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November 6th, 2009 | Filed under: Everyday, NewsIt is language that tells us about the nature of a thing, provided that we respect language’s own nature. In the meantime, to be sure, there rages round the earth an unbridled yet clever talking, writing, and broadcasting of spoken words. Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man. Heidegger
Well, it’s that magical time of the year again when English receives one of its few officiated, marketed births. The Webster’s Dictionary team has brought up into Anglo consciousness their 2009 word-O-the-year. Unveiled all over the floor and some. As good critics we can see what is noteworthy by what was overlooked: cloud computing, wrap rage, wallet biopsy, go viral, and netbook . These aren’t words, but rather expressions — the kind of growths Dr.Johnson would have enjoyed having a good shout about. Yes, that is an preposition.
November 4th, 2009 | Filed under: News, The Written WorldAs a student — maybe at any age — it’s really hard to determine the end point of an historical movement to understand what followed. This is a concern because ultimately one wants to know what is going on “now”, and what will be next. An example most young writers have to negotiate is Modernism. While “Post-Modernism” seems largely over as an historical theme, understanding the join, as it were, to the so-called Moderns at the end of the 19th and early 20th century is key to at least understanding how Post-Modernism began. And again, what might be next. The logic being if we can never catch up fully to the now we can at least see where things started and project what might follow. But those origins I think are largely illusory, because like most things they were the product of someone and did not evolve spontaneously. History is a long sequence of people interfering with one another.
November 3rd, 2009 | Filed under: News, PhilosophyneHistorical note today with the passing of Claude Lévi-Strauss (1909-2009). A detailed obit in the NYT helps summarize his impact on Western culture as an academic. Le Fig has a better review en francais with some video interviews. The SLOG is more succint.
November 2nd, 2009 | Filed under: EverydayToday’s XKCD reminds us all of the legacy of scientific interpretation. Hermeneutics has finally come full circle into everydayness.
Munro must have spent some time obsessing over those films. I wonder which axis gave him the most trouble. Maybe choosing the legend, and thus the vocabulary, was the hardest exercise. Another famous height creation of his and a well made depth episode. The Enlightenment progression has the stick figures mounted the same way as Attic vases.
In the same plane, at an other extreme, artist Stephen Wiltshire draws by hand the skyline of Manhattan and New Jersey from memory.
the hand moves while the memory rests (Stephen Wiltshire)
October 26th, 2009 | Filed under: NewsIs it true? Is it necessary? There’s a new book for the Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy written by YA author Eion Colfer? I can’t imagine what he will do with the franchise, since Adams seemed to have exhausted any other possible plot developments. The series is quite uneven. The original trilogy is well paced, but mostly because it was workshopped for BBC Radio. When Adams left that structure, like with the Dirk Gently series, he seemed to have lost steam. It will be interesting if Colfer can re-invent/re-boot the crew, morose androids et al.
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