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Monthly Archives: September 2010

Dostoyevski and the religion of suffering 5.

Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé: It would have taken me some time to form a judgement had I not suddenly had a vision of that life, born in a hospital, brought up in misery, in sickness, in pain, to be continued in Siberian prisons, in the barracks; ever pursued by want and moral distress, always being crushed and yet ennobled by the work of a – Redeemer. Then I understood that this persecuted soul escaped all known standards…

Noted: Why a good scientist should be sceptical of science.

If science is careful scepticism writ large, shouldn’t a scientific cast of mind require one to be sceptical of science itself?

A Morning.

William Stafford: “A Morning,” a poem from The Little Magazine (London), 1972.

Noted: Photos from the center of Europe, looking out.

With work by more than 90 Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Slovakian and Slovenian artists, Paris Photo will offer an exceptional overview of the Central European scene, from the 1920’s avant-garde movements and the post-war years through to the most contemporary approaches.

Noted: The history of proto-mojo.

In its contemporary meaning, “It,” Joseph Roach explains, was “coined in 1927 by a British expatriate, romance-author, and Hollywood tastemaker Elinor Glyn (1864-1943)” to describe the unusual allure of certain people.

Ocean.

Ann Lauterbach: “Ocean,” a poem from The Little Magazine (London), April, 1972.

Noted: Reading a good book just for pain.

Although my subject is History and Politics, the English Faculty does permit non-members to borrow from its collection, but with some rather curious reservations.

Noted: Claude Chabrol, 1930-2010.

Wags said that they would not recognise a Chabrol film without, at the very least, a good domestic “blow-out”.

Three encounters near Kerala. December 2006.

Martin Sorrell: Notes from Kerala.

Noted: Adjusting Facebook to keep the wives happy.

Bigamy in the age of Facebook is tricky, but it’s not impossible.

Noted: Why Jews only go to Temple twice a year.

Why Jews only go to Temple twice a year.

Noted: How technology created Walt Whitman's very large pile of 'Leaves'.

Whitman and his readers worked within a technologically different publishing economy, and most editions of Leaves of Grass would have been available in often strikingly different forms.

Calamo: Republicans and the Wall Street Journal's pragmatic principles.

The rambunctious, impolite tea party movement is aimed primarily at Republicans (especially of the congressional ilk).

Noted: Encountering Zweig in Manhattan, near the end.

Mann, like many other fledgling authors, came to see Zweig as an exemplary patron with a maternally solicitous streak. He heartened the anxious by cajoling them to self-expression and quietly deployed his ample bank account to dissolve logistical obstacles confronting the impecunious.

Calamo: The Blitz at 70.

When the lights go on all over the world…