Saturday, December 24, 2016
Copious gathering …
… Selected Poems and Prose by Percy Bysshe Shelley review – a landmark edition | Books | The Guardian. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Actually, Shelley's atheism and progressivism date him every bit as much as his diction.
Actually, Shelley's atheism and progressivism date him every bit as much as his diction.
Recommended …
… 5 Poetry Books With A Boston Connection You Should Read | The ARTery. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
The story of a song …
… The (Christmas) Glow Worm: Steyn's Song of the Week :: SteynOnline. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Something to think on …
For the creation of a masterwork of literature two powers must concur, the power of the man and the power of the moment, and the man is not enough without the moment.
— Matthew Arnold, born on this date in 1822
Link-Fest!
More accumulated links...(and, as always, please remember, we report, you decide)
- Why are people born with disabilities? Is this a result of sin?
- Awww. And Awe - Awe Elicits a Desire for Order; When Awe-Struck, We Feel Both Smaller and Larger (Google link to WSJ for non subscribers)
- Fiction Writing - the Snowflake Method
- From polygamy to incest, confronting the Old Testament’s strange sexual standards
- Why are people born with disabilities? Is this a result of sin?
- Awww. And Awe - Awe Elicits a Desire for Order; When Awe-Struck, We Feel Both Smaller and Larger (Google link to WSJ for non subscribers)
- Fiction Writing - the Snowflake Method
- From polygamy to incest, confronting the Old Testament’s strange sexual standards
Friday, December 23, 2016
The Christmas Truce...
[T]he Christmas Truce...happened in 1914. After almost six month of war, soldiers fighting for the Entente powers and soldiers fighting for the “Mittelmächte” met in No Man’s Land and celebrated Christmas together.
The soldiers exchanged gifts, sometimes addresses, and drank together. Often the truce started with a request to bury the dead comrades lying between the trenches
The soldiers exchanged gifts, sometimes addresses, and drank together. Often the truce started with a request to bury the dead comrades lying between the trenches
Hmm …
… Maverick Philosopher: Unusual Experiences and the Problem of Overbelief and Underbelief. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I don't see any particular reason for going beyond the experience or to base any belief upon it. The experience happened. Take it as a reminder that "there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy." The calm descended, the love was felt.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Modiano as Musician
A recent piece from Harper's:
"Since the flurry of attention that followed his Nobel win, Modiano has rarely spoken to the press, and the interviews he does grant are hardly informative. On camera Modiano appears hesitant and shy; he stammers, waves his long arms, and trails off midsentence. So I was intrigued when I learned that as a young man, Modiano wrote song lyrics, some of which were recorded by Francoise Hardy and other stars of the Sixties. I was surprised by the pop ambitions of a future laureate, and it occurred to me that Modiano’s musical collaborators might prove a more fruitful way to access this elusive writer than traditional lines of inquiry."
Listen in …
… Episode 198 – Ed Ward | Virtual Memories.
“There’s a large narrative in this book: the popular music tradition of A&R, where songs were given to artists to record, was on its way out.”
Cause for concern …
… Will our love affair with robots land us in the Natural History Museum? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Driverless cars may turn out to be a less subtle, more spectacular example. The UK has permitted road testing, as have many American states. All the big car-makers and some big tech companies have plans to get us away from the steering wheel within the next few years. The arguments in favour are potent — greater safety, less congestion, freedom for the young, the elderly and the disabled. The arguments against are threadbare in comparison — loss of pleasure and control and a certain queasy sense that something is wrong here.
Hmm …
… The Novel as a Tool for Survival - The Chronicle of Higher Education. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Fiction, at its best, is phenomenological— accurately and precisely portraying things as they are. It is not tendentious.
Measuring consciousness?
What is consciousness? For centuries, philosophers, scientists, and writers have pondered the question. The concept or even the word itself is difficult to define, and because of this it is one of the most difficult subjects to study scientifically.One of the most common interpretations of consciousness is awareness or alertness, but even this is closely intertwined with other facets of consciousness such as self-awareness. While the metaphysical answer remains elusive, a group of psychologists from France has taken a slightly different approach -- is it possible to measure consciousness without completely understanding it?
Poor Dawkins - Even his science is questioned
Thanks, but no thanks, say British scientists about controversial British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, primarily known for his criticism of religion.
Something to think on …
The basic line in any good verse is cadenced... building it around the natural breath structures of speech.
— Kenneth Rexroth, born on this date in 1905
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Eyes being opened …
… Tuesday History: When a poet discovers the segregated South | Mountain Xpress. (Hat tip, G.E. Reutter.)
Good question …
… Have Public Intellectuals Ever Gotten Anything Right? - WSJ. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Something to think on …
People think that because a novel's invented, it isn't true. Exactly the reverse is the case. Biography and memoirs can never be wholly true, since they cannot include every conceivable circumstance of what happened. The novel can do that.
— Anthony Powell, born on this date in 1905
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
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