"A Literature, when it is formed, is a national and historical fact; it is a matter of the past and the present, and can be as little ignored as the present, as little undone as the past. We can deny, supersede, or change it, then only, when we can do the same towards the race … Continue reading Words of the Saints – St. John Henry Newman on Literature
Literature
Friday Flotsam: Being Sick, Pope, and More Thrawn
1. I caught a bad cold last weekend which knocked me out entirely for two days and now is settling into a general, lingering annoyance. This led me into some very bad days for depression as well, partly because I tried to use the time to write only to find that, one way or another, … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Being Sick, Pope, and More Thrawn
Friday Flotsam: Disney, Kafka, and Lovecraft
1. The Wisdom of Walt Disney re-release went off with very few hitches. There was a close call where I thought none of the updates (including the discount) would be available by the release date, since, at least as far as I can tell, Amazon doesn’t provide the ability to precisely control when the book … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Disney, Kafka, and Lovecraft
Flotsam: A Hodgepodge Ending in Lovecraft
1. I try to hunt up simple, straightforward points where ideas make contact with reality in order to judge their truth or falseness. Preferably reality I can see for myself, or which is at least clear and concrete enough to be resistant to rhetoric. For instance, a question that occurred to me this week: has … Continue reading Flotsam: A Hodgepodge Ending in Lovecraft
Friday Flotsam: There’s Really No Through-Line for This One
1. As I understand the matter, modern corporations are descendants of the religious orders. The idea is that property does not belong to any particular member, but rather to the imaginary ‘corporate’ self. In the religious orders, this was to allow for a vow of poverty: yes, the abbey had a lot of property, but … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: There’s Really No Through-Line for This One
Flotsam: New Apartment, No Internet, and Rabbits
1. Last week I realized a nearly five-year goal and finally moved back out into my own apartment. I've been too busy setting up to settle in yet, but already I feel the enormous relief and joy of having my own space once again. 2. The chief downside, at present, is that I don't have … Continue reading Flotsam: New Apartment, No Internet, and Rabbits
Friday Flotsam: Mostly Alice
1. This week, as a much-needed relaxation (and to help with a ‘Batman’ fan-fiction I was writing), I revisited the Alice books. I’d almost forgotten how delightful they are. Just a wonderful romp of satirical nonsense, done in that delightful Victorian way. They’re also one of the best examples of capturing the feel of a … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Mostly Alice
Friday Flotsam: On Professor Tolkien and Related(?) Matters
1. I have been reading the letters of Professor Tolkien lately, mostly straight through, though sometimes jumping about when I want to find his views on something specific. Mostly I read it because I enjoy his company, as it were, and I feel as though I am getting to know him personally as a man. … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: On Professor Tolkien and Related(?) Matters
Thoughts on ‘The Andromeda Strain’
Just finished reading Michael Crichton's 1970 novel The Andromeda Strain (I don't know; felt in the mood for it for some reason). It's quite a page turner, and I heartily recommend it to anyone with a taste for hard sci-fi. The story has a US Military satellite bring an extraterrestrial microbe back to earth as … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘The Andromeda Strain’
Brief Thoughts on Pickwick
Recently I listened to The Pickwick Papers on my way to and from work/class. For those who don't know, this was Charles Dickens's first novel, which (if I recall correctly) he was assigned to after the original author backed out, and which was intended to accompany the illustrations of a then-famous satirist, who died almost immediately … Continue reading Brief Thoughts on Pickwick
Serpent's Den 