Every person who’s fallen under the spell of ideas and history fantasizes about the discovery of a lode of forgotten texts and antiques, covered with cobwebs and protected from sunlight for eons, an archive.
This is a collection of all of the blog posts on this site in the order of publication.
Read Viewed Consumed 2020-05
During the unhappy month of May 2020 I read and viewed perhaps less than I have for some time because I had no time …
Read Viewed Consumed 2020-04
ONE MAN testifies to his unquenchable virility by spending late hours in bed reading and watching movies.
Notes on Lampedusa’s novel “The Leopard”
Idle reflections on The Leopard, by Giuseppe de Lampedusa, which narrates several events in the life and afterlife of a 19th-century Sicilian noble
Consumption, March 2020
Amidst the struggles of the era of COVID, one man kept consuming films and books … valiantly.
Joanna Hogg’s “Unrelated” (2007): The Desire to Belong
Reflections on an early film by the British film director Joanna Hogg, which I viewed in preparation for seeing The Souvenir (2019).
COVID Information Compulsion
Early in the 2020 COVID pandemic, we “hunkered down” with our phones and devices, pathologically seeking information to momentarily pacify our data-addled souls.
COVID Diary: Historical Ruptures
An elliptical reflection on the ruptures in time and history.
Sexy Idea #1: Rousseau’s Noble Savage
Some ideas are “sexy,” ahem, because they baffle the imagination and excite the intellect (or vice versa). Rousseau’s noble savage is a case in point.
Consumption, February 2020
What I consumed during the month of February, in periodicals, novels, books, television shows, and films
Krasnahorkai’s “The Last Wolf”
A reading journal entry on Lázló Krasnahorkai’s “book” The Last Wolf, which is really two small books.
If Birds are Dinosaurs
What are the consequences of the Overton Window in paleontology that dinosaurs precede the bird?
Consumption, January 2020
A record of all things read, watched, listened to, and other notable consumptions.
What Do Dinosaurs Mean?
On a thought provoking essay by Verlyn Klinkenborg on recent literature in paleontology.
Stop signs
A new, subtle form of resistance against aggressive drivers and today’s on-the-go lifestyles.
William H. Gass’ “In the Heart of the Heart of the Country”
Reflections on the short story collection In the Heart of the Heart of the Country by William H. Gass
Impactful is not a word!
Grumpy old man weighs in on the frequently used term impactful, which he contends, contrary to overwhelming empirical evidence, is not a word. And honestly, he’s right.
200114: the prejudice of historical progress
some of the prejudices of historical progress | a prejudice that is unavoidable but pernicious
200111: Reading Journal
Reading journal from early in the year 2020, when COVID was hitting China but just a dirty word in the mouth of an imbecile
200107: Reading Journal
The January 2010 reading journal addresses In the Heart of the Heart of the Country, Our Idiot Brother, Filmed Thought, and Jamaica Inn
Reading the News? 3 Reasons to Stop
Civic responsibility entails reading the news regularly, to keep abreast of the world’s turnings. But does this practice actually improve us as persons?
Does Philosophy Do Film?
“Clearly you are not a bowler”: Can film do philosophy? Can philosophy do film?
Only Boredom Can Save Photography Now
Photography is under siege by the smartphone, the device that has made everyone a photographer while equally rendering all unable to appreciate images.
Booth Tarkington’s “The Magnificent Ambersons”
Why do some works of art age better than others?
Patricia Highsmith’s “Tales of Natural and Unnatural Catastrophes”
The promise of unnatural catastrophes turns out not to be catastrophic nor unnatural enough
Uncertain reflections on the Coen Brothers’ misanthropy
Reflection on David Denby’s critique of the Coen brothers’ consistent misanthropy
“Hiroshima Mon Amour” (1959), Part 1
Bodies impersonal but affective are instruments of memory.
“Pépé le Moko” (1937): Failure to Escape
Comments on the 1936 film Pépé le Moko, starring Jean Gabin, and set in the Casbah