... always thinks twice: Il Postino. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Steiner doesn't believe "there can be a Hamlet without a ghost, a Missa Solemnis without a missa", and if you say that the questions addressed by religion are "nonsense or baby talk or trivial, I don't believe that certain dimensions will be available to you. Particularly today, when the atheist case is being put, if I may say so, with such vulgarity of mind."
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Here at last ...
... for Nige and Susan is the shot of the feeder I have in my garden that seems gray squirrel-proof. Notice that it hangs on a pole away from anything the critters can cling to. Lord knows, they've tried. Just for good measure, I tossed in a photo of the first tulip we had this spring.
I suppose ...
... everyone knows about this: The Saga of The Red Leather Diary on The Today Show. But it's nice, and it's interesting.
A find ...
... Nigel Balchin: Darkness Falls from the Air. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
It’s easy to forget on reading it now that at the time of publication, nobody knew how the war was going to end, which makes Balchin’s willingness to give his character such an insouciant attitude to the German bombings all the more bold.
I do not find the insouciance at all odd. I got to know very well some veterans of World War II and the Korean War when I was growing up - one had flown gliders behind enemy lines in the European Theater. All of them had this wise-cracking frivolous attitude to just about everything. Yet they were thoroughly serious and utterly competent individuals. The insouciant manner, I think, was the way one coped when facing the very real possibility of disaster and defeat.
It’s easy to forget on reading it now that at the time of publication, nobody knew how the war was going to end, which makes Balchin’s willingness to give his character such an insouciant attitude to the German bombings all the more bold.
I do not find the insouciance at all odd. I got to know very well some veterans of World War II and the Korean War when I was growing up - one had flown gliders behind enemy lines in the European Theater. All of them had this wise-cracking frivolous attitude to just about everything. Yet they were thoroughly serious and utterly competent individuals. The insouciant manner, I think, was the way one coped when facing the very real possibility of disaster and defeat.
Let's start the day ...
... with The 50 Greatest Crime Writers List. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
There are other big picks as well.
I somehow think there will be much disagreement.
There are other big picks as well.
I somehow think there will be much disagreement.
Friday, April 18, 2008
It's also a good poem ...
... On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five.
Also worth reading is Dana Gioia's On "Paul Revere's Ride".
Also worth reading is Dana Gioia's On "Paul Revere's Ride".
I am listening right now ...
... to Granville Bantock's tone poem The Witch of Atlas. It is on a CD that also includes the Celtic Symphony, A Hebridean Symphony, and The Sea Reivers. Vernon Handley conducts the Royal Philharmonic.
All of this music is simply beautiful. Perhaps that is why it is out of fashion. If you are one of those people who is fond of music that is lovely to listen to - and is by no means lightweight - you ought to treat yourself to some Bantock sometime.
All of this music is simply beautiful. Perhaps that is why it is out of fashion. If you are one of those people who is fond of music that is lovely to listen to - and is by no means lightweight - you ought to treat yourself to some Bantock sometime.
Historian's view ...
... John Lukacs on Nicholson Baker’s ‘Human Smoke’. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
And here is another: No Smoke, Fire, or Truth in Anti-War Book. (Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald.)
And here is another: No Smoke, Fire, or Truth in Anti-War Book. (Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald.)
A different shade ...
... of noir: Insomnia: Nighttime finds readers opening new worlds. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
Practicing philosophy ...
... without a license and little evident talent: Richard Dawkins on Gods and earthlings. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Skipping over the fact that argument by analogy is not thought to be the strongest of rational strategies, it is sufficient to note that Dawkins apparently accepts the ID theorists' notion of God as a designer. Not that he believes in it, but it evidently seems to him an adequate notion of deity. Only it isn't. A supreme being is one that would not need to design anything. And if Dawkins would go to the trouble of learning what theologians actually think, he would find that God is understood to be simple, not complex. I am not suggesting that he would - or should - be persuaded by any of it. But if you are going to insist upon discussing what people believe, you should at least go to the trouble of finding out what that actually is.
What's it all about ...
... poetry, that is: News at Eleven: The best, and best-loved, contemporary poets.
Makes you wonder ...
... if you should trust their editorials about economics: New York Times Company Posts Loss.
"The company’s main source of revenue, newspaper advertising in print and online, fell 10.6 percent, the sharpest drop in memory ..." That's quote a drop, and I believe that the overall value of the company has dropped by something like two-thirds since Pinch Sulzberger took over.
There is much ...
... in what he says: Against Argument: A Posting from Stephen Burt. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
An accurate and precise description of something will convey how one feels about it. And argument is one thing, quarreling is another. It is the testiness of disagreement that is so annoying these days.
An accurate and precise description of something will convey how one feels about it. And argument is one thing, quarreling is another. It is the testiness of disagreement that is so annoying these days.
This is very interesting ...
... Where Did All the Westerns Go? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
"... while mysteries are about getting rid of violence (violence is the enemy) westerns are about using violence (violence is your friend, or can be). This of course clashes with values that are now fashionable."
But how is violence got rid of in mysteries? Presumably, the perp is remanded to the custody of the state, the Protector of us all.
"... while mysteries are about getting rid of violence (violence is the enemy) westerns are about using violence (violence is your friend, or can be). This of course clashes with values that are now fashionable."
But how is violence got rid of in mysteries? Presumably, the perp is remanded to the custody of the state, the Protector of us all.
I'm with Nige ...
... which won't surprise anyone: Fleece?
I know nothing at all about cricket - though maybe, now that I have some time on my hands, I'll look into attending a game at the Philadelphia Cricket Club (which did away with cricket in 1924, but apparently brought it back again in 10 years ago) - but the knitted sweater looks a lot more stylish to me.
I know nothing at all about cricket - though maybe, now that I have some time on my hands, I'll look into attending a game at the Philadelphia Cricket Club (which did away with cricket in 1924, but apparently brought it back again in 10 years ago) - but the knitted sweater looks a lot more stylish to me.
Gotta know when to hold ...
... Carlin Romano considers how an Author deals with playing of race card.
Double the pleasure ...
... and more: Intelligent introductions (and those that aren't).
The points made about introductions are sound, it is good to see the trivialization of literature by seeing it solely through the prism of politics deplored, and the 1951 film of The Browning Version is excellent. Then there is the matter of beauty. The decisive component in any proposition is its aesthetic dimension. There is no truth without beauty.
The points made about introductions are sound, it is good to see the trivialization of literature by seeing it solely through the prism of politics deplored, and the 1951 film of The Browning Version is excellent. Then there is the matter of beauty. The decisive component in any proposition is its aesthetic dimension. There is no truth without beauty.
I can vouch for ...
... what Chris Hedges says about John Timpane. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
To wit:
"John Timpane, without question the finest editor I have ever worked with, did the final edit of the book. John combines the rare talents of being able to line-edit in detail and then step back and take apart the central argument with stunning and penetrating insight. He has a towering intellect, but more importantly is a lover of books and a great friend. I write into my book contracts that John, and John alone, will be the last person to edit my work. I would not want to do this without him."
And this despite being a vegetarian.
To wit:
"John Timpane, without question the finest editor I have ever worked with, did the final edit of the book. John combines the rare talents of being able to line-edit in detail and then step back and take apart the central argument with stunning and penetrating insight. He has a towering intellect, but more importantly is a lover of books and a great friend. I write into my book contracts that John, and John alone, will be the last person to edit my work. I would not want to do this without him."
And this despite being a vegetarian.
On the money ...
... `A Way of Taking Things Particularly Hard'.
“The New Yorker has always dealt with experience not by trying to understand it but by prescribing the attitude to be adopted toward it. This makes it possible to feel intelligent without thinking, and it is a way of making everything tolerable, for the assumption of a suitable attitude toward experience can give one the illusion of having dealt with it adequately.”
This not only sounds as if it were written yesterday, but also applied to more than just The New Yorker. Robert Warshow also thought - as I do myself - that Arthur Miller was not a very good dramatist.
“The New Yorker has always dealt with experience not by trying to understand it but by prescribing the attitude to be adopted toward it. This makes it possible to feel intelligent without thinking, and it is a way of making everything tolerable, for the assumption of a suitable attitude toward experience can give one the illusion of having dealt with it adequately.”
This not only sounds as if it were written yesterday, but also applied to more than just The New Yorker. Robert Warshow also thought - as I do myself - that Arthur Miller was not a very good dramatist.
A good time to travel ...
... today (or possibly tomorrow) is the anniversary of the day in 1394 when Chaucer's pilgrims gathered in the Tabard In to make ready to depart for Canterbury. (Hat tip, Today in Literature).
Here are First 18 lines of the General Prologue with a pronunciation guide to boot.
Here are First 18 lines of the General Prologue with a pronunciation guide to boot.
FAQs about poetry ...
... addressed by Robert Pinsky: Why Don't Modern Poems Rhyme, Etc. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... ev'ry one will say,
As you walk your mystic way,
"If this young man expresses himself in terms too deep for me,
Why, what a very singularly deep young man
this deep young man must be!"
9. Well, I like poetry that is amusing, that maybe makes me chuckle a little. I'd rather read something reassuring and light than something complicated or gloomy. Is that bad? Does that mean I am a jerk?
Pinsky's answer: Yes.
My answer? Not necessarily. You may just not be one about whom... ev'ry one will say,
As you walk your mystic way,
"If this young man expresses himself in terms too deep for me,
Why, what a very singularly deep young man
this deep young man must be!"
Scientists aren't the only ones ...
... to have a problem with this: Writing a clear and engaging paper. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
It's not that simple ...
... Poetry guardians reject modern verse. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
"I would say, if it doesn't have rhyme or metre, then it is not poetry, it is just prose." So the Song of Songs or the Psalms are not poetry?
"I would say, if it doesn't have rhyme or metre, then it is not poetry, it is just prose." So the Song of Songs or the Psalms are not poetry?
It's only weather ...
... not climate, right? Old Nige's Weather Lore.
The weather here has been very nice. I have been working in my tiny garden, and now that I am retired I can do it with more care than before. I don't to fit it in at odd moments.
The weather here has been very nice. I have been working in my tiny garden, and now that I am retired I can do it with more care than before. I don't to fit it in at odd moments.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Everybody's a critic ...
... Harry Potter storylines are gibberish, judge tells Rowling.
Haven't read them myself, but if Maxine likes them, that's good enough for me.
Haven't read them myself, but if Maxine likes them, that's good enough for me.
Evolution at the click ...
... of a mouse: Darwin's first draft goes online.
Here you go: Darwin's private papers online.
More here: Darwin Archive evolves. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.) That's a better headline than mine.
Here you go: Darwin's private papers online.
More here: Darwin Archive evolves. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.) That's a better headline than mine.
Earworm ...
... Nature Bore.
I'm a big fan of Nat King Cole, but never liked "Nature Boy" very much - and I remember when it was a hit (yes, I go back that far). I also remember a story - I believe it was in Life magazine - about its composer, eden ahbez, who was indeed a proto-hippie.
Bond on video ...
... and more: 'For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond' Exhibition Opens. (Hat tip, Paul Davis, who tells me he and his wife spent a week at Goldeneye in 1986. Here's Paul's Casino Royale: A New Beginning for Ian Fleming and the James Bond Phenomenon.)
Dave Lull also sent me this link.
Dave Lull also sent me this link.
How about just good music ...
... Between Medieval And Folk, Two Mass Audiences.
The fact is, most contemporary Catholic hymns are crap. Owen Alstott's psalm settings are execrable. Sunday Mass at my parish is a travesty, an insipid concoction devised by musically illiterate ignoramuses. And we won't even go into the incorrectly translated Latin.
The Thomas Day quoted in the piece linked to is a former classmate of mine. Says he's 65. But he was that when I knew him. He's right, though. Plain, simple - and don't forget the silence.
The fact is, most contemporary Catholic hymns are crap. Owen Alstott's psalm settings are execrable. Sunday Mass at my parish is a travesty, an insipid concoction devised by musically illiterate ignoramuses. And we won't even go into the incorrectly translated Latin.
The Thomas Day quoted in the piece linked to is a former classmate of mine. Says he's 65. But he was that when I knew him. He's right, though. Plain, simple - and don't forget the silence.
And it's not funny ...
... Joke Over.
Notice that the solution is the usual all-purpose one: more taxation and government control.
Notice that the solution is the usual all-purpose one: more taxation and government control.
Nige sums it up ...
... Warmists and Truth.
What is also interesting is how it demonstrates the persistence of the religious impulse in one or another way, shape or form.
What is also interesting is how it demonstrates the persistence of the religious impulse in one or another way, shape or form.
Howell Raines likes ...
... Brian Tierney!
The Inquirer and Daily News may have been "struggling" when Knight-Ridder went on sale, but the struggle was mostly against K-R's monumental incompetence and stupidity. The chain didn't collapse. The top honchos just wanted cash in while the cashing in looked good. Oh, and while there may be a recession, Howell, there isn't one yet. You have to have at least one quarter of negative numbers. A recession isn't a slowdown. It's going in reverse. To be precise , it is a "a decline in GDP for two or more consecutive quarters. " Hasn't happened yet) Don't practice economics without a license.
The Inquirer and Daily News may have been "struggling" when Knight-Ridder went on sale, but the struggle was mostly against K-R's monumental incompetence and stupidity. The chain didn't collapse. The top honchos just wanted cash in while the cashing in looked good. Oh, and while there may be a recession, Howell, there isn't one yet. You have to have at least one quarter of negative numbers. A recession isn't a slowdown. It's going in reverse. To be precise , it is a "a decline in GDP for two or more consecutive quarters. " Hasn't happened yet) Don't practice economics without a license.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
I walked out to Penn ...
... this afternoon to see Dan Hoffman read his late wife's poems. Here's Miriam Kotzin's interview with Dan: A Poet Who Brought Poetry to the Millions, Daniel Hoffman speaks about Elizabeth McFarland.
I should have mentioned that Deb Burnham of Penn's English department also read some of Elizabeth McFarland's poems - and read them very well, I might add.
I should have mentioned that Deb Burnham of Penn's English department also read some of Elizabeth McFarland's poems - and read them very well, I might add.
Where's Katie?
... .. A Farewell to ‘Zines; Zines: not dead, just retro.
As it happens, Katie already posted a response on the NBCC blog a while back. Here it is:
I wonder what you're basing this theory on. The fact that there are lots of blogs now? Print zines haven't disappeared or been absorbed into the online culture. If anything I'd go so far as to say they're more popular, and have a wider scope, than they did 10 years ago. Have a look at these zine distributors to see how vibrant this culture still is, and has been all along:
Microcosm, Fall of Autumn, Sweet Candy, and look under "books and zines" on etsy.com, the biggest hottest craft site on the Internet.
Post bumped up.
As it happens, Katie already posted a response on the NBCC blog a while back. Here it is:
I wonder what you're basing this theory on. The fact that there are lots of blogs now? Print zines haven't disappeared or been absorbed into the online culture. If anything I'd go so far as to say they're more popular, and have a wider scope, than they did 10 years ago. Have a look at these zine distributors to see how vibrant this culture still is, and has been all along:
Microcosm, Fall of Autumn, Sweet Candy, and look under "books and zines" on etsy.com, the biggest hottest craft site on the Internet.
Post bumped up.
We've noted one ...
... and linked to it. But Carrie Frye noted something else that's eminently watchable: Morning coffee.
Worth noting ...
... On their way to a bookshop near you. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
He is a very good writer. I'm going to make a bid to review Universe of Stone, the 12th-century Renaissance being a favorite period of mine.
He is a very good writer. I'm going to make a bid to review Universe of Stone, the 12th-century Renaissance being a favorite period of mine.
Life and art ...
... Real life plot twists of famous authors. (Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald.)
I think I may have posted this when it first ran, but it's so interesting, it's worth an encore.
I think I may have posted this when it first ran, but it's so interesting, it's worth an encore.
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