Superstition and the Supernatural
Superstition and the Supernatural An interesting discussion of the difference between superstition--the manipulation of the material world for spiritual gain--and supernaturalism--belief in and reliance on grace.
Posts
Nabokov and Gould
The Evolution of Butterflies--Nabokov v. Gould If Nabokov was right was Gould wrong? I would say that Gould was largely responding to the comments of people outside the historical sciences that the historical sciences are not science in the way Physics or Chemistry are. (Nonsense and chauvinism, of course) But he probably saw the chief criticism (Paleontologists as "stamp collectors") as fitting Nabokov par excellence. He might have collected and studied the butterflies, but he didn't contribute anything radically new to understanding them. Additionally, I would venture to guess that Gould would still support his main point. Nabokov's work was not radically innovative or ground-breaking in any substantive sense. I am only speculating. But Gould tended to think of himself as something of a prose artist--and when he's at his artiest his writing and his clarity suffer correspondingly. When he's producing wildly metaphorical works like "The Sp...
An View of Obama from the Left
A view from the left of Obama's delinquency from the cause- -that isn't all--but that's what struck me about the interview with Steve Hendricks. It's fascinating that Obama seems to satisfy no one.
Considering California
California from the Robinson point of view. While I don't recall the details, I do remember reading and enjoying enormously The Wild Shore when it first came out.
Top 100 Songs of te 20th Century
Rated merely by airplay, not by worth, top 100 songs of the 20th Century via Underbelly.
Modern Philosophy--Considering Hulga
The Plight of Minerva--touching lightly on Ms. O'Connor's masterpiece (one of many) "Good Country People."
Considerations of Australian Literature
Australian Literature Considered--Urban or Outback? While the literature is broad enough to encompass both, too often the Urban Literature is not well enough considered because of the exotic nature and the powerful contrasts of the land. Consider Peter Weir's carefully constructed films Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Last Wave as examples where the Outback ascends and the Urban Dweller has a secondary place. On the other hand, the literature supports the distinctly urban tale and the tale where the two are brought together-- Priscilla, Queen of the Desert stands out as an example.
An Evening with Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog, whose film Dream of the Green Ants was recently discussed at Fred's Place , chats with us about film and other things. Herzog is an eccentric genius--with Fitzcarraldo and Aguirre, the Wrath of God (among others) as major film credits. Dream of the Green Ants may be one of the more accessible films in the oeuvre.
The Syracuse Campaign
The Peloponnesian war continues in Syracuse The notes that the Common Reader posts are really both interesting and quite helpful as a companion read. If you've never indulged in Thucydides, you would do well to avail yourself of this marvelous series of insights into one of the great histories of ancient times.
Frost contra Derrida on Authorship
Robert Frost and the post-modernists An article that considers at length Frost's stand on authorship--who is the author?
LoA Story of the Week--Irvin S. Cobb
Cobb with a story on boxing I know Cobb primarily for a handful of (quite good) stories of unpleasantness and disquiet. So, this is a side I had not seen. Not sure I wanted to--but that's quite a different matter.
The Diary of Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria on hearing the news that she was queen--uttterly fascinating.
A Hemingway Idyll
Or, why I've spent so much of my life alienated from most of what Hemingway does/writes about: from The Green Hills of Africa Ernest Hemingway This was the kind of hunting I liked. No riding in cars, the country broken up instead of the plains, and I was completely happy. I ha been quite ill and had that pleasant feeling of getting stronger each day. I was underweight, had a great appetite for meat, and could eat all I wanted without feeling stuffy. Each day I sweated out whatever we drank sitting at the fire at night, and in the heat of the day, now, I lay in the shade with a breeze in the trees and read with no obligation and no compulsion to write, happy in knowing that at four o'clock we would be starting out to hunt again. I would not even write a letter. The only person I really cared about except the children, was with me and I had no wish to share this life with any one who was not there, only to live it, being completely happy and quite tired. I knew that I was sh...
"It's All Straw"
The Feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas and it's good to remember one of the most essential but most often neglected facts regarding St. Thomas. Toward the end of his life, he is noted as saying "All I have written is as straw. . ." an astounding act of abject humility which can be variously interpreted--from everything is meaningless, to the much more profound, 'I didn't make a dent in the subject area." I think what he was saying comes closer to the latter along with a sense of "And even if I did, it isn't what really matters anyway." I think the mystical St. Thomas had come to the understanding that understanding is simply the prelude to love and when love is in the ascendant, understanding sets itself in the proper light of necessary antecedent. That is, one in love doesn't really seek so much to understand as to love better. When one had gone so far down the path of understanding, it would be more evident that understanding can only t...
Excellent Women--Barbara Pym
This has to be one of the most difficult reviews I've tried to write. Here I am on my third attempt, and not sure this will see the light of day. What is so difficult? Nothing I seem to say does justice to the book. I can't describe it with respect to any other writer because the comparison quickly comes to nothing. If I say Austen, you get the wrong impression one way; if I say Angela Thirkell, you get a wrong impression another way; if I mention Heyer, I run the risk of alienating half of the audience. There is, in sum, nothing to be said in the way of comparison. Pym is unique. Excellent Women tells the story of a number of excellent women, chief among them our narrator--Mildred Lathbury, who finally tells us, near the end of the book, what is meant by excellent women: from Excellent Women Barbara Pym 'Esther Clovis is certainly a very capable person,' he said doubtfully. 'An excellent woman altogether.' 'You could consider marryi...
E-reading is Here to Stay
Kindle tops pb sales I welcome the ability to carry thousands of books wherever I go--to have Ulysses with me at all times of day, to be able to consult Wordsworth, Keats, Donne, Herrick, Vaughn, Crashaw, and countless others in ways that I would never have thought possible a few years ago. Even so, I love the real book as well--the paper and the ink and the binding and the smell. But, on a trip to Dublin, given a choice between the two, it's hand's down my thousands in an e-reader.
Twelve Worst Campuses for Free Speech
Twelve Worst Campuses for Free Speech One of the things we seem to have forgotten is that every freedom has its price. The price of free speech is, among other things, the serious risk that you will hear someone say something you don't care for--something hateful. This is precisely when the right is most important. I want to hear people say exactly what is on their minds because then I have a much better idea as to whether this is the sort of person with whom I wish to spend time. I love to see demonstrations of groups burning the flag, because it gives me important information about them I would not otherwise have. Suppression of free speech to attain a superficial peace is a guarantee that there will be no peace.
Zeltserman on Vampires
David Zeltserman, author of one of my favorite books last year, blogs on Vampires
"Kinderlied"
There's nothing so wonderful as an original poem that works so well within its conventions--"Kinderlied"
Two from the Philosophy Side
Are You a Liberal? On this I will point out that I do not qualify as a liberal, but I take exception to his statement that the death penalty is EVER justified on the principle that one may not do evil that good may come of it. Killing another when efforts less than that can preserve life and society is always and everywhere evil. There are other quibbling points--but this is the main one. One need not be a liberal to deny the efficacy, utility, or morality of the death penalty. But the test is about a nexus of attitudes. I do not always disagree with the points from the Philosopher's point of view-but disagree in my own way. However, I doubt I would qualify as a conservative either. And The ever-pernicious philosophy of Ayn Rand--on Abortion I think if one tried very, very hard, one could come up with a philosophy and way of living that was more pernicious than that of Ms. Rand--but one would be hard-pressed under normal circumstanc...
Leigh Brackett--Novelist
The Sword of Rhiannon by Leigh Brackett She was also a hollywood screen writer and responsible for one of the worst muddles of script ever (though much of it wasn't her fault and she probably had no control over it. But it is a guilty pleasure, mostly for Mancini's music-- Hatari! To her credit she also did The Long Goodbye and The Empire Strikes Back --both of which show her in better form.
A Great and Beautiful Film
Where the Green Ants Dream Like Fred, I was attracted to the film for its title. I saw it some time ago. And I must say that the only thing that stuck with me were several lovely, preternaturally lovely, images of green ants that occur throughout. I may need to revisit, but I'll probably live with those images--rightly remembered or no, as my legacy from it.
Contra Catcher, Pro Seymour
Why the popularity of Catcher in the Rye is a BAD thing--Salinger's Other Works
Mishima Revisited
Spring Snow reviewed The author of the post asks at the end how you feel about "balancing the canon," and suggest a canon without at least five Japanese authors on it is a pale and weedy thing. I disagree. A canon should not have quotas--people should not be included by nationality, but by worthiness of book. Should the canon feature works from Asian authors? Undoubtedly. But then it would be world Canon, not a western Canon. Do I think a world canon has a place in education--yes, in college. But one of the things I find wrong with education now is that lack of a basis in any foundational literature makes access of other literatures more difficult. That is a way of saying that the Western Canon has proven a worthwhile pedagogical device for precisely the literary intelligence it inculcates. My acquaintance with it has made accessible to me literature from a diverse group of peoples and cultures. So, should the Western Canon be...
The Logical Inconsistency of the New Atheism
Dawkins on Kentucky One wonders why I am so suspicious of reason as the ultimate arbiter--and my reason is precisely this--reason is almost never pursued objectively--the argument is rarely followed to the end of the line--the agenda of the thinker is always influencing the evidence accepted and rejected. Those who stand in favor of sole rationes seldom acknowledge the flaw--those who have a broader perspective tend to note these problems. Mr. Dawkins has an agenda (well, duh!) and an agenda usually center not around a rational point, but around a belief system. Mr. Dawkins is willing to surrender all to this agenda. Another religion built up around nothing. I have no brief, nor any real interest in Mr. Dawkins's belief system. That is between him and his lack of a God (or rather, the new Me-theism that transform some human attribute into a god-like entity worthy of worship. Ecclesiastes lamented that "there is nothing new under the sun." A...
An Australian Canon
Lists of Worthwhile Down Under Reading I'm ecstatic to see David Malouf's powerful Ransom on the list. And it seems apparent that I must indulge in some Henry Handel Richardson some day soon--much is available online through Australia Gutenberg--perhaps elsewhere.
The Divisions of Endo
Silence by Shusaku Endo reviewed If you're anything like I was, I had heard about the necessity of this book for years before I picked it up. Having picked it up, I feel like I will never put it down. It has become emblematic for me. I push it upon anyone who will listen long enough for me to get through my spiel. But, I do know, if you want to split a roomful of Catholics faster than lightning--toss this book in the room and then ask them whether what the protagonists does at the end was right or wrong. Guaranteed, you'll split that room--perhaps not right down the middle--but there will be at least two groups each adamantly holding to their point. I know, been there, done that. I'm with the group that agrees with the Priest and with the voice from the fumie . But to quote an American Literary Figure recently in the news, "without you having read it, you ain't gonna know what I'm talking about." If you haven't done so, this is one...
Completely Opaque to Me
While the commentary here is interesting, I'm confused by the conclusion Why would anyone in the world prefer the broken human institution of religion to God?
An Odd Proposal for the Permian
The Permian mass extinction explained: Ozone Depletion? We have volcanic evidence of high Fl and high Cl concentrations--color me dubious. There are other suggestions I have liked better for this.
The Peloponnesian War with Video
Yep, now enriched with Video, the Peloponnesian war now in its 300th decade!
A War-Time Mrs.
Mrs. Miniver reviewed In some mysterious way, it appears to have made it into the public domain--to be found here.
From One of the Great Writer Saints
St. Francis de Sales The difference between love and devotion is just that which exists between fire and flame;—love being a spiritual fire which becomes devotion when it is fanned into a flame;—and what devotion adds to the fire of love is that flame which makes it eager, energetic and diligent. . .
Derek Walcott takes T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry
White Egrets is awarded the T.S. Eliot prize for poetry.
Super True and Sad
Super Sad True Love Story reviewed And all I can say is that this reflects my experience with the book. However, being neither so strong-willed nor so stable-minded as our intrepid reviewer, I simply gave up and returned the book ignominiously in a pile of others to my local library.
Books that Change Your World But No One Else's
Books that Change Your World But No One Else's I would have on my list such delights as Leo Lionni's Parallel Botany and Taduesz Borowski's This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen
The Weird World of Yukio Mishima
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea reviewed Though in some ways Yukio Mishima is a better writter than some Japanese authors (or perhaps translates more easily into what seems better writing in English), I often find encounters with him strangely disorienting--as though I've brushed by the essence of madness.
"The Atheist's Narrow Worldview"
An agnostic tells us what's good about religion. While I can't find much to agree with in his evaluation of Dawkins and clan or any of the ultra-rationalists in approaching religion, there are some helpful observations: There is much good "medicine" in Buddhism (just as there is much good in other religions), but if the Asian Communists found you practicing it in the 1970s, you were as good as dead. And that form of militant atheism should ring a cautionary note: Religion is not the only ideology with blood on its hands. Reason is important, critical, paramount even in making decisions about what it is we do--it is not to be neglected. But it is not the only way we learn, nor is it the only way we know, nor is it the last and best guide as to what action is compassionate, humane, meaningful, and above all right. Reason, pure reason, can get it wrong--often and badly, when it comes to how to make a decision. It has done so in the past...
Darwin's Dangerous Idea Dismantled
The argument is not scientific, nor deeply science based, but the points made are worthy of consideration. I don't find Darwin's idea particularly dangerous--I only find those who wield it with a philosophical agenda having nothing to do with science dangerous. From them we get Spencerian theory and economic and social Darwinism, amongst other atrocities that result from lack of context.
Colm Toibin's Newest
"The Empty Family" via Books Inq. I started to read this and really enjoyed the first story. My major problem with Mr. Toibin is that I often just don't get the more overt homosexual stories. I'm obviously not the intended audience. I can't explain why this reaction to Mr. Toibin, and not to Mr. White or Mr. Holleran, or other famous homosexual writers. It just is.
Peggy Lee and Thomas Mann
"Is That All There Is?" If that's all there is, my friend, then let's keep dancing. . . Perhaps the bleakest hit song ever, inspired, it appears by a story from Thomas Mann. via Books Inq.
"Dover Beach" considered
"Dover Beach," perhaps the only truly great poem by one of the great critics, but not tremendous poets of Victorian time.
NBCC--How Discourgaging
The announcement of the NBCC nominees for best books of the year is certainly discouraging headed up as it is with Egan's nearly unreadable mess of a novel A Visit from the Goon Squad . And followed by Franzen's equally questionable Freedom . Where are the great and lasting voices? Where are those who are writing works that will be read five or ten years from now, skip a hundred?
I've Never Much Cared for Whitman as a Poet
and this analysis of one of his poems doesn't make me change my mind, but fascinates me because I get a sense of what others derive from the work. It makes it a powerful work--but does it make it good poetry? And then, of course, it may be that Whitman produces very, very fine poetry that I'm simply incapable of appreciation. Not i n toto , of course, but mostly with Whitman what I find is that he do go on. . . and on. . . and on. . . and on. . . and on.
A Sixteenth Century Jewish Heroine
The Tragedy of Miriam, The Fair Queene of Jewry Fascinating, I need to find it. More information The Work Itself
One of the Great Bitter Wits of all Time
Loitering with Intent , Muriel Spark This may be one of the few that I haven't read, I'm not certain. I shall certainly pick it up given Ms. Spark's long run of powerful, bitter, biting books.
One of the Great Books of 2010 Revisited
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand If you haven't read it, you should add it to your list. Along with books by Yiyun Li and Hilary Mantel (sorta--I think the pub date was 2009 for her work) this was one of the stand-out books of 2010, charming and pointed and funny and poignant and endearing. I truly hope that Ms. Simonson can rise to the level of this book in her next, which I anxiously await.
The Great Australian Novel
Several lists of contenders Of them, it is the Christina Stead I must eventually read.
Coming of Age
The Fates Will Find Their Way This sounds fascinating--and I have to wonder how close Ms. Pittard gets to understanding a teenage boy. My guess is not terribly so, at least not from other female authors I have read on the subject--but that makes the story all the more intriguing.
One Poem and Only One
"Being Here" Joseph Treasure The blogmaster says that he was not encountered another by Mr. Treasure--if you have, perhaps you would be kind enough to drop him a line.
LoA Story of the Week--Honoring Edith Wharton
"Xingu" According to LoA, poking fun at a certain kind of reader--one who reads to exert his or her cultural supreriority and vast knowledge. But take a look yourself and see what Ms. Wharton was up to.
More on Liberal Arts Education
More on Liberal Arts Education Are they declining--undoubtedly. Will defending them help? Not a whit. The cause is a massive cultural shift in which personal enrichment refers almost exclusively to monetary compensation, not to the deepening and broadening perspective that the Liberal Arts can give. But will they die? No, they may become like philosophy departments--the refuge of a few who don't fit in anywhere else. They may become compact for a while to experience a resurgence in the future (or not). But there will always be a few who want to pursue this end--they will not die--but they have already and may continue to recede.
The perhaps-not-so Magnificent Ambersons
Reading the Modern Library 100--The Magnificent Ambersons There's much about this that does not appeal. And yet. . . it made the list. Hmmm.
A Myriad of Homers
Homeric translations online Richmond Lattimore interlineal translation Richmond Lattimore was THE definitive translation before the most recent by Robert Fagles, and probably the one many of us received our introduction to Homer through. Seeing it played out against the Greek text (even though I read only a little Greek) is indeed lovely.
A Title That Matches the Morning Mood
Bereft reviewed Sounds like a great book. Wonder when I'll be able to get it stateside.
The Neversink Library
What a lovely thought and name: the Neversink Library --pretty much what you'd expect.
Unsolicited Advice
I eschew much in the way of politics and political labeling, but I found this unsolicited advice to a young conservative salutary. It could be turned inside out and beome unsolicited advice to a young liberal as well. We need to temper our debates with understanding and with much more listening and getting at the heart of the issue than our present climate of rant allows for. There is vitriol enough on all sides. It really is time to tone it down and conduct ourselves like the civilized people we like to think we are. A good starting place is--when it comes to ideas/policies/plan, go for the jugular--marshal all your arguments and trot them out as required. When it comes to people, have a cup of tea, a beer, a soda, a milkshake--go to a movie. In short, respect the person, attack the incorrect notion. We'd all be better off with a little more of this approach. Of course, I realize, that such an approach does not make for headlines....
The Common Experience
Another sharp observation from the pen of Barbara Pym. From Excellent Women Barbara Pym I let Dora go on but did not really listen, for I knew her views on Miss Protheroe and on organized religion of any kind. We had often argued about it in the past. I wondered that she should waste so much energy fighting over a little matter like wearing hats in chapel, but then, I told myself that, after all, life was like that for most of us--the small unpleasantnesses rather than the great tragedies; the useless longings rather than the great renunciations and dramatic love affairs of history or fiction.
History According to the History Channel
History according to the History Channel via a friend, thanks for the laughs
Visit the New Wing of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Boston Museum of Fine Arts--Art of the Americas virtual introduction
Gravitational Anarchy
Gravitational Anarchy I am struck at once by two things--the amazing fragility of the human body and mind and the amazing resilience of the human body and mind. Human beings were able to survive Auschwitz, Dachau, Birkenau, but a cold can kill someone. It is really quite a mystery, quite astounding, and quite moving if one thinks on it enough.
The iPad and Business Travel
The iPad and Business Travel --I'm not quite there yet; and being a very heavy user I would have to have the charger with me. But I discovered on my last trip to Dublin I could have left the monster machine behind, almost. I've got to pick up a couple of apps for spreadsheet and wordprocessing work--but the iPad has become (almost) my machine of choice. The lack of viability for Flash, however, is a serious downside to much of what I want to do--so many of the Android machines seem to have appeal. Hope Apple backs off of a stand that really isn't viable. Did they really think the internet was going to bow to their odd decree? I suppose only dwindling market share will reveal the problem. Saw an advertisement for the iPad in which it noted you could multitask. Unless the new OS adds this, I would say that the claim is, at best, an exaggeration. Still, with the right apps, it is sufficient for most business needs, and I want to move it int...
Five Stories in About 2 minutes
Including "Samuel Johnson is Indignant," Lydia Davis recites five stories
Catching Up in the Peloponnese
Catching up in the Peloponnese If you're planning to read this, or even if not, you couldn't have a more congenial host and guide than the Common Reader. By touching on those things that speak to him as he wanders through the text, it provides another light to read by. Always, always valuable.
"Gethsemane"
Kelly Cherry--"Gethsemane" via Books Inq. Strange, compelling and eerily lovely imagery.
Reading Notes
Wow, I could be jealous of a reading group that takes on such works or a reading list so complex and spare.
Together Again for the First Time
I doubt you'll see another review that pairs Diana Wynne Jones's Howl's Moving Castle with A.S. Byatt's Possession. And while we're on the topic--I watched (once again) Ponyo , and this mention makes me remember that I really should revisit Howl's Moving Castle as well. I have a great fondness for the gentleness that is much of what Miyazaki-san produces.
The Progressive "Climate of Hate"
The Progressive "Climate of Hate" via Maverick Philosopher Warning--fairly graphic stuff. I post this as an example of how not to engage in debates on the matter. Indeed, silence is the best response--a ringing, resounding silence, to let the leaden words fall to the wooden planks and thud their way into well deserved oblivion. Anyone, on either side, regardless of political viewpoint, who chooses to indulge in this a form of "fact-finding" merely fans the flames of a largely idiotic debate. Are our metaphors over-the-top sometimes? Undoubtedly. Do we ever expect someone to actually act upon them? Most of us do not. I know that I have had occasion to sympathize with the Bard and say, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Would I do so? No. Would I cheer if someone started to do so? No. Do I mean for someone to actually act on the command? No. Then why do I say it? To let off st...
Ali Shaw Sounds Great, but Keep Away from the Schine
Short reviews of three books, Shaw, Schine, and Schenkar I've been interested in the Highsmith biography for some time now and the Ali Shaw looks like it might be a really fine book. However, you could give a pass to the Schine and not miss out on much; it didn't do justice to its progenitor. Additionally, we should be discouraging the legions of Austen wannabes from flooding the market with Lord Darcy's Ninth Wife and such. That said, Schine's book is not in the same vein and as a bit of light reading might be acceptable.
A Survey of the Best Poems about Babies
Babies, like marriages, are the perfect inspiration for simply awful occasional verse. Not so with these poems.
The KJV Still Shapes the Way We Speak
How the KJV still shapes the way we speak It certainly has had some lasting metaphors and similes that people spout off without knowing their source.
Next Stop, The Vook
iPad apps that combine books with video And who exactly wants these, and why? I know that I have trouble watching many foreign films because I'm seldom in the mood to read a movie.
"And I Alone Survived to Tell You. . . "
Those of you who have been exposed to my iPad typing will know that in addition to conjoined words, we often end up with the phenomenon described in this article. Ah, the pleasures and the perils of typing in the autocorrect world.
A Startlingly Poignant Moment
Now reading Barbara Pym's Excellent Women , and this passage from early on in the book both surprised and moved me. Excellent Women Barbara Pym I could very well see what she meant, for unmarried women with no ties could very well become unwanted. I should feel it even more than Winifred, for who was there really to grieve for me when I was gone. Dora, the Malorys, one or two people in my old village might be sorry, but I was not really first in anybody's life. I could so very easily be replaced.
This Week's Poem of the Week--One of My Favorite
"Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" Thomas Gray
The Blog That Gave Rise to the Question...
. . . that I answer in the post below-- Space Station Mir
Science Fiction as Literature
Bibiblio challenges us to come up with 20 genre books that one could argue are not only genre, but literature. I'm not much into the realm of argument, but perhaps I can start a list of what I like (which does not make it literature) and then try to figure out whether or not it falls into this ultimately elusive category. For now, a few books I think may fall into the category-- Mary Shelley-- Frankenstein , I don't much care for this book, finding it at times overwritten and very difficult to follow, but it did set the groundwork for what a science fiction novel could do and the themes that it could explore. Philip K. Dick-- The Man in the High Castle --perhaps his most perfect work, the best conceived and the most rivetingly written. Does it qualify for literature? Exploring themes first articulated in Chuang-tzu, it asks us to consider what is reality and what do we make of it. Mary Doria Russell-- The Sparrow --exploring deep themes of faith, religion, and ...
Certainly an Odd Enough Film
For those who haven't gotten around to it yet--a look at Donnie Darko, an odd, unnerving film.
LoA Story of the Week--Mary Church Terrell
"What It Means to Be Colored in the Capitol of the United States"
Kokoro--Natsume Soseki
First, a warning to those who would pick up the elegant, poetic, and powerful new translation of this most important novel of one of Japan's finest novelists: read the preface last, except for perhaps the last page in which the translator explains the meaning of kokoro and how she chose to translate it. The rest of the preface is stuffed full of major spoilers. But this was the only flaw I could find with the novel and wiht the translation. The plot isn't precisely a page-tuner, but the reader is engaged every step of the way, from the narrator's encounter with the otherwise nameless Sensei to the very end. In a nutshell, a young man leaves his family to go to Tokyo for school. While there he encounters and "falls in love with" an intriguing, mysterious man whom he comes to call Sensei. Falls in love with should not be read to imply a homosexual affair, but as the translator rightly notes, a kind of erotic intellectualism. There is no sense of passion here, ...
Goon Squad
A Visit from the Goon Squad- -this review nicely sums up my own experience with it. Not riveting, for me, so much so that I didn't bother to finish
"To Bowdler Go Where Too Many Have Gone Before. . . "
Practically the only reason I'm linking to yet another article about Finn-N is so I could use the header
Thanks be to God!
Beatification date for John Paul II announced Sancto Subito , as the signs read at his funeral. And how wonderful for this great Pope that he should be honored in the month of Mary, something that is very meaningful to him. Article covering the announcment
An Interview with Patrick Lee Miller
Patrick Lee Miller on ancient philosophy and relgion This was really fascinating. Thanks again to Books Inq.
Zodiacal Mania
"No, Your Sign Hasn't Changed." Amusing when one considers all those books, personality profiles, predictions, etc. have been made with this bad, old mistaken Zodiac. Or not, as CNN explains.
The Downfall of Borders
I don't know what lessons can be learned from it, but there's sure a lot of analysis going on, the collapse of Borders. I think a key take-away (if you will) is the danger of underestimating the progress of digitization and the electronic medium for both sales and delivery.
Suzanne Collins Once Again
The Hunger Games reviewed I'm half afraid to start Mockingjay , the series wrap-up for fear of a let-down after two great entries in this series. But. . .
Greatest Hits of 1568--Still Topping the Charts
Thomas Tallis's Spem in Allium --still brilliant after all these years via Books Inq.
A Lovely Song to Say Farewell
"Moonlight in Vermont" to say farewell to Margaret Whiting Isn't it wonderful that we have the means now to have more than mere memory traces of those who have enriched our lives?
Even Bigger than Tad "The Tree-Killer" Williams
If anyone can compete, it must be Robert Jordan. A review of Eye of the World.
The Non-romance Romance
The Tapestry of Love Not having read it, I cannot say, but this sounds like it might be in the vein of one of my all time favorites: Angela Thirkell. Perhaps I'll have to look into it.
Derek Mahon and Philip Larkin
Poetry needs its pushers--I'm proud to be among them if only by linking to "Days Are Where We Live"
Jay McInerny
The Story of My Life reviewed Jay McInerny is one of those writers like Brett Easton Ellis, who after a promising start seemed to produce nothing much worth reading. Nothing much until the short story collection of last year or the year before, which has some really, really fine material in it.
Joseph Conrad--Science Fiction's Leading Man?
Joseph Conrad's Science Fiction novel --written in collaboration with Ford Madox Ford In case you want to read it: The Inheritors
Three Comments (sorta) on Edmund White's New York List
"The (non) Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton" "Five Books of New York." (Of which I've read two and haven't heard of three) "In the Ether" on the Choice of Money
Two Wonderful Cinematic Treates
Orson Welles's third film The Stranger in its entirety And for Frank and some others: Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown, a documentary.
Banned in Canada
"Money for Nothing." The reason The word used is derogatory in this context. (It's amazing how much of the language around the gay community expropriates formerly common words for a different use.) However, it seems to me that this is precisely the kind of tone-deafness that afflicts our present discussions around Huck Finn. If you bother to listen to the song, you will hear, probably instantly, that Dire Straits isn't particularly fond of the character speaking. They are holding him up as an example of what not to be, not to do, not to think. It is satire and it is true to life recording the way some people think. It was not meant to be an insult to the gay community and says almost nothing about the gay community, because the epithet is thrown at anyone who is marginally different--wearing an earring, etc. This man has no notion of who is or isn't gay, but anyone who isn't like him is probably gay and beneath contempt. But someone de...
MIT Open Courseware Physics Classes
Open Courseware complete classes--oh, sign me up! Sign me up!. I want the one on quantum mechanics and dubiously dead cats.
Sistine Chapel
I've probably posted before, but was reminded of this by Books Inq. The version I saw, at one time, had the ability to magnify quite a bit. I'm viewing this on Mac, so that may make a difference, but I'm sure not seeing magnify mode.
Most Literate Cities
D.C. tops the charts. Which only goes to show that you can read and read and read, and be illiterate still. (pace Hamlet)
Ten New York Books
Ten New York Books selected by Edmund White I wouldn't necessarily agree with the absence of Gotham or Washington Square , but then, you're limited to 10, and Mr. White knows the city better than I do.
The Inimitable Baudelaire on Vegetable Love
Baudelaire on sacred vegetables This was particularly amusing: I'd still hold my own soul of higher price than that of these sanctified vegetables. Indeed, I've always thought that there was something distressing and almost vulgar in the eternal reflowering and renewal of nature.
Movies That Had an Impact
"Movies That Had an Impact" I'm particularly amused by the comments on Brokeback Mountain. I waited for years for the furor to die down. I watched it and thought--"That's what both the furor and acclaim were all about?" I think few people even think about the film now--and that is just considering its quality. There are other films exploring the same subject matter that do it better. However, it did have an impact.
A Subject for Prayer
The Queensland Floods The world of blogging creates a new community, one that sometimes surprises us. When I finally heard about Tucson, I thought of friends there and of blogging friends there, even though I knew the likelihood of their involvement quite small. We can share the mundane news of the world. In the U.S. we're unlikely to trouble ourselves with floods and problems that don't reach catastrophic proportions. And frankly, even those that do rarely break through the perennial sniping of one party at another for this, that, or the other. Thank goodness for real news of the world.
Consideration of a Not Advanced Age
Coetzee's Youth reviewed. I must admit that I find Coetzee a very mixed bag. Some things superb, others just barely readable, and still others not even that. I loved Disgrace and his literary Essays, but found almost everything else I tried troubling in one way or another. (Usually, I found myself uninterested about midway through.)
Dialogue in the Novel
Dialogue in the Novel. As always, Prof. Myers educates in a highly readable and thoughtful way. It sometimes makes one wish one had something to say.
Tablet and Pen--A Surprise Hit
Tablet and Pen , an anthology of Middle Eastern work This looks like a really wonderful sampler for those of us who are not much acquainted with work of this region of the world.
Amos Oz "The King of Norway"
Abstract only for non-subscribers, but for New Yorker Subscribers the story is online.
Seventeen Syllable Sketches
Whether or not these rise to the heights of poetry, I will not bother myself with, I like them--that is enough.
Apropos des chiens
To Say Nothing of the Dog --Connie Willis Connie Willis may be one of the most underestimated talents in Science Fiction. Her legion of fans seems to be of the quieter sort, because you don't see her as much touted as, say, Gene Wolfe, or Philip K. Dick, or William Gibson. And yet, there is about her work a strong sensibility and an even stronger style.
Considering Trespass
Trespass by Rose Tremain, reviewed This is one of those books, like Great House that I've vacillated on. This review makes it sound like a must-read.
Openings
Book Openings My personal favorite is from Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House : No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. See more about it.
A Novel Based on the Life of Katherine Mansfield
In Pursuit reviewed Sounds wonderful. Mansfield is one of those writers of whom I have read little, but I've always intended to read more.
Utterly Fascinating--Impossible Motion Contraption
Impossible Motion--you must see this--startling and seemingly impossible
Reviewing Those Jesuits
The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything reviewed My "problem" with this book is similar to that sited at the end of the review. Nothing seemed new to me. But that wasn't really the problem. The real problem was that I got distracted, as I too easily do. And I have every intention of returning to this because the portions I read of it were very strong, sometimes surprisingly amusing, and extremely helpful.
Working on My Bolano Block
Monsieur Pain reviewed I have significant literary blindspots--you've all seen them. While I can appreciate some of Nabokov's prose, his work leaves me cold. Bolano's work doesn't leave me cold so much as confused about what it is he's writing about. I'm sure he knew, but I sometimes leave a book wondering, "So, what was that about?"
T'ang Dynasty Poets
T'ang Dynasty Poets and while we're at it a quick review for those who do not yet know their dynasties:
Yiyun Li as Finalist
"Gold Boy, Emerald Girl" a finalist in the 2010 Story Prize. And certainly deserving--a magnificent capstone to a superior collection, "Gold Boy, Emerald Girl," captures all of the poignancy and the beautiful humane approach Ms. Li takes in all of her stories. As much as you'd like to leave one of her stories hating some of the characters, you discover that it is not possible because Ms. Li has shown you, perfectly, how human they are and what their connection with you is.
Freeing the Farsi
After being banned in Iran, Paul Coelho announces a plan to make Farsi translations of his books freely available .
Paul Among the People-- Sarah Ruden
Paul Among the People is subtitled The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time , and, as a fairly orthodox Catholic, I approached it with a little frisson, wondering what in the world I might encounter in this reinterpretation by a Classical Scholar and Urban Quaker. I can report to any who care, the concern was needless. While some of Ms. Ruden's own feelings and ideas bleed through--she remains resolutely on task--interpreting Paul in his own time. What exactly does that mean? Well, I think many of us have a great many misconceptions about "the Glory that was Greece, the Grandeur that was Rome." Even today, in the face of relentless historical reinterpretation, there is about the ancients a kind of veil of romanticism under which most of the worst scars and deformities are hidden. Ms. Ruden helps to remind us of what life was really like during the time period. She juxtaposes "problematic" portions of Paul's letters against classical ...
First Rocky Exoplanet
First Rocky Exoplanet --hmm. How do they separate gaseous from rocky? I guess I'll have to find out.
A New Bible
The C.S. Lewis Bible It's a shame which translation of the Bible they used for this. But Mr. Lewis, being irenic in these matters probably would have no problem with it.
A Single Thread: The Case for Involuntary Commitment
The Case for Involunary Commitment It's a difficult task even when the person wants to be committed. Baker-acting someone is a difficult challenge.
"The Past is a Foreign Country. . . "
"The Past is a Foreign Country. They had far less to do there." Discussing Franz Bengtsson's The Long Ships.
Winston Churchill on Writing
Winston Churchill on Writing via Books Inq. Of course, one is left with the gnawing question, which Winston Churchill? But not really, considering the link.
The Week You Were Born
The Bestsellers for the Week you were born via Books Inq. Well, I'm pleased to say, that at least a few of mine have lasted. But should I be coy and withhold vital information? Perhaps. . .
World's Smallest Periodic Table
Inscribed on a human hair--The Periodic Table Which is wonderful and fascinating. Nevertheless, one is left asking, "Why?"
Reading Aloud
An Exercise in Slowing Down-- Paradise Lost in 12 hours That sounds like speeding up to me.
Reading Feeds the Brain
And if so, the reading list of Jared Lee Loughner is a matter of great interest
Two Bases of Catholic Morality
"Two Bases of Catholic Morality" for those who want to know where those edicts come from.
Conducting Your Philosophy
Proposed: If you're not looking for the truth, if you're not willing to follow the argument to its end--you probably should avoid philosophy. Philosophy conducted with an agenda, no matter how benevolent, nearly always results in a bad end. Or so it seems.
Copernicus and Apropos of Another Discussion Aquinas
Sorry, fell in love with the History teachers-- To the tune of "Because"--Copernicus And Then There's Aquinas inappropriately enough to Bananarama's "Venus" Oh, and I won't embed--but can we resist Beowulf to 99 Luftballoons?
"The Constitution and Its Worshippers"
"The Constitution and its Worshippers" " If you haven’t read the Constitution lately, do. Chances are you’ll find that it doesn’t exactly explain itself. "
Christians and Muslims Together
Muslims line up as human shields for Coptic Christmas Masses As Frank at Books Inq. noted: what courage looks like
Review of Doerr's Most Recent
Memory Wall reviewed I've checked this out three or four times to read it, and always some other book falls in front of it. I really need to get to this one.
Elijah Wood as Frodo in The Hobbit?
Anyone else find this a bit problematic? Uh, well, um, what's Frodo doing in The Hobbit , for one thing? Hope it's just misreporting.
Dante and Modern Physics
Measuring Hell Don't forget this synopsis of the master's great work-- The Divine Comedy (repeated from below--can you tell I'm amused?)