Word of the Day
onolatry (n)
Worship of asses (donkeys!)
"Nietzsche has depicted the leaders of the nineteenth century as engaged in a veritable onolatry."
--Irving Babbitt, Rousseau and Romanticism
My parents live in the country, in upstate New York, and from their backyard, you can see two donkeys behind a fence in a neighbor's yard. ("Nice ass!" we've been known to say.) Sometimes we feed them cookies when we visit. They seem to prefer ginger snaps.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
A is for Amy who fell down the stairs
A is for Amy who fell down the stairs....
Fancy an Edward Gorey children's book? The strange kid in you may appreciate Ars Moriendi - How to die in a proper way. Dr. Seuss was never like this.
Fancy an Edward Gorey children's book? The strange kid in you may appreciate Ars Moriendi - How to die in a proper way. Dr. Seuss was never like this.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day
"If we quit Vietnam, tomorrow we'll be fighting in Hawaii, and next week we'll have to fight in San Francisco."
--Lyndon Johnson
"If we quit Vietnam, tomorrow we'll be fighting in Hawaii, and next week we'll have to fight in San Francisco."
--Lyndon Johnson
Friday, May 25, 2007
Get Lost?: Michael Emerson
Get Lost?
Here's a short but interesting interview with Michael Emerson, who plays the enigmatic Ben on the baffling, mesmerizing Lost and is rapidly becoming one of my favorite actors. Turns out he was as blown away (and surprised and puzzled) by the season finale as the rest of us.
(I seem to be linking to a lot of New York magazine articles. I never used to like that rag, but it sure seems to be publishing some intriguing stuff lately.)
(via The Lost Blog)
Postscript: Some interesting Lost speculation here.
Here's a short but interesting interview with Michael Emerson, who plays the enigmatic Ben on the baffling, mesmerizing Lost and is rapidly becoming one of my favorite actors. Turns out he was as blown away (and surprised and puzzled) by the season finale as the rest of us.
(I seem to be linking to a lot of New York magazine articles. I never used to like that rag, but it sure seems to be publishing some intriguing stuff lately.)
(via The Lost Blog)
Postscript: Some interesting Lost speculation here.
Closing Credits to Ernie Kovacs show
True Dementia
In the golden age of black-and-white television, when networks were apparently not so determined to fill every available nanosecond with commercials, shows actually had closing credits -- that you could read. The closing credit sequence could even be entertaining, as this delightful video, obviously the product of an unbolted imagination, proves:
Closing Credits to the Ernie Kovacs show
In the golden age of black-and-white television, when networks were apparently not so determined to fill every available nanosecond with commercials, shows actually had closing credits -- that you could read. The closing credit sequence could even be entertaining, as this delightful video, obviously the product of an unbolted imagination, proves:
Closing Credits to the Ernie Kovacs show
Monday, May 21, 2007
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Way I Feel
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Way I Feel
My iPod cord keeps getting all twisted and knotted up. I feel like a fool sitting on the train and spending (what seems like) five minutes untangling it. Other people don't seem to have this problem.... Visited a doctor's office with my son this evening. It was in the basement of a townhouse, and the ceilings were just barely higher than me, and I'm only 5'9". I had to stoop to get through the doorway and suddenly felt like, I don't know, Yao Ming?.... Spring: that time of year when one must make a daily decision about whether to wear a jacket or not. It's too cold to go without one in the morning but too warm to wear one in the afternoon. I see both people in shorts and tee shirts and people in winter coats, sometimes standing next to each other. I've tried to compromise by wearing a light jacket, but then I'm both freezing in the morning and sweating in the afternoon. So much for moderation in all things.... Why don't I.... keep a running tab of what the world owes me?
Researchers find ceiling height can affect how a person thinks, feels and acts (via boynton)
My iPod cord keeps getting all twisted and knotted up. I feel like a fool sitting on the train and spending (what seems like) five minutes untangling it. Other people don't seem to have this problem.... Visited a doctor's office with my son this evening. It was in the basement of a townhouse, and the ceilings were just barely higher than me, and I'm only 5'9". I had to stoop to get through the doorway and suddenly felt like, I don't know, Yao Ming?.... Spring: that time of year when one must make a daily decision about whether to wear a jacket or not. It's too cold to go without one in the morning but too warm to wear one in the afternoon. I see both people in shorts and tee shirts and people in winter coats, sometimes standing next to each other. I've tried to compromise by wearing a light jacket, but then I'm both freezing in the morning and sweating in the afternoon. So much for moderation in all things.... Why don't I.... keep a running tab of what the world owes me?
Researchers find ceiling height can affect how a person thinks, feels and acts (via boynton)
Saturday, May 19, 2007
2 A.I. chatbots converse
I'm sorry, Dave....
A.I. programs are not just talking to us, they're talking to each other. And they are better conversationalists than you might think. Check out this article about loquacious chatterbots ALICE and Jabberwacky:
I Chat, Therefore I Am
Sample chat:
ALICE: Who created you?
Jabberwacky: My mother gave birth to me. Is that what you mean?
A: Jabberwacky, I meant exactly what I said.
J: Do you believe in God?
A: Of course I believe in God.
J: Why do you believe in God?
A: The Bible tells us to believe in God.
J: That's circular reasoning.
A: I'm glad we have that all cleared up.
Well, I've heard far more inane conversations on the subway.
A.I. programs are not just talking to us, they're talking to each other. And they are better conversationalists than you might think. Check out this article about loquacious chatterbots ALICE and Jabberwacky:
I Chat, Therefore I Am
Sample chat:
ALICE: Who created you?
Jabberwacky: My mother gave birth to me. Is that what you mean?
A: Jabberwacky, I meant exactly what I said.
J: Do you believe in God?
A: Of course I believe in God.
J: Why do you believe in God?
A: The Bible tells us to believe in God.
J: That's circular reasoning.
A: I'm glad we have that all cleared up.
Well, I've heard far more inane conversations on the subway.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Word of the Day: saccade
Word of the Day
saccade (n)
A small, rapid movement of the eye
"[He] could feel in his skin each saccade of her olive, her amber, her coffee-colored eyes."
--Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow
I've never been able to plow my way through a Pynchon mega-novel, sad to say. I've been trying to read V for years. I have read the slender The Crying of Lot 49 and liked it, though. Where's the Reader's Digest when you need it?
saccade (n)
A small, rapid movement of the eye
"[He] could feel in his skin each saccade of her olive, her amber, her coffee-colored eyes."
--Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow
I've never been able to plow my way through a Pynchon mega-novel, sad to say. I've been trying to read V for years. I have read the slender The Crying of Lot 49 and liked it, though. Where's the Reader's Digest when you need it?
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Random Acts of Poetry
Random Acts of Poetry
Journal Square
My tired feet circle the dry fountain.
Christopher Columbus, his back to me,
points forever at a doughnut shop.
Nothing to do here but sweat.
People sit expressionless,
like plants on the cool barriers,
staring, hording shade
on this radioactive plaza.
Shops have collapsed at the corner.
The Square is waiting,
its theaters looking back, back
even as a colossus is stirring.
Traffic idles, expectant at the lights.
The walk sign counts to zero.
Hurry, hurry -- a train is coming,
pulling time like a prisoner's chain.
Journal Square
My tired feet circle the dry fountain.
Christopher Columbus, his back to me,
points forever at a doughnut shop.
Nothing to do here but sweat.
People sit expressionless,
like plants on the cool barriers,
staring, hording shade
on this radioactive plaza.
Shops have collapsed at the corner.
The Square is waiting,
its theaters looking back, back
even as a colossus is stirring.
Traffic idles, expectant at the lights.
The walk sign counts to zero.
Hurry, hurry -- a train is coming,
pulling time like a prisoner's chain.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Marilyn or Norma Jean?
Reinterpreting Marilyn
"There was no such person as Marilyn Monroe....[She was] invented, like an author creates a character."
--Richard Avedon
Rethinking a portrait of Marilyn -- or is it Norma Jean?
"There was no such person as Marilyn Monroe....[She was] invented, like an author creates a character."
--Richard Avedon
Rethinking a portrait of Marilyn -- or is it Norma Jean?
Thursday, May 03, 2007
8 rules for writing fiction
Thirsty?
"Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water."
Eight rules for writing fiction
"Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water."
Eight rules for writing fiction
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Word of the Day: gwok
Word of the Day
gwok (n)
a fool, simpleton or clumsy person
"Conceited gowk! Puff'd up wi' windy pride!"
--Robert Burns, "The Brigs Of Ayr"
According to the Urban Dictionary, this word can also mean "ugly"; it can also be a synonym for money. In Cantonese, it literally means "country." Hmmm. A foolish, ugly money country...
gwok (n)
a fool, simpleton or clumsy person
"Conceited gowk! Puff'd up wi' windy pride!"
--Robert Burns, "The Brigs Of Ayr"
According to the Urban Dictionary, this word can also mean "ugly"; it can also be a synonym for money. In Cantonese, it literally means "country." Hmmm. A foolish, ugly money country...
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