Saturday, March 24, 2012

Robert Grudin: An image of change

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I've read a number of attempts to describe the way change happens or at least the way we perceive it, and I think Robert Grudin's is...
Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Eric Hoffer: on mass movements

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Faith is a two-edged sword. It can move people to do virtuous and compassionate acts as well as monstrously evil. However, we tend to foc...
2 comments:
Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Combination Plate 21

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Warning: I will discuss significant plot elements and some endings. Sea Wolves : a WWII film The Cheap Detective : a parody/satire? of film...
Monday, March 5, 2012

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Quatrain LIII

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Quatrain LIII introduces a new theme, that of predestination, or so it can be interpreted. See what you think of this: First Edition: Quat...
Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Lin Yutang: "Earthbound" conclusion

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"The situation then is this: man wants to live, but he still must live upon the earth. . . . . "Any good practical p...
2 comments:
Monday, February 27, 2012

Lin Yutang: "Earthbound" part 2

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"The situation, then, is this: man wants to live, but he still must live upon this earth. . . . . . For we are of the earth, ea...
Sunday, February 26, 2012

Lin Yutang: "Earthbound"

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The following excerpt doesn't really describe too many people in this country, does it? Or at least, it's not the way I hear people...
Wednesday, February 22, 2012

P. D. James: Death Comes to Pemberley

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P. D. James: Death comes to Pemberley , a sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (P&P) Normally I ignore sequels to classic...
11 comments:
Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Paul Lawrence Dunbar, "The Mystery"

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This poem by Paul Lawrence Dunbar expresses one of the basic tenets of Taoism: we know not where we come from and we know not where we go. ...
Sunday, February 19, 2012

Joseph Wood Krutch, more thougts on Joy

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J0seph Wood Krutch in his Baja California and the Geography of Hope expresses some unusual ideas, (well, they are unusual today) on joy and...
Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Patricia Highsmith and the Talented Mr. Ripleys

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The title is somewhat misleading for Patricia Highsmith is directly responsible for only one talented Mr. Ripley--the one found in The Tale...
10 comments:
Sunday, February 12, 2012

Loren Eiseley: humanization and evolution

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In discussions about evolution, usually three factors are brought in as the selective forces behind the development of species: climatic, g...
Saturday, February 11, 2012

Russell Hoban: The Lion of Boaz-Jachin and Jachin-Boaz

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The opening paragraph: There were no lions any more. There had been lions once. Sometimes in the shimmer of the heat on the plains the moti...
2 comments:
Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Quatrain LII

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This quatrain is part of a series that focuses on the helplessness of humanity. We are all just puppets, moved here and there, by the Puppe...
2 comments:
Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Langston Hughes: Feb. 1, 1902--May 22, 1967

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Some short early poems by Langston Hughes. Cabaret Does a jazz band ever sob? They say a jazz band's gay. Yet as the vulgar dancers whir...
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Combination Plate 20

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Spoiler Warning: I will reveal important plot elements and endings if necessary in the discussion. Moon : an SF film Ever Since The World ...
17 comments:
Tuesday, January 3, 2012

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Quatrain LI

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Quatrain LI is one of my favorites, and FitzGerald must have been satisfied with it also. First Edition: Quatrain LI The Moving Finger wri...
Monday, January 2, 2012

2012: New Year's Resolution, Reading List, and Reading Challenges

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Last year I created a combined New Year's Resolution, Reading List, and Reading Challenges for myself. It was simply to read two books ...
7 comments: