more than 95 theses

discovering an artist

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:27:24 -0600

Thanks to things magazine, I have just learned about the illustrations of Eric Ravilious (1903-1942). Beautiful stuff.

the powers of paper

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:53:03 -0600

Don’t know how bookish this is, but it’s a testament to the magnificent adaptability of paper. Here, with a hat to to Ari Schulman.

adventures in assigning causation

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:07:35 -0600

adventures in assigning causation:

James Parker:

[Roald] Dahl was not religious by temperament or philosophy, and this seems important. Compare his bristling, stinking, unmetaphorical characters with the watery allegories of the…

there's no such thing as a free netbook

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:24:13 -0600

there's no such thing as a free netbook:

Great question from Glyn Moody at Slashdot:

The response to Google’s Chromium OS has been rather lukewarm. But suppose it’s just part of something much bigger: a netbook computer from Google…

tools of the trade

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:19:07 -0600

tools of the trade:

These are the applications I use most often on my MacBook, in descending order:

1) My web browser is OmniWeb. Despite a somewhat archaic appearance — drawers in Mac apps are so 2003 — it’s the…

Gene Wolfe's Sun

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:39:20 -0600

Gene Wolfe's Sun:

Over at the Guardian, Alison Flood has been reading some science fiction and fantasy classics, and has gotten around to Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun series — the first half of it, anyway….

the disappearance of all things human

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:00:42 -0600

the disappearance of all things human:

Finally, a reasonable, measured, intellectual substantive critique of electronic books, from Alan Kaufman:

The book is fast becoming the despised Jew of our culture. Der Jude is now Der Book….

one last video

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:34:40 -0600

one last video:

British Pathe - ( EARLY TRAFFIC SCENES ) - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Not really about about anything connected to this blog, but…

more bookmaking in action

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:18:55 -0600

more bookmaking in action:

Love the Ratatat score. Via Jason Santa Maria.

book machine in action

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:29:06 -0600

book machine in action:

Via Nigel Beale.

today's nits, picked

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:33:46 -0600

today's nits, picked:

In my own personal “little things that annoy me more than they should” file, most entries concern the European past — especially the European Christian past. I’ve added two entries today. First,…

modern warfare

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:26:23 -0600

modern warfare:

Chris Sullentrop writes about his experience playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 — in particular, a scenario in which his protagonist goes undercover, pretending to be a terrorist:

The game…

an apology

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:23:21 -0600

Recently, a fine journalist named Charlie Lewis — whom I’ve corresponded with before — wrote to ask me if I had any views about what’s usually called the Prosperity Gospel. For a variety of reasons which I will not list here, lest I seem to be excusing myself, I told him exactly what I thought, in the language that occurred to me at the moment. I do not know why I didn’t expect my words to end up in Canada’s National Post, but I didn’t. Yikes.

I do indeed think that the Prosperity Gospel is no Gospel at all, and I have absolutely nothing good to say about it. But my language was crude and intemperate and therefore uncharitable, and I repent of it. I hope those who are offended or troubled will forgive me.

nota bene!

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:00:46 -0600

nota bene!:

Having mentioned in the previous post the always-valuable work of Ann Blair, I think I’ll add a reference to an article of hers ont he history of note-taking. I am not sure whether this is freely…

ut pictura poesis

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:00:46 -0600

ut pictura poesis:

Over at Snarkmarket, Tim Carmody is meditating — here and here — on Kenny Goldsmith’s claim that “with the rise of the web, writing has met its photography.” Tim rightly finds this statement…

counting

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:00:45 -0600

counting:

Read James Poulos’s post on lists. Done? Okay, now read these selections from W. H. Auden’s essay “Infernal Science”:

All exact science is dominated by the idea of approximation. (Bertrand…

letteratura grafica

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:30:05 -0600

letteratura grafica:

A famous Borges story visualized, here. Click the photo for a larger version. Thanks again to Matt Frost.

Google and manhole covers

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:48:05 -0600

Google and manhole covers:

This will be old news to some of you, but: today I came across an article listing “15 Google interview questions that will make you feel stupid,” and among them was an old chestnut: Why are manhole…

gliding over

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:04:08 -0600

gliding over:

I’ve made it clear that I think Edward Tufte is great, but I can’t help but smile at this comment on his use of T. S. Eliot: “There are many wonderful lines in Four Quartets and I simply glide…

eat the tree

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:22:24 -0600

eat the tree