Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A good laugh
Take the time to listen to this great story from This American Life. It will truly brighten your day or night. It's the first act of Fiasco! You know how we look at the Grand Canyon or listen to Al Greene and feels God's or the Divine's presence? Well, sometimes we are blessed to witness something truly funny. Like manna from heaven.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Okay, I forgot what Harold Bloom looks like...
Suddenly his writing is imbued with a funniness I don't think he intended...
Pick a poem, memorize it, post it!
So I spied Harold Bloom's How to Read and Why book on my shelves the other day. It was one of those paperback freebies I scooped up at S&S, but never really read. He gave some of advice on reading and understanding poetry:
I have arrived at a first crux in how to read poems: wherever possible, memorize them. Once a staple of good teaching, memorization was abused into repeating by rote, and so was abandoned, wrongly. Silent intensive rereadings of a shorter poem that truly finds you should be followed by recitations to yourself, until you discover that you are in possession of the poem. You might start with Tennyson's beautifully orchestrated "The Eagle":
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
If you memorize "The Eagle," you may come to feel that you have written it, so universal is the poem's proud longing.
So here's a project, ladies and gentlemen! Bloom goes on to talk about pre-modern poets such as Dickinson, Shelley, Wordsworth, Keats and Shakespeare. He discusses Sonnet 144. I'm going to memorize this poem and if I get the nerve, I'll record myself reciting it and post it on the blog. Who would like to join me? Pick a poem, memorize it, post it. And even if you don't post it, memorize one. It's got to be good for the soul (and the brain!)
I have arrived at a first crux in how to read poems: wherever possible, memorize them. Once a staple of good teaching, memorization was abused into repeating by rote, and so was abandoned, wrongly. Silent intensive rereadings of a shorter poem that truly finds you should be followed by recitations to yourself, until you discover that you are in possession of the poem. You might start with Tennyson's beautifully orchestrated "The Eagle":
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
If you memorize "The Eagle," you may come to feel that you have written it, so universal is the poem's proud longing.
So here's a project, ladies and gentlemen! Bloom goes on to talk about pre-modern poets such as Dickinson, Shelley, Wordsworth, Keats and Shakespeare. He discusses Sonnet 144. I'm going to memorize this poem and if I get the nerve, I'll record myself reciting it and post it on the blog. Who would like to join me? Pick a poem, memorize it, post it. And even if you don't post it, memorize one. It's got to be good for the soul (and the brain!)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
William Eggleston at the Corcoran
The William Eggleston exhibit, Democratic Camera, which was at the Whitney has now moved on to the Corcoran Gallery in D.C. NPR just did a piece on it and Eggleston. Once again I am envious of those who live near these world class institutions. I was only at the Corcoran once in college. It was a beautiful space and a beautiful building. Roman, if you get a chance, please go and let me know how it is!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Quote of the day
What lies behind us
and what lies before us
are small matters compared to
what lies within us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
and what lies before us
are small matters compared to
what lies within us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
From the land of utter exhaustion...
Hi all,
I think it goes without saying I haven't been reading much poetry lately. I'm three quarters of the way through Obama's first memoir, but fear I may not finish it. I really enjoyed it, but I just don't see myself returning to it. We'll see. I'm half-way through Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. I've read The Tipping Point and his newest, Outliers. Some of his theorizing is a little simplistic, but overall I enjoy his books. He at least gives you something to think about. For instance, when I was watching the movie Doubt, I kept thinking about the whole premise in Blink of how we "thin-slice" information so quickly and even though we don't have years of experience and hours of observation, one thing we observe in a flash second can be revelatory and often dead on. I don't know if you saw Doubt or not, but Father Flynn is guilty, no? And the nun's only real reason for suspicion is a boy's reaction to being touched on the elbow by Father Flynn.
Anyway, I came across these fun dinner conversation cards in a store the other day and I'll throw one out there:
What's the habit you're proudest of breaking?
For me, off the top of my head, it's finally making flossing a habit. To me, that proves you CAN make things that are good for you but perhaps you don't like at first (jogging, going to bed early, reading The Economist, etc.) a genuine habit. But I guess I didn't really answer the question. Because it's about breaking habits...maybe I've never broken a habit???
I think it goes without saying I haven't been reading much poetry lately. I'm three quarters of the way through Obama's first memoir, but fear I may not finish it. I really enjoyed it, but I just don't see myself returning to it. We'll see. I'm half-way through Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. I've read The Tipping Point and his newest, Outliers. Some of his theorizing is a little simplistic, but overall I enjoy his books. He at least gives you something to think about. For instance, when I was watching the movie Doubt, I kept thinking about the whole premise in Blink of how we "thin-slice" information so quickly and even though we don't have years of experience and hours of observation, one thing we observe in a flash second can be revelatory and often dead on. I don't know if you saw Doubt or not, but Father Flynn is guilty, no? And the nun's only real reason for suspicion is a boy's reaction to being touched on the elbow by Father Flynn.
Anyway, I came across these fun dinner conversation cards in a store the other day and I'll throw one out there:
What's the habit you're proudest of breaking?
For me, off the top of my head, it's finally making flossing a habit. To me, that proves you CAN make things that are good for you but perhaps you don't like at first (jogging, going to bed early, reading The Economist, etc.) a genuine habit. But I guess I didn't really answer the question. Because it's about breaking habits...maybe I've never broken a habit???
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Let's have a vote
What film do you think has the most memorable quotes? For me, it's Annie Hall. And the runner up is The Godfather. Thoughts? Here is a great quote from Annie Hall:
"There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly."
I was reminded of this fantastic quote because Woody Allen was recently interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air. What do you think? Do you agree with misanthropic Allen?
"There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly."
I was reminded of this fantastic quote because Woody Allen was recently interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air. What do you think? Do you agree with misanthropic Allen?
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