X Day
From the website Scotland: St. Andrew —
Saint Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland, and St. Andrew's Day is
celebrated by Scots around the world on the 30th November. The flag of
Scotland is the…
Archetypal Criticism
My previous note includes the following:
"For a... literary antidote to postmodernist nihilism, see Archetypal
Theory and Criticism, by Glen R. Gill."
This week's Time Magazine coversugges…
A Logocentric Archetype
Today we examine the relativist, nominalist, leftist, nihilist,
despairing, depressing, absurd, and abominable work of Samuel Beckett,
darling of the postmodernists.
One lens through which to vi…
On Madeleine L'Engle's birthday:
There is such a thing as a tesseract.
Waiting for Logos
Searching for background on the phrase "logos and logic" in yesterday's
"Notes toward a Supreme Fact," I found this passage:
"...a theory of psychology based on the idea of the soul as the
dialectic…
Andante Cantabile
As we prepare to see publicity for Russell Crowe in a new role, that of
Captain Jack Aubrey in "The Far Side of the World," based on Master and
Commander by Patrick O'Brian, we bid farewell to Patti La…
Notes toward a Supreme Fact
In "Notes toward a Supreme Fiction," Wallace Stevens lists criteria for
a work of the imagination:
It Must Be Abstract It Must Change It Must Give Pleasure.
For a work that seems to s…
Dancing about Architecture
The title's origin is obscure, but its immediate source is a weblog
entry and ensuing comments: "Writing about music is like dancing about
architecture.''
A related quote:
"At the still poin…
ART WARSDriving the Point Home
From
SUSAN WEIL EAR'S EYE FOR JAMES JOYCE:
From Finnegans Wake,by James Joyce, p. 293:
The Vesica Piscis, also known as The Ya-Ya:
See also the Geometries of Creationart exhibi…
Swashbucklers and Misfits
There are two theories of truth, according to a a book on the history
of geometry —
The "Story Theory" and the "Diamond Theory." For those who prefer the
story theory...
From a review by Br…
Practice, Man, Practice
Andrew Carnegie
Born today: Andrew Carnegie. Born yesterday or today, depending onwhere
you look: Bob "Elusive Butterfly" Lind.
Click here and here.This site's background music h…
The Artist's Signature
This title is taken from the final chapter of Carl Sagan's novel
Contact.
"There might be a game in which paper figures were put together to form
a story, or at any rate were somehow assembled. T…
In honor of William F. Buckley's birthday
Results of a Google search -
Searched the web for "Joyce and Aquinas" "William T. Noon". Results 1-5
of about 15:
Dogma... Dogma, theological" -- entry in the index (paper,…
Harvard 20, Yale 13
Pie
Carl Sagan in Contact:
"According to the Bible, the ancient Hebrews had apparently thought
that pi was exactly equal to three."
Don McLean, song lyric: "The three men I admire the most,The Father,
Son, and Holy …
This space is reserved for a glass slipper.
Trinity
On this date in 1963...
Father: C. S. Lewis (The Abolition of Man), Son: John F. Kennedy
("Grace under Pressure" -- displayed, not written), and Holy Spirit:
Aldous Huxley (The Perennial Philosophy)
…
MAYA
Jack London died on this date. On the other hand, Hoagy Carmichael,
Jamie Lee Curtis, and Mariel Hemingway were born.
In memory of Arthur T. Winfree:Time,
Eternity, and Grace
Professor Arthur T. Winfree died on November 5, 2002. He was the author
of "The Geometry of Biological Time." Charles Small (see the earlier
entry "Hope of H…
Pray
This brief heading echoes the title of the latest novel by Michael
Crichton, perhaps the best-known member of the Harvard College class of
1964. In honor of that class and of Q (see the preceding entry), here
is a …
Hope of Heaven
This title is taken from a John O'Hara novel I like very much. It seems
appropriate because today is the birthday of three admirable public
figures:
Eleanor Powell, dancer, Coleman Hawkins, saxophoni…
Back Again
Sorry for the hiatus in weblog entries since November 9. There were two
reasons for this...
The five entries ending Nov. 9 formed a sort of story, taken as a
whole, and I didn't want to break up the set. …
Religious Symbolism at Princeton
In memory of Steve McQueen ("The Great Escape" and "The Thomas Crown
Affair"... see preceding entry) and of Rudolf Augstein (publisher of
Der Spiegel), both of whom died on November 7 (i…
16 Years Ago Today:
Endgame
Metaphor for Morphean morphosis,Dreams that wake, transform, and
die,Calm and lucid this psychosis,Joyce's nightmare in Escher's eye.
At the end there is a cityWith cathedral bright and s…
The Times They Are A-Changin'
Trivia quiz on tonight's "West Wing" -- What do you feed a stolen goat?
Today's birthdays: Mike Nichols and Sally
Field. Who is Sylvia?What is she? From A Beautiful Mind, by Sylvia
Nasar:
Prologue Where the statue stoodOf Newton with his prism and silent
face,The marble …
Kylie on Tequila
From a web page on Kylie Minogue:
Turns out she's a party girl who loves Tequila: "Time disappears with
Tequila. It goes elastic, then vanishes."
From a web page on Malcolm Lowry's classic novel Und…
Back to You, Kylie
From the 440 International Archives:
1988 - And speaking of music trivia (thanks to
http://www.rockdate.co.uk Rockdate Diary): "The Loco-Motion", by Kylie
Minogue hit #4 on the "Billboard Hot 100" th…
Music to Read By
In honor of Roger Cooke's review of Helson's Harmonic Analysis, 2nd
Edition, today's site music is "Moonlight in Vermont."
Día de los Muertos
Today is All Souls' Day, the Day of the Dead in Mexico. This site's
music for today, in honor of Rufino Tamayo, is "Luna y Sol."
ART WARS:
Art Director of "Harvey" Dies at 95
All Saints' Day
In memory of Ellis Larkins and other departed souls, this site's music,
taken from the website of Wesley Dick, is now the music of All Saints'
Day.