A Momentary Taste of Being

While I am interested in and sensitive to Mr. Juan Williams's plight in having be chastised for stating an opinion that has crossed the minds of most thinking American's even as they did not allow it to become the signpost and guide for their thinking, such profound ignorance as is expressed in the passage that follows cannot be allowed to pass without comment: from Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate Juan Williams Catholic leaders threaten to deny politicians the right to communion if they disagree with the church hierarchy, without acknowledging that there is a major divide on the issue of abortion among the most faithful Catholics. There are several disturbing points in the passage most of which stem from the fact that I sincerely believe that Juan Williams thinks he understands Catholicism, the faith, and what Church Leaders are and do. Let's start with the simplest--there is no "right" to communion.  Indeed the word implies that one is united with...

One issue I never tire of tiring of is the question of homosexuality whenever a relationship, of whatever sort, occurs between two men.  The latest example to tweak me in this way is from a very fine (so far) study of Montaigne--the second in as many years. from When I Am Playing With My Cat, How Do I Know That She Is Not Playing With Me: Montainge and Being in Touch With Life Saul Frampton      Montaigne's letter is clearly a moving testament to his friend. But the question that inevitably raises itself is to what extent was there more than friendship at stake--that is to say, was it a platonic relationship or a romantic one?      The idea that the two men's relationship was a homosexual one is by no means implausible, but neither is it necessarily the case: Montaigne later adds to his essay a reference to: 'that other Greek licence . . . justly abhorred by our conscience', meaning homosexuality, a crime one of his schoolmasters, Marc-Antoine M...

The Editor's Introduction to the Redaction of Huckleberry. via Books Inq.

Nothing like a good literary kerfluffle--More on Finn And More

Unacceptable Challenged books

More on the bowdlerization of an American Classic As I once said to someone who advocated the ability to alter at will works of cinema to suit his own purgative purposes--I don't really have any problem with what is produces so long as it is stamped in big red letters--THIS IS NOT THE ORIGINAL WORK OF THE AUTHOR NOR DOES IT IN ANY WAY EXPRESS HIS (HER) INTENT. DO NOT PURCHASE IF YOU WISH TO KNOW WHAT THIS AUTHOR WROTE. If it makes one feel warm and cozy inside to do with a work whatever magical purgation is required, no one is obligated to read the redaction.  No one is required to imbibe Finn from the polluted pool.  And if it should happen to be assigned in a high school, then I'll start my complaints and moaning.  The existence of the alternative version is, at worst, a nuisance and a disservice to the work of literature--it isn't the end of that work. That said--I can still say with perfect poise--it shouldn't have been done to start with.  But, what's don...

Mark Atithakis D. G. Myers

Living Out the Gospels: The Music of Glenn Gould This was brought to my attention by a friend, and while I cannot endorse the aesthetic theory or literary theory of anyone who so easily dismisses Proust from the Canon, there are some interesting points.  While much of the theory seems to derive from John Gardner's notion of moral fiction and much depends on how one thinks about "great writers," I do find some of her critiques on target.  Comparing Franzen to Tolstoy, for example, is a ludicrous over-reaching.  Indeed, the same could be said of comparing much of modern literature to older literature.  There is something flaccid, unhealthy, rather daliesque and dripping-clocks about much of modern literature.  I will emphatically deny, though, that such thought applies to the magnificent mind and approach of Marcel Proust.

Poetry Out Loud examined. via Books Inq. The best multicultural education one can get is a grounding in the classics of one's own culture--the ability to understand how literature works at a base level in a vernacular that is comprehensible to the individual.  This was my training--and though I am occasionally mystified by my forays into other cultures, I can claim that I'm occasionally mystified by my forays into my own--it is all equal.  While much should be done to redress the historic discrimination that has kept out of our hands works of quality by women and minorities--it seems a shame to make that one of the overriding criteria for a selection of work.

Edward Docx repeating the old party line about the inferiority of genre fiction The same old, and largely ignorant arguments made by fearful literati against genre fiction. So do we dismiss a certain portion of Doris Lessing's Canon becasue it is SF.  Do we toss out Margaret Atwood? I like Frank's note with regard to this . Also, I will note that I use the word ignorant advisedly.  Mr. Docx contends that within the genre much of the thinking about the work is already done.  Obviously he has not encountered The Man in the High Castle, The Dispossessed, Left Hand of Darkness, Babel-17, The Sparrow etc.  Obviously, there is a great deal of thinking that goes into constructing the fictional world.  Some hacks pick up the bits and pieces left around by other writers, but the majority are thinking every bit as much, and perhaps more than many writers of literary fiction.  I suppose that the Odyssey, as a brand of genre fiction (High Fantasy) is just de tro...

Are All Opinions Equal?

Sharpies All I can say in the matter is that it seems to be extremely difficult to find science that has not in some way been tainted--on either side of the issue.  I don't trust those who deny AGW, mostly because there seem to be way too much agenda behind the denial.  I don't trust those who propose it, ditto.  My own experience in the sciences suggests that while global warming may be occurring (I've not been able to read a sufficient amount of reasoned debate on the issue) it certainly need not be anthropogenically mediated.  To use Orwell's rule--the weight of the evidence does not yet adequate AGW in my reading.

The history of our fluctuating climate concerns

Cat Stevens on Fatwas etc. Certainly makes you think twice about  one's former allegiance to the singer.

A for-hire on-line course taker Ah, as the technology improves, cheating becomes just more and more a matter of economics.

On Erica Jong and modern childhood I hadn't considered things in just this way, and it is an interesting and illuminating reflection on the state of childhood today.  I think I at least half agree, but the idea is so new, I'll have to roll it around awhile before I decide.

Cancer Etiquette?  Really--HItches speaks out--as when does he not?

Ah, some reflections on Original Sin and the meaning of the "pursuit of happiness." Via Books Inq., which also gave us the quiz from earlier this morning.

Books Inq presents the point and has a lively discussion On this matter, I have little concern.  My opinion is that an afterlife does exist; although whether or not it does, would not affect the faith I have in God.  When I was quite young I had a dream that has shaped my way of thinking ever since.  I saw a gigantic angel--it was standing over a cityscape whose skyline was dominated by the Two Towers. The angel held two buckets (and here you can detect the literary influence) in one of which I could see fire, in the other of which I knew there was ice.  The angel said, "Do what you do not for hope of heaven or fear of hell, but for love of God alone."  It seems a good guideline for living in faith.

"Arizona proof of citizenship law overturned. . ." In a way, I understand this--laws of this sort can become the new Jim Crow laws of the land.  On the other hand, evidence of citizenship, depending upon what is required does not seem to be an undue burden to place on those who are to exercise the privileges of the land.  While I don't mind feeding children and educating them and even caring for those adults who do not reside in the land in full legality, I balk at allowing anyone, upon pain of perjury, to attest to citizenship and vote.  Who is going to track down those who have perjured?  How do we assure that the citizens who live, love, and support the land in which they live have the singular right and privilege of determining the direction in which the country goes?