a travelogue
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10/15/07
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Doris Lessing Wins Nobel Prize in Literature
Finally. From the New York Times: Ms. Lessing learned of the news from a group of reporters camped on her doorstep as she returned from a visit to the hospital with her son. “I was a bit surprised because I …continue reading »
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09/18/07
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Enfield Tennis Academy T-Shirts
Oh the sheer nerdiness of it is just too much. I think I’m going to have to buy one of these Enfield Tennis Academy t-shirts: Ever want to win the Whataburger Classic? How about memorize the Oxford English Dictionary front …continue reading »
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09/18/07
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John Ashbery: MtvU’s First Poet Laureate
John Ashbury, poet of the MTV generation. Yes, apparently mtvU now has a poet laureate. That’s flippin’ hilarious. MtvU, the subsidiary of MTV Networks that is broadcast only on college campuses, will announce today that it has selected its first …continue reading »
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07/31/07
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The Languid Bazaar of Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet
Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves, it’s an absolutely amazing portrait of Egypt in the 1940s. Here’s a great little essay from The American Scholar about re-encounter both the successes and failures of Durrell’s four …continue reading »
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07/31/07
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Ghost Writing, Orpheus in the Guardian
Probably my favorite myth — Orpheus. From the Guardian: “This is the year of the return of Orpheus. It is 400 years ago that Monteverdi’s opera Orfeo was staged in Mantua. It was not quite the first opera, not even …continue reading »
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07/27/07
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Kings of the Road
A book I’ve been meaning to read for years, Jack London’s The Road. From The Nation: “In 1907, exactly fifty years before Jack Kerouac’s On the Road reached the New York Times bestseller list, Jack London — then one of …continue reading »
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06/25/07
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Travels With Herodotus
Count me as one of those whom this article says would have mistaken Kapuscinski for Polish espresso, but he certainly sounds fascinating. From the New York Times: “Ryszard Kapuscinski disappeared in the dead of winter, January 2007, half as well …continue reading »
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06/01/07
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Internet Library of Early Journals
Well it’s got the web design quality of a 1998 site, but the Internet Library of Early Journals, ILEJ, is actually pretty cool. It’s got scanned images from a number of sixteenth and seventeen century journals for your perusing pleasure. …continue reading »
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05/17/07
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DeLillo Confronts September 11
Don DeLillo, author of Libra, White Noise and other tomes of paranoia has a new book coming out which is apparently about the events of September 11 2001: “Once the immediate shock and fear of the terrorist attacks of September …continue reading »
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04/30/07
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The Devil’s Bible: The Biggest Book in the World.
The Codex Gigas, also known as the Devil’s Bible, is the biggest book in the world. Made at the start of the 13th century in a Bohemian monastery, it was one of the country’s most prized works of art. In …continue reading »
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04/21/07
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The Peruvian Church of Cthulhu
My fellow Wired writers over at Table of Malcontents are mildly obsessed with the Cthulhu, throw in a Church dedicated to Cthulhu and they’re pretty much smitten. Worth it for the picture alone.continue reading »
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02/26/07
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Tragic Fire Destroys Terence McKenna’s Rare Book Library
Terence’s brother Dennis owns an index of Terence’s collection, which will at least give us an overview of his library — sorta like a playlist without the MP3s. But even this valuable document will not replace the body of knowledge …continue reading »
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02/09/07
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The Lay of the Land
From The Guardian: Montana-based Thomas McGuane might seem to belong in a ‘western’ literary tradition, but his novels replace cowboys and Indians with the everyday anxieties of American life: Among the younger American writers he admires are Nell Freudenberger (“awkward …continue reading »
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02/09/07
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The Ecstasy of Influence
Jonathan Lethem’s amazing essay on copyright, plagiarism and what’s wrong with the American copyright system. Quite possibly the best essay you’ll read this year. Long yes, but well worth it especilly when you get to the end and realize how …continue reading »
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02/06/07
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Language, Truth And Wine - New English Review
“Wine is always described as being like something else. This is appealingly post modern. If a chardonnay tastes a bit like a peach, what then does the peach taste like? A chardonnay? And if so, what does either taste like? …continue reading »