A Momentary Taste of Being

Are All Opinions Equal?

"What's the purpose of a book blog?"

Once again, I find myself in Dublin for a week of work.  As a result my posts will be asynchronous, corresponding either to mid-afternoon (after work) or very early in the morning (before work).  As today was the first day after arrival, I slept in.  I never fail to be amazed at how easily my body accommodates the change moving west to east and how difficult it is to acclimate upon returning home.  I'm already used to getting up at two in the morning my time and the week should go very, very well indeed. On my last two trips here, I spent the time tracing the tracks of Ulysses and reading it when spending off-hours from work.  I also worked all of the major religious and historical attractions and many of the museums.  So far this trip I was able to take in the Irish National Art Gallery (Featuring Art by a lesser known, but very fine Irish artist--Jack Yeats) the Irish Natural History Museum--a kind of interesting museum of museums--the exhibitions resem...

Frank Wilson reports--is this a trend?

I love numbers and trends.  That's the second reason for keeping any sort of blog stats. (The main reason is to find interesting places to visit that I might otherwise miss.) So, in examining my blog stat for several weeks I've noted an overall trend that I have not yet been able to discern the reason for.  Every week the "spike" in the week occurs on Tuesday.  Tuesday tend to have significantly higher visit rates than any other day.  I want to know why.  Are the spiderbots released on Tuesday to do their weekly webbing and indexing tasks--have people recovered from the downer of returning to work and now rejoined the blogging world?  Inquiring minds want to know.

While I have much to blog--Wordsworth, Barrett Browning and other things, time has been limited because I've recently received an iPad that I've had to become acquainted with for things happening at work.  A marvelous and frustrating machine--combining both the remarkable world of entertainment and the possible world of larger functionality.  I would say at the moment it is not ready for primetime as one's laptop--(no ability to have multiple screens, etc.  But as a palm-like device, instantly ready, it has some interest.  As an e-reader it has the considerable disadvantage of large weight--it does not rest easy in the palm, as it were.

We go to celebrate--at Sea World and then with a tea-party at one of his favorite places of eat.  He'll be able to sit in "special seating" area and drink from the Alice in Wonderland Tea Set.  But first he must try to get Daddy to ride Manta with him.

Maybe write after I type this out!  Reviews of: Yann Martel Beatrice and Virgil Suzanne Collins Catching Fire Victoria Patterson Drift Hallowe'en: New Poems ed. Al Sarrantino And notes on two books I'm presently reading: Marietta McCarty's How Philosophy Can Save Your Life Mary Oliver Rules for the Dance

It is likely to continue through the next week, at least as I travel once again for a week in Waltham. What I can say is that I was pleasantly surprised by Waltham.  Beautiful cherry trees (at least I think they were cherry trees) daffodils, hyacinths--everything I miss about the North but am not willing to endure northern winter to experience.

And I'm thinking one in particular--I'll be spending a week in Waltham starting on Monday.  Don't know how blogging will go.

Expect blogging to be light--but I hope to get to some more Petina Gappah and a wonderful book by Madeleine St. John. Query for those in Great Britain--is St. John as a last name still pronounced sinnjinn, or is it more like St. John?

I had posted a much more negative review that I'm entirely comfortable with of Peter Carey's Wrong About Japan .  I have pulled the review and simply noted that I have read the book. I don't like to post negative reviews for a number of reasons and I had promised myself that if it didn't get at least 4 stars I wasn't going to spend the time to review, etc.  I did in this case for reasons I can't quite articulate and it does a disservice to the writer. It is enough for everyone to know that for what I felt were good reasons, the book did not appeal to me.  There was nothing particularly wrong with the writing and my reasons for disliking it were entirely subjective and not based on the merits of the work itself.  Therefore, it is unfair, and worse, unkind of me to post anything that could be seen as detraction.  I apologize to all of you and to the author and will, in the future, endeavor to keep any such to myself, noting only when I didn't care for some...

Just went to Blog2Print to discover what this brilliant gem of a blog is worth as far as literary property goes, and judging by the price tag, I'm assuming they expect very, very low sales--like library only sales. To print this blog as a beautifully bound book--fully as advertised above--would cost $166.85.  As magical as I think words may sometimes be, especially my words (to me), I think I'll forego the pleasure--I don't expect the library sales to recoup my investment--unless you, my faithful readers wish to have a volume to peruse at your leisure.  (Before you write me saying yes, please consult with your nearest mental health care professional.)

Not that it matters, but often while away from the office on such assignments as may come up, it becomes more difficult to blog with the vigor I would like.  So please be aware, if things are somewhat sparser than they usually are, I haven't the leisure in the evening to prepare the things that will occur the following day--nor can I use my lunch break to catch up.  Ah well, the perils of earning a living.  But I would like to share a review of Wuo Rangwuo's Hunger Trilogy and some notes on Beneath the Lion's Gaze if opportunity permits.

A question of etiquette in the blog environment. The question of how one goes about expressing opinions on subjects that really matter while at the same time maintaining composure and respect for one's correspondents is a very difficult matter.  Too often we are watching black type appear in white boxes.  Person?  There's no person here!  Let us conduct ourselves as we would in the privacy of our own home, throwing things across the room--and so forth.  But the reality is that we are more public than we ever have been or, perhaps, reasonably should be and it is important to bring to mind that every person is deserving of respect and compassion as far as we are humanly capable of doing.  When we disagree, it can be done respectfully--either in silence as we bypass (in charity) what could be a sharp rebuke of the deplorable taste exhibited or we post a comment that demurs from the central thesis of our blog-host.  It is always important to remember tha...

Teach your priest to blog! Yes, Pope Benedict XVI has asked priests to spread the word through blogging.  Some may need the able assistance of those of us who have been doing this for eons.  A new lay mission--what could be better. (Thanks to BooksInq.)

For all the amateurs Ulyssesites out there I will every day have to walk under the " Tommy Moore's roguish finger. They did right to put him up over a urinal: meeting of the waters. "  It will stand between me and my destination near the southeast corner of St. Stephen's Green.  Of course this will also take me (daily) by Davy Byrnes:  He entered Davy Byrne's. Moral pub. He doesn't chat. Stands a drink now and then. But in leapyear once in four. Cashed a cheque for me once.  Undoubtedly I will find my way to both the National Museum and the National Library only off by a street or two and perhaps as far as the apothecary that Bloom visits at the beginning of the book--we'll see.  I'm there on business and there will be limited time for touring about--but some time nevertheless and I'll make the best of it.  I can't say what is likely to appear here in the interim but I'm taking with me several slender volumes--Herta Müller: The Appointmen...

Tomorrow, perhaps some words on Faulkner: As I Lay Dying; Abasalom, Absalom!, Light in August, The Sound and the Fury, and The Unvanquished (I think).  These reprints allow me to share some of the thoughts I've had in the past and give me a system of record for literary reflection.

Why do you blog? And offers his own insights into the world of blogging.

(and yet deeply gratified and flattered) by the fact that there are people who live in Paris who are hanging out at my blog.  I can't imagine that it would be possible for Paris to become ordinary enough for me to hang around blogs--and yet there you have it! I mean I get why people from Columbus, Orlando, and Witchee-Watchee are hanging around the cafe--but Paris? I hope someday I have the chance to plumb this mystery.  Same for London, Dublin, and other such places. Deeply mysterious and wonderful.