July 2010

Eating Poetry (XX) – blessing the boats

July 31, 2010

For Chris Al-Aswad 1979-2010 Artist, Writer, Social Media Maven, Generous Spirit, Creator and Editor of Escape Into Life —— blessing the boats by Lucille Clifton (1936-2010) may the tide that is entering even now the lip of our understanding carry you out beyond the face of fear may you kiss the wind then turn from [...]

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This Is the End (of History, War, the Enlightenment, and Western Civilization) Or Not

July 30, 2010

Andrew Becevich is appropriately critical of the American impetus to hegemonic empire that grew out of its post World War Two ascendency and the commitment to communist containment. That was the subject of his 2008 The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. Essential to any continuing practicability of this American role, he argues [...]

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It’s in his Blood (I love that boy)

July 30, 2010

My niece on Facebook: I just heard my son come running up the stairs laughing and yelling down to his sister, “I just took a picture of your tushy and I’m hitting send”, my heart stopped for a second as I pictured explaining that one to Children’s Services until I remembered that they only have [...]

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Oliver Stone, Propagandist

July 29, 2010

I might just as well have gone with a title of “Oliver Stone: anti-Semite,” but you can see I’m loathe to sensationalize. Stone has been rich in crackpot foolishness of late, including now an exposed vein of anti-Semitism. Many, like Ben Cohen at Z Word Blog, have reported from behind the new Times of London [...]

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Philosophy and Race

July 28, 2010

At AskPhilosophers “You ask, Philosophers answer.” Explains the site, There is a paradox surrounding philosophy that AskPhilosophers seeks to address. On the one hand, everyone confronts philosophical issues throughout his or her life. But on the other, very few have the opportunity to learn about philosophy, a subject that is usually taught only at the [...]

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Writers Write

July 28, 2010

“You don’t know about me, without you have read a book by the name of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,’ but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly.” Adventures of Huckleberry Finn * * * “The difference between the right word and the almost-right [...]

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Jazz Is 7:Billie Holiday, Fine and Mellow

July 28, 2010

Some faces are like watching the wind move through the trees. Oh, yes, and the voice. And the music. A song written by Holiday, accompanied by a star-shot band. The three tenor saxes alone are heavenly wattage. In the most famous performance of the song, on CBS, from a 1957 television special, The Sound of [...]

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Elizabeth Warren – Too Partisan?

July 27, 2010

from The New York Times “A lot of us are terrified about what happens in rule-making,” said Stephen Lerner of the Service Employees International Union, which is pressing the administration to nominate Ms. Warren. “Symbolically, it does seem incredibly important to pick somebody who not only invented the idea, but someone who doesn’t claim to [...]

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Pejman Yousefzadeh: on Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer

July 27, 2010

from The New Ledger The Case of Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer Want to gain respect and credibility in writing about Israel and the Middle East? Make it clear–crystal clear–that you will have nothing to do with the crazies who use your arguments to propagate their own racist rantings. If you say “oh, it goes [...]

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Writers Write

July 27, 2010

“You do the writing as a debt of honor” Anne Lamott, Interview, Internet Roundtable 22 November 1994 * * * “If a writer has to rob his mother, he will not hesitate; the “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is worth any number of old ladies.” William Faulkner, Interview (pdf), Paris Review Spring 1956 ——- Related [...]

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Wikileaks Unvarnished: the Power of Satire

July 27, 2010

Seek out someone who supports, however grudgingly, a continued U.S. effort in Afghanistan, who supports, too, the work of Julian Assange and Wikileaks. Find a person opposed to remaining in Afghanistan who is also critical of Assange. In either case, listen, because you won’t have either opportunity often. Attitudes in controversy tend to be self-confirming, [...]

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The “Vietnam of Our Day”

July 26, 2010

from Haaretz: Pro-Palestinian group sees its struggle as ‘Vietnam of our day’ …The chance to participate in a compelling conflict is popular with college-age students on summer breaks. For many Jews, it’s a chance to understand the conflict from a radically pro-Palestinian perspective. But while most activists read about Mideast politics, volunteers can be clueless [...]

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Writers Write

July 26, 2010

“The trade of authorship is a violent and indestructible obsession.” George Sand (Aurore Lucile Dupin) Letter, March 4, 1831. Share Tweet Subscribe to comments on this post Email

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Ten Questions for Monday

July 26, 2010

The weekend is over. Back to work. Should Shirley Sherrod sue Andrew Breitbart? What damages and punitive award, if any, would you think appropriate? From what you know, how would you compare the moral character of Sherrod and Breitbart? Is the NAACP’s asking Tea Party leaders to repudiate racist elements in the Tea Party an [...]

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Sunday Matinee – Double Down (Part 8)

July 25, 2010

A Film Noir by A. Jay Adler DOUBLE DOWN Part Eight The Story So Far Jack Miles, rock n’ roll roadie, has returned home looking for a job. He encounters old friends and begins a new love with Evelyn “Sonny” Morales, a detective. Old friends, Kyle and Ray, propose to Jack that he help them [...]

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Eating Poetry (XIX) – Year of Meteors

July 24, 2010

Walt Whitman The Meteor of 1860 by Frederic Church From Astronomy Picture of the Day Explanation: Frederic Church (1826-1900), American landscape painter of the Hudson River School, painted what he saw in nature. And on July 20th, 1860, he saw a spectacular string of fireball meteors cross the Catskill evening sky, an extremely rare Earth-grazing [...]

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Tenure, RIP: What the Vanishing Status Means for the Future of Education

July 23, 2010

From The Chronicle of Higher Eductation The AAUP has for years argued for the necessity of tenure. This spring Cary Nelson, president of the association, visited Principia College, a liberal-arts institution in Illinois where there is no tenure. “You could cut the fear with a knife,” says Mr. Nelson. “Faculty members are guarded, they’re not [...]

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Writers Write

July 23, 2010

“Camerado! This is no book; who touches this touches a man.” Walt Whitman, “So Long,” from Leaves of Grass ——– Related articles by Zemanta On Whitman by C K Williams: review (telegraph.co.uk) Scientists identify meteor event in Walt Whitman poem (seattletimes.nwsource.com) Walt whitman (1819 – 1892) (slideshare.net) Walt Whitman Meteor Mystery Solved by Astronomer Sleuths [...]

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The Argument: Defense is Offensive

July 23, 2010

We know the adage: the best defense is a good offense. Generally speaking, that was the argument for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. That is the doctrine of preemptive attack. That is what Israel did in 1967. That is not the argument I mean to address. Perhaps coincidentally – or maybe not, after consideration I [...]

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TULIP: Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine

July 22, 2010

Founding statement The solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is clear – and has been accepted in principle by both sides.  Israeli and Palestinian states living side by side, within secure and recognised borders, is the only workable solution to a conflict that has dragged on for decades. Israel has already taken [...]

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Writers Write

July 22, 2010

“I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven-eighths of it under water for every part that shows.” Ernest Hemingway, Interview by George Plimpton Paris Review, (pdf), spring 1958 ——— Related articles by Zemanta Ernest Hemingway Style Icon (apartmenttherapy.com) Paris Review Launches A Blog (huffingtonpost.com) Who’s right? (lookingcloser.org) A Moveable [...]

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