New Ad Program With Newspapers.
Happy birthday, Bob: The qualities of Robert Musil.
Simon Blackburn on Harry Frankfurt: Up from Bullshit.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Today's Gospel ...
... included this:
"One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
"One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
Rennie D on the second commandment.
An excellent post ...
... by Maxine: Wrong-headed on evolution. I would not myself equate Intelligent Design theory with Creationism. The latter barely rises to the level of pseudo-science. The former raises some interesting questions of a scientific nature, but then proceeds to answer them metaphysically - committing thereby, in my view, a category error. Add to that the faulty metaphor underlying the theory - that living things are artifacts , or at least look like such - a mistake Richard Dawkins himself makes - and you have a pretty weak school of thought.
Recently, Debbie and I ...
... went to see The Queen, which Bryan Appleyard spoke highly of in his post Queen Helen.
Bryan is quite right about Helen Mirren. Her performance is as good as any I have seen ever. It is not an impersonation. It is more like channeling. For me, the strangest thing in the film was the shots of the people outside Buckingham Palace sobbing over someone they knew only as an image on screens and magazine covers. I suppose for many the pivotal scene is the one when the Queen is stranded in her Land Rover and sees the stag - it is a great scene. But subtler, and more telling, I think, is when she recalls that she was "just a girl" when she ascended the throne.
Yes, Blair comes off well, and Cherie does not. Neither does Prince Philip. Though Charles does in a sad way. And if Alastair Campbell is anything like what he is portrayed in the film, what an awful person he must be. I suppose what is great about the film is that it is really in no way sensational - and extraordinarily human.
I shall now have to see A Scanner Darkly.
Great minds ...
Religion alone can carry the load, defend us against the de-humanizing collectives, restore true personality. And it doubtful our society can last much longer without religion, for either it will destroy itself by some final idiot war or, at peace but hurrying in the wrong direction, it will soon largely cease to be composed of persons. ... But I have no religion, most of my friends have no religion, very few of the modern writers we have been considering have had any religion; and what is certain is that our society has none. No matter what it professes, it is now not merely irreligious but powerfully anti-religious. And if we all joined a Christian church tomorrow, the fundamental situation would be unchanged ... For the symbols no longer work, and they cannot be made to work by effort on a conscious level. ... No matter what is willed by consciousness, that which belongs to the depths can only be restored in the depths: the numinous lies outside the collectives, cannot be subject to state decree, created by a final resolution at an international conference, offered to all shareholders and employees by the board of Standard Oil or General Motors. So we have no religion and, inside or outside literature, man feels homeless, helpless, and in despair.
-- J.B. Priestley, Literature and Western Man (1960)
For the truth is that what the intellectual quest really needs is a religion and yet it is fundamental to the nature of intellectualism that that is the one thing the intellectual cannot have. He can neither embrace the old faiths, nor can he invent new ones. All his ideas are condemned to pass their time on the margins of a culture that has chosen its own faith, its own metaphysic and which has no need of his refinements.
-- Bryan Appleyard, Understanding the Present (2004)
This is special ...
... Maxine also sends along Michael Mayne ... Good Man, Good Priest, Good Friend.
Here is the Salley Vickers piece that is mentioned: Listening to God's melodies.
And here is Christopher Howse's: Sacred mysteries.
Perhaps the greatest proof of God's existence is the sanctity displayed by people like Michael Mayne.
Here is the Salley Vickers piece that is mentioned: Listening to God's melodies.
And here is Christopher Howse's: Sacred mysteries.
Perhaps the greatest proof of God's existence is the sanctity displayed by people like Michael Mayne.
This morning's dispatches ...
... from Maxine:
A perennial favorite (and forever perplexing to us all): More on celebrity authors.
Another perennial favorite - but rather more serious: Book publishers and public libraries.
A perennial favorite (and forever perplexing to us all): More on celebrity authors.
Another perennial favorite - but rather more serious: Book publishers and public libraries.
This morning's OWL report ...
... from Dave Lull:
Scott McLemee looks at William James: Everyman's philosopher.
The Independent's 5-minute interview is with AS Byatt: 'I hate cyclists. I wish they were not so self-righteous' .
Robert Frost's notesbooks: Poetic Justice.
Words, words, words: Cyber-Neologoliferation.
Scott McLemee looks at William James: Everyman's philosopher.
The Independent's 5-minute interview is with AS Byatt: 'I hate cyclists. I wish they were not so self-righteous' .
Robert Frost's notesbooks: Poetic Justice.
Words, words, words: Cyber-Neologoliferation.
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... once again display, if I do say so myself, quite a range.
Carlin Romano ponders Dominic D.P. Johnson and Dominic Tierney's Failing to Win Perceptions of Victory and Defeat in International Politics: In world politics, when is a loss a win?
Michael Harrington finds Forgetfulness thoughtful: 9/11 parallels pervade Just's latest.
I take another, somewhat more sympathetic, look at Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion: 'God Delusion' author: Read Scripture.
Paula Marantz Cohen has discovered a new genre: Slight, satisfying piece of 'geezer lit'.
Glenn Altschuler is intrigued by Scott Reynolds Nelson's take on a famous legend: Author unearths some of the truth behind John Henry.
Jen Miller thinks Kenning Jennings Jeopardy! memoir is fresh and original: 'Nerd folk icon' explores U.S. passion for trivia.
Sandy Bauers found the audio version of Jed Rubenfeld's The Interpretation f Murder trying: Too much information in this historical murder mystery.
But Sarah Weinman really liked Micharl Largo's Final Exits: Witty encyclopedia of mortal ends
And let's not forget: 'One Book, One Philadelphia' picks Cuban refugee's memoir.
Carlin Romano ponders Dominic D.P. Johnson and Dominic Tierney's Failing to Win Perceptions of Victory and Defeat in International Politics: In world politics, when is a loss a win?
Michael Harrington finds Forgetfulness thoughtful: 9/11 parallels pervade Just's latest.
I take another, somewhat more sympathetic, look at Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion: 'God Delusion' author: Read Scripture.
Paula Marantz Cohen has discovered a new genre: Slight, satisfying piece of 'geezer lit'.
Glenn Altschuler is intrigued by Scott Reynolds Nelson's take on a famous legend: Author unearths some of the truth behind John Henry.
Jen Miller thinks Kenning Jennings Jeopardy! memoir is fresh and original: 'Nerd folk icon' explores U.S. passion for trivia.
Sandy Bauers found the audio version of Jed Rubenfeld's The Interpretation f Murder trying: Too much information in this historical murder mystery.
But Sarah Weinman really liked Micharl Largo's Final Exits: Witty encyclopedia of mortal ends
And let's not forget: 'One Book, One Philadelphia' picks Cuban refugee's memoir.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
A nice example ...
... of how doubters and believers can get along: "Can I ask you what your favorite commandment is?"
I have much ...
... to attend to today, so blogging today will consist of a couple of early posts this morning and will resume tomorrow.
Let's begin with a really fine poem by Roberta Nolte: Calliope Waits.
Let's begin with a really fine poem by Roberta Nolte: Calliope Waits.
Friday, November 03, 2006
What do you say ...
... to this, dear readers? Are you tiresome enough to say that listening to audiobooks is not reading?
A most interesting piece ...
... The Critical Distinction Between Science and Religion
No doubt we could conduct brain-imaging studies to demonstrate differences in the activity of cerebral structures while listening to the Ninth Symphony and to white noise. Would that tell us anything about the aesthetic experience? Would it mean that this experience is explained by the activity of that specific brain region? Is that all there is to it? Is the majesty of listening to Beethoven, viewing the Grand Canyon, or appreciating the vastness of the universe merely the product of increased activity of certain regions in the brain? And could we reproduce these experiences simply by administering the right medication or electrical stimulation?
But, as neurophysiologist Russell Brain pointed out in Mind, Perception and Science, we already "can record simultaneously the frequency of the sound-stimulus, and the electrical response which it evokes in the auditory cortex." And we know that "these are entirely dissimilar." Likewise, we know that the message comes across the line and into the phone receiver, but the message and the phone apparatus are entirely dissimilar also. The brain activity communicates the experience, but is not the same as the experience and does not explain the experience.
It was the music of Tchaikovsky ...
... that first got me interested in classical music. And I have never wavered in my loyalty: Jonathan Keates reviews Tchaikovsky: The Man and his Music by David Brown.
Quite interesting indeed ...
... The QI top 10 quite interesting books by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. (Hat tip, Vikram Johri.)
Amen, brother ...
... Maxine also links to a fine Richard Morrison piece in God of small things. I'm RC myself as anyone who frequents this blog must by now know, but I feel obligated to point out that I derive more spiritual nourishment from Anglican Father Mark Long's thoughts at The Life & Times of Rennie D than from practically anywhere else. Father Long always makes me aware that, when it comes to Christianity, as Morrison puts it, "practice seems to make increasingly imperfect."
The problem with apocalypse ...
... as D. H. Lawrence noted, is that it tends to be grounded in a profoundly destructive and lefe-denying urge: Eden Without Us?
Which is why i't a good idea to think about Putting the human back into humanism.
Which is why i't a good idea to think about Putting the human back into humanism.
This morning's OWL report ...
... these are the headlines for the stories gathered by our intrepid Omnipresent Wisconsin Librarian (OWL), Dave Lull:
Update: The title of OWL was bestowed on Dave by the estimable Patrick Kurp of Anecdotal Evidence.
Let's start with The Decline of Europe.
From headstone to stepping-stone: Workers dig up grave mystery in Emily Dickinson's history.
Guess it isn't just newspapers. Those pesky 18 to 34-year-olds aren't into art either: Survey finds a decline in attendance for the arts. Note this: "Folks who read literature and attend the arts are more than twice as likely as others to do volunteer work, and at least 50% more likely to attend sporting events or take part in athletics." So the young folk don't read, go to museums or the opera, and don't even head to the stadium. What do they do?
The emptiness of glamour: Adam Kirsch considers Gore Vidal in Making It. Since I first saw him on the Jack Paar show, Vidal has struck me as being among the emptiest of men.
A good question: Why do genre novels never win the literary prizes?
Ouch! Jack slices, then crushes, a friend. I actually sense a bit of dry, good humor in this. Of course, you can never be sure with someone who likes Wagner.
Always intriguing to hear what Professor Paglia has to say: Cruising with Camille.
Let us pray more and more people decide to take this advice: Bozzy's Blues.
And, finally, An Icon of the City Gets an Opening.
Update: I forgot one: Babbling of Green Fields.
Update: The title of OWL was bestowed on Dave by the estimable Patrick Kurp of Anecdotal Evidence.
Let's start with The Decline of Europe.
From headstone to stepping-stone: Workers dig up grave mystery in Emily Dickinson's history.
Guess it isn't just newspapers. Those pesky 18 to 34-year-olds aren't into art either: Survey finds a decline in attendance for the arts. Note this: "Folks who read literature and attend the arts are more than twice as likely as others to do volunteer work, and at least 50% more likely to attend sporting events or take part in athletics." So the young folk don't read, go to museums or the opera, and don't even head to the stadium. What do they do?
The emptiness of glamour: Adam Kirsch considers Gore Vidal in Making It. Since I first saw him on the Jack Paar show, Vidal has struck me as being among the emptiest of men.
A good question: Why do genre novels never win the literary prizes?
Ouch! Jack slices, then crushes, a friend. I actually sense a bit of dry, good humor in this. Of course, you can never be sure with someone who likes Wagner.
Always intriguing to hear what Professor Paglia has to say: Cruising with Camille.
Let us pray more and more people decide to take this advice: Bozzy's Blues.
And, finally, An Icon of the City Gets an Opening.
Update: I forgot one: Babbling of Green Fields.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Someone else ...
... who feels as I do (on one point at least) about John Derbyshire's loss of faith. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I apologize to all ...
... for not linking to this sooner: William Styron Dies. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
Here is the Times of London obit.
Here is the Times of London obit.
I suspect not ...
... Would Jack Kerouac or William Burroughs (or even Allen Ginsberg) Approve of This Message? (Hat tip, Scott Stein.)
Personally, I detest anybody exhorting me to vote as they would like me to. I actually can and do think for myself. And people are often surprised when they find who I have voted for.
Personally, I detest anybody exhorting me to vote as they would like me to. I actually can and do think for myself. And people are often surprised when they find who I have voted for.
I wonder ...
... what Rennie D. would think of John Derbyshire's God & Me.
I'm something of a Mysterian myself, but find Derbyshire's argument from biology weak, principally because it is based on an interpretation of the phrase "made in the image and likeness of God" that strikes me as utterly jejune. Humans are not made in the image of God physically - God has no body, for God's sake! We are made in the image of God because we have a personality (or those of us who believe such believe it for that reason). And maybe other creatures are also made in the image of God to the extent that they have personality, too.
I also wonder about the built-in English prejudice against Catholics that he speaks of. What say you, Maxine?
Yet another example ...
... of being educated beyond your intelligence: Penn President Poses with "Suicide Bomber". Scroll down to see the pictures.
Big bucks for young poet ...
... 28-year-old Welsh writer Rachel Trezise is the first-time winner of EDS Dylan Thomas Prize 2006. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thomas himself would have loved winning £60,000. He could have lifted many a few with that in his account.
Thomas himself would have loved winning £60,000. He could have lifted many a few with that in his account.
In search of submissions ...
... Eratio is now reading for poetry for issue eight, the fall 2006 issue. Here is the contact page.
Hooray! Hooray!
... Terry Teachout on Discovering Malcolm Arnold.
I've been waiting for this and it proved well worth the wait: "I cannot recall the last time I have responded so powerfully to the music of a classical composer with whom I was hitherto unfamiliar. It filled me with chagrin to realize that the creator of works like the Second and Fifth Symphonies, the Symphony for Brass Instruments, and the concertos for guitar and two violins (to name only a handful of Arnold’s finest efforts) had been active for the better part of my adult life. How, I wondered, could I have overlooked a master who was hiding in plain sight all along?"
I've been waiting for this and it proved well worth the wait: "I cannot recall the last time I have responded so powerfully to the music of a classical composer with whom I was hitherto unfamiliar. It filled me with chagrin to realize that the creator of works like the Second and Fifth Symphonies, the Symphony for Brass Instruments, and the concertos for guitar and two violins (to name only a handful of Arnold’s finest efforts) had been active for the better part of my adult life. How, I wondered, could I have overlooked a master who was hiding in plain sight all along?"
Gee, here's a young man ...
... who actually knows how to do journalism: Thanks for the elbow to the stomach!
Which is more than we can say for some at the New York Times, which Patterico shows is less-than-candid with its readers.
Which is more than we can say for some at the New York Times, which Patterico shows is less-than-candid with its readers.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Guess he hasn't written one ...
... Billy Collins has failed to spell villanelle correctly: Collins Takes a Dive.
So it shall be written ...
... so it shall be done: Minx has decided the Samhain Competition. Congratulations John and Roberta.
David Thayer is having ...
... his own NaNo moment: Pulling In Opposite Directions. Perhaps this will help: World's Most Prolific Novelist.
Entangling alliances ...
... Empson and his several types of infidelity. This reminds me of a line a social worker puts to one of Peter De Vries's protagonists: "Do you think this is a good environment for an idiot?"
This is interesting ...
... I clicked on Petrona, to see what Maxine was up to, and it was taking an ungodly time to finsih loading, so I scrolled and noticed that Maxine had a link to films she has enjoyed. So I clicked it on. Two things surprised me. One was that I didn't realize Maxine was a Mad Max fan. The other was how many of the films that I had seen were also favorites of mine - Blue Velvet, Crouching Tiger, the Three Colors Trilogy. Great minds, I guess. The only one that I had seen that I didn't really like was The Ice Storm - which I actually never finished watching.
As for what Maxine is up to at Petrona: Autumn books: battlefield between the ears.
As for what Maxine is up to at Petrona: Autumn books: battlefield between the ears.
Should have linked to this yesterday ...
... but the question's too good to let drop: Page fright: what makes a book scary?
A terrific thought ...
... in Terry Teachout's Almanac.
Also, our best to Laura Demanski, who's been under the weather: Where's OGIC?
Also, our best to Laura Demanski, who's been under the weather: Where's OGIC?
New Plath sonnet found
Written in her senior year and inspired by The Great Gatsby, it's very Smith Collegiately-titled, Ennui .
What have the Romans ever done for us?
... well, there's the novels, films and documentaries they're inspiring: Return of the Roman.
Meanwhile, over at Lowebrow ...
... Lee Lowe has a challenge, too: As soon as Halloween arrives .
Halloween's over, of course, but the challenge has to do with Christmas.
Halloween's over, of course, but the challenge has to do with Christmas.
We should have been paying more attention ...
... to PBW's E-book Challenge. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
An unpublished poem ...
... by Sylvia Plath - and more: An Introduction to Sylvia Plath's "Ennui." (hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The actual poem is here.
The actual poem is here.
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