You may have joie de vivre, but you're not twenty.
Robert Lowell, from "The Misanthrope and the Painter"
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Autumn
by Robert Lowell (1917-77)
an imitation of "Chant d'automne," section I, by Charles Baudelaire (1821-67)
Now colder shadows ... Who'll turn back the clock?
Goodbye bright summer's brief too lively sport!
The squirrel drops its acorn with a shock,
cord-wood reverberates in my cobbled court.
Winter has entered in my citadel:
hate, anger, fear, forced work like splitting rock,
and like the sun borne to its northern hell,
my heart's no more than a red, frozen block.
Shaking, I listen for the wood to fall;
building a scaffold makes no deafer sound.
Each heart-beat knocks my body to the ground,
like a slow battering ram crumbling a wall.
I think this is the season's funeral,
some one is nailing a coffin hurriedly.
For whom? Yesterday summer, today fall --
the steady progress sounds like a goodbye.
an imitation of "Chant d'automne," section I, by Charles Baudelaire (1821-67)
Now colder shadows ... Who'll turn back the clock?
Goodbye bright summer's brief too lively sport!
The squirrel drops its acorn with a shock,
cord-wood reverberates in my cobbled court.
Winter has entered in my citadel:
hate, anger, fear, forced work like splitting rock,
and like the sun borne to its northern hell,
my heart's no more than a red, frozen block.
Shaking, I listen for the wood to fall;
building a scaffold makes no deafer sound.
Each heart-beat knocks my body to the ground,
like a slow battering ram crumbling a wall.
I think this is the season's funeral,
some one is nailing a coffin hurriedly.
For whom? Yesterday summer, today fall --
the steady progress sounds like a goodbye.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Computer problems ...
... and a busy week, and a brain that is not exactly chock-full of interesting things to say, have all contributed to this past week's comparatively low blogging output. Am expecting a similar slowness this coming week.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Found at the book sale
at the library at Arlington's Town Day:
Principal Products of Portugal, prose pieces by Donald Hall. Some are about baseball, some about basketball, most are about literature. The masterpiece of the collection is perhaps Hall's encomium for his contemporary, the late James Wright (1927-80).
Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris. I've read this one before, but my cousin has my original copy. I remember reading this book the last time I was called for jury duty!
Two dollars apiece. Not bad for a couple of slightly roughed-up hardcovers.
Principal Products of Portugal, prose pieces by Donald Hall. Some are about baseball, some about basketball, most are about literature. The masterpiece of the collection is perhaps Hall's encomium for his contemporary, the late James Wright (1927-80).
Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris. I've read this one before, but my cousin has my original copy. I remember reading this book the last time I was called for jury duty!
Two dollars apiece. Not bad for a couple of slightly roughed-up hardcovers.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Coldest morning in Boston
... since May 23rd
Woo hoo! As Emerson wrote, "The cold air invigorates." And 49 degrees isn't all that cold ...
Woo hoo! As Emerson wrote, "The cold air invigorates." And 49 degrees isn't all that cold ...
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Quotation
"a herd of tepid elephants sinking in seedy mud"
Robert Lowell's mother's description of Washington, DC. Found in Robert Lowell: A Biography by Ian Hamilton (Random House, 1982), p. 10
Robert Lowell's mother's description of Washington, DC. Found in Robert Lowell: A Biography by Ian Hamilton (Random House, 1982), p. 10
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Vivificat must-reads
Vivificat! must-reads
A skeptic's prayer by Peter Kreeft.
"My God is hanging there" by Fr Richard Leonard, SJ, a meditation on suffering with refernce to Dachau, and how modern society has 'domesticated' the scandal of the Cross.
Traditional Catholicism, mainstream Catholicism, and a horror story involving Whitney Houston songs at Mass.
A skeptic's prayer by Peter Kreeft.
"My God is hanging there" by Fr Richard Leonard, SJ, a meditation on suffering with refernce to Dachau, and how modern society has 'domesticated' the scandal of the Cross.
Traditional Catholicism, mainstream Catholicism, and a horror story involving Whitney Houston songs at Mass.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Recently found
Recently found at the used bookstore
Imitations by Robert Lowell. A collection of Lowell's free renderings of seventy European poems, from the French, German, Italian, and Russian. First published in 1961, the book was controversial for the liberties that Lowell took with the originals, basically rewriting them into his own poems. In spite of this, or even because of this, the volume exerts considerable attraction: the voice is excellent mid-period Lowell; and we can always go back to the originals, if we are conversant in French or Italian, to acquaint ourselves better with literature we might otherwise have missed. (I didn't know this at the time, but the day I bought this book was the anniversary of Lowell's death -- an odd coincidence.)
A Closer Walk with Christ by Raymond Thomas Gawronski, SJ (Our Sunday Visitor Press). A book describing in detail the steps of an Ignatian retreat. The author seems to be in the main stream of Catholicism, and not to be one of those Jesuits who want to be Episcopalian. I have read only the first 20-30 pages, but the book seems to contain many helpful directions toward deepening one's life of prayer.
Imitations by Robert Lowell. A collection of Lowell's free renderings of seventy European poems, from the French, German, Italian, and Russian. First published in 1961, the book was controversial for the liberties that Lowell took with the originals, basically rewriting them into his own poems. In spite of this, or even because of this, the volume exerts considerable attraction: the voice is excellent mid-period Lowell; and we can always go back to the originals, if we are conversant in French or Italian, to acquaint ourselves better with literature we might otherwise have missed. (I didn't know this at the time, but the day I bought this book was the anniversary of Lowell's death -- an odd coincidence.)
A Closer Walk with Christ by Raymond Thomas Gawronski, SJ (Our Sunday Visitor Press). A book describing in detail the steps of an Ignatian retreat. The author seems to be in the main stream of Catholicism, and not to be one of those Jesuits who want to be Episcopalian. I have read only the first 20-30 pages, but the book seems to contain many helpful directions toward deepening one's life of prayer.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Seamus Heaney
Elegy
by Seamus Heaney (b. 1939)
The way we are living,
timorous or bold,
will have been our life.
Robert Lowell,
the sill geranium is lit
by the lamp I write by,
a wind from the Irish Sea
is shaking it —
here where we all sat
ten days ago, with you,
the master elegist
and welder of English.
As you swayed the talk
and rode on the swaying tiller
of yourself, ribbing me
about my fear of water,
what was not within your empery?
You drank America
like the heart’s
iron vodka,
promulgating art’s
deliberate, peremptory
love and arrogance.
Your eyes saw what your hand did
as you Englished Russian,
as you bullied out
heart-hammering blank sonnets
of love for Harriet
and Lizzie, and the briny
water-breaking dolphin —
your dorsal nib
gifted at last
to inveigle and to plash,
helmsman, netsman, retiarius.
That hand. Warding and grooming
and amphibious.
Two a.m., seaboard weather.
Not the proud sail of your great verse…
No. You were our night ferry
thudding in a big sea,
the whole craft ringing
with an armourer’s music
the course set wilfully across
the ungovernable and dangerous.
And now a teem of rain
and the geranium tremens.
A father’s no shield
for his child —
you found the child in me
when you took farewells
under the full bay tree
by the gate in Glanmore,
opulent and restorative
as that lingering summertime,
the fish-dart of your eyes
risking, ‘I’ll pray for you.’
by Seamus Heaney (b. 1939)
The way we are living,
timorous or bold,
will have been our life.
Robert Lowell,
the sill geranium is lit
by the lamp I write by,
a wind from the Irish Sea
is shaking it —
here where we all sat
ten days ago, with you,
the master elegist
and welder of English.
As you swayed the talk
and rode on the swaying tiller
of yourself, ribbing me
about my fear of water,
what was not within your empery?
You drank America
like the heart’s
iron vodka,
promulgating art’s
deliberate, peremptory
love and arrogance.
Your eyes saw what your hand did
as you Englished Russian,
as you bullied out
heart-hammering blank sonnets
of love for Harriet
and Lizzie, and the briny
water-breaking dolphin —
your dorsal nib
gifted at last
to inveigle and to plash,
helmsman, netsman, retiarius.
That hand. Warding and grooming
and amphibious.
Two a.m., seaboard weather.
Not the proud sail of your great verse…
No. You were our night ferry
thudding in a big sea,
the whole craft ringing
with an armourer’s music
the course set wilfully across
the ungovernable and dangerous.
And now a teem of rain
and the geranium tremens.
A father’s no shield
for his child —
you found the child in me
when you took farewells
under the full bay tree
by the gate in Glanmore,
opulent and restorative
as that lingering summertime,
the fish-dart of your eyes
risking, ‘I’ll pray for you.’
Friday, September 12, 2008
September
September
by Robert Lowell (1917-77)
an "imitation" of Boris Pasternak (1890-1960)
The much-hugged rag-doll is oozing cotton from her ruined figure.
Unforgetting September cannot hide its peroxide curls of leaf.
Isn't it time to board up the summer house?
The carpenter's gavel pounds for new and naked roof-ribs.
The moment the sun rises, it disappears.
Last night, the marsh by the swimming-pool shivered with fever;
the last bell-flowers waste under the rheumatic dewdrop,
a dirty lilac stain souses the birches.
The woods are discomforted. The animals
head for the snow-stopped bear holes in the fairy tales;
behind the black park fences, tree trunks and pillars
form columns like a newspaper's death column.
The thinning birchwood has not ceased to water its color --
more and more watery, its once regal shade.
Summer keeps mumbling, "I am only a few months old.
A lifetime of looking back, what shall I do with it?
"I've so many mind-bruises, I should give up playing.
They are like birds in the bushes, mushrooms on the lawn.
Now we have begun to paper our horizon with them
to fog out each other's distance."
Stricken with polio, Summer, le roi soleil,
hears the gods' Homeric laughter from the dignitaries' box --
with the same agony, the country house
stares forward, hallucinated, at the road to the metropolis.
by Robert Lowell (1917-77)
an "imitation" of Boris Pasternak (1890-1960)
The much-hugged rag-doll is oozing cotton from her ruined figure.
Unforgetting September cannot hide its peroxide curls of leaf.
Isn't it time to board up the summer house?
The carpenter's gavel pounds for new and naked roof-ribs.
The moment the sun rises, it disappears.
Last night, the marsh by the swimming-pool shivered with fever;
the last bell-flowers waste under the rheumatic dewdrop,
a dirty lilac stain souses the birches.
The woods are discomforted. The animals
head for the snow-stopped bear holes in the fairy tales;
behind the black park fences, tree trunks and pillars
form columns like a newspaper's death column.
The thinning birchwood has not ceased to water its color --
more and more watery, its once regal shade.
Summer keeps mumbling, "I am only a few months old.
A lifetime of looking back, what shall I do with it?
"I've so many mind-bruises, I should give up playing.
They are like birds in the bushes, mushrooms on the lawn.
Now we have begun to paper our horizon with them
to fog out each other's distance."
Stricken with polio, Summer, le roi soleil,
hears the gods' Homeric laughter from the dignitaries' box --
with the same agony, the country house
stares forward, hallucinated, at the road to the metropolis.
To quote Miss Moore
To quote Miss Marianne Moore
"It is a curiosity of literature how often what one says of another, seems descriptive of oneself."
"It is a curiosity of literature how often what one says of another, seems descriptive of oneself."
Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin on Charlie Gibson
Like Messrs Sullivan and Dreher, I wasn't impressed. She took a question about national security, and tried to answer it with something about energy policy; she gave that distressing "don't blink" answer about "the mission" (electing John McCain? continuing the war? both?); she kept calling Charlie "Charlie," which got a little irritating after the 28th time. (Once or twice, no problem, but for heaven's sake, the guy knows his own name.)
Nothing as bad as that moment in the Bentsen/Quayle debate twenty years ago, but still ...
Like Messrs Sullivan and Dreher, I wasn't impressed. She took a question about national security, and tried to answer it with something about energy policy; she gave that distressing "don't blink" answer about "the mission" (electing John McCain? continuing the war? both?); she kept calling Charlie "Charlie," which got a little irritating after the 28th time. (Once or twice, no problem, but for heaven's sake, the guy knows his own name.)
Nothing as bad as that moment in the Bentsen/Quayle debate twenty years ago, but still ...
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
I kissed a girl
"I kissed a girl ... then I went to hell"
I don't think this sort of thing is terribly productive. (In fact, it might belong in the how-to-turn-a-questioning-teen-into-a-gay-rights-activist files.) But that being said, it should be noted that some people in this country would probably like to see the pastor prosecuted for "hate speech."
I heard on the news that he took the sign down -- supposedly because many in his flock were confused and hadn't heard the song.
I don't think this sort of thing is terribly productive. (In fact, it might belong in the how-to-turn-a-questioning-teen-into-a-gay-rights-activist files.) But that being said, it should be noted that some people in this country would probably like to see the pastor prosecuted for "hate speech."
I heard on the news that he took the sign down -- supposedly because many in his flock were confused and hadn't heard the song.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Sarah Palin
WASHINGTON - A new ad from John McCain's presidential campaign contends his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, "stopped the Bridge to Nowhere." In fact, Palin was for the infamous bridge before she was against it.
Oh, that clinches it. I'm voting for Obama now. Really.
Is this the best that the anti-Palin forces can come up with? This, and the fact that her pastor is promoting (or endorsing, or advertising, whatever) a conference whose aim is to pray that homosexuals change their behavior?
If Bill Clinton couldn't be derailed by the affairs and the draft-dodging, etc., I don't think that Gov. Palin is going to suffer too much from the revelations that she might be, after all, a politician of questionable soundness on economic matters.
This could very well be her moment. When even the least politically engaged among us seem to react positively to her ("the old guy with Sarah"), when the cultural élites (Oprah, the gays, the radical pro-abortionists, and a few perpetually smarmy libertarians) are telling us we can't vote for her, when McCain's poll numbers have gone from five points behind Obama to four points ahead ... then we're dealing with a phenomenon that shouldn't be, uhm, misunderestimated.
But before we get too bold in our predictions, let's see an interview or two, and maybe the debate.
Oh, that clinches it. I'm voting for Obama now. Really.
Is this the best that the anti-Palin forces can come up with? This, and the fact that her pastor is promoting (or endorsing, or advertising, whatever) a conference whose aim is to pray that homosexuals change their behavior?
If Bill Clinton couldn't be derailed by the affairs and the draft-dodging, etc., I don't think that Gov. Palin is going to suffer too much from the revelations that she might be, after all, a politician of questionable soundness on economic matters.
This could very well be her moment. When even the least politically engaged among us seem to react positively to her ("the old guy with Sarah"), when the cultural élites (Oprah, the gays, the radical pro-abortionists, and a few perpetually smarmy libertarians) are telling us we can't vote for her, when McCain's poll numbers have gone from five points behind Obama to four points ahead ... then we're dealing with a phenomenon that shouldn't be, uhm, misunderestimated.
But before we get too bold in our predictions, let's see an interview or two, and maybe the debate.
Nativity of Mary
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
"Today the barren Anna claps her hands for joy, the earth radiates with light, kings sing their happiness, priests enjoy every blessing, the entire universe rejoices, for she who is queen and the Father's immaculate bride buds forth from the stem of Jesse" (adapted from Byzantine Daily Worship).
Via Beliefnet Saint of the Day.
"Today the barren Anna claps her hands for joy, the earth radiates with light, kings sing their happiness, priests enjoy every blessing, the entire universe rejoices, for she who is queen and the Father's immaculate bride buds forth from the stem of Jesse" (adapted from Byzantine Daily Worship).
Via Beliefnet Saint of the Day.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
More Sarah stuff
More Sarah stuff
Can't wait to see what Sully has to say about this. (Update, 4.35 pm : He's surprisingly non-apoplectic, but says pretty much what you might expect.)
My thoughts on the subject? I wouldn't be caught dead in her church, and I can't emphasize that enough, but this certainly isn't the sort of thing that would keep me from voting for the McCain/Palin ticket. (If I don't vote Republican in November, it'll be for better reasons than "her church wants to pray the gay away.")
Besides, the crowd that objects to this stuff is the same crowd that would object to the more nuanced, more Catholic, approach of a group like Courage. (Incidentally, I once heard something from one of the priests involved in Courage that struck me as exceedingly odd and borderline-stupid, but that's a subject for another day.)
Can't wait to see what Sully has to say about this. (Update, 4.35 pm : He's surprisingly non-apoplectic, but says pretty much what you might expect.)
My thoughts on the subject? I wouldn't be caught dead in her church, and I can't emphasize that enough, but this certainly isn't the sort of thing that would keep me from voting for the McCain/Palin ticket. (If I don't vote Republican in November, it'll be for better reasons than "her church wants to pray the gay away.")
Besides, the crowd that objects to this stuff is the same crowd that would object to the more nuanced, more Catholic, approach of a group like Courage. (Incidentally, I once heard something from one of the priests involved in Courage that struck me as exceedingly odd and borderline-stupid, but that's a subject for another day.)
McWhatshisname/Palin
I have a friend who works in a group home for adults with mental difficulties. One of the residents there is a lovable, chubby, childlike woman of about forty. She is in the habit of saying cute and funny things. (In part, because English is her second language.)
One day, my friend asked her, "L-----, do you know who's running for president?"
And she was quick to respond:
"I know! It's O-ba-ma ... and the old guy with Sarah."
One day, my friend asked her, "L-----, do you know who's running for president?"
And she was quick to respond:
"I know! It's O-ba-ma ... and the old guy with Sarah."
Palin and the media
Palin and the media
Andrew Sullivan is outraged that Gov. Palin won't be granting any interviews for two weeks. If true, that looks very, very bad.
On the other hand, there's some trivial stuff that Sullivan and others have brought up.
They've been tweaking Sarah Palin about her mispronunciation of the word "nuclear," and ABC News (I think) reported that Palin's teleprompter at the convention spelled "new-clear" phonetically.
Okay. Do we tweak Princeton graduate Michelle Obama for her atrocious grammar ("the things that matter to Barack and I")? Do we become obsessive over the fact that she can't pronounce the "str" consonant-sequence without making a "shch" (as in "Khrushchev") sound? "Strong" becomes "shchrong"; "extraordinary" is "exshchroardinary."
And I know she's not on a nationwide ticket, but Rep. Maxine Waters says "nukular," too. I haven't heard anyone in the media mention that.
Andrew Sullivan is outraged that Gov. Palin won't be granting any interviews for two weeks. If true, that looks very, very bad.
On the other hand, there's some trivial stuff that Sullivan and others have brought up.
They've been tweaking Sarah Palin about her mispronunciation of the word "nuclear," and ABC News (I think) reported that Palin's teleprompter at the convention spelled "new-clear" phonetically.
Okay. Do we tweak Princeton graduate Michelle Obama for her atrocious grammar ("the things that matter to Barack and I")? Do we become obsessive over the fact that she can't pronounce the "str" consonant-sequence without making a "shch" (as in "Khrushchev") sound? "Strong" becomes "shchrong"; "extraordinary" is "exshchroardinary."
And I know she's not on a nationwide ticket, but Rep. Maxine Waters says "nukular," too. I haven't heard anyone in the media mention that.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Time out
I just watched a rebroadcast of the McPalin rally held yesterday in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and a few things disturbed me. More on this later, perhaps, when I've collected my scattered thoughts.
[Pause ...]
OK, here are a few initial thoughts:
1. The jingoism of the chanting crowds gets really old really fast.
2. I don't believe McCain when he says he's going to reduce the size of government.
3. I do believe Sarah Palin is pro-life, much more so than, oh, McCain, who will actually be the President next year if the Republicans win in November.
4. By pro-life I mean anti-abortion. She's giving us the standard victory-at-all-costs line on the Iraq war, and I'm really sick of hearing about 19-year-old kids coming home in coffins.
5. The libertarians have a point. Country first? How about the individual? Life, liberty and the security of person, as John Paul II paraphrased the famous statement of professed American ideals.
6. Don't worry, folks. I'm not voting for the Great Beige Hope under any circumstances.
7. But the Great Beige Hope will win my home state by an avalanche and three-quarters. So my vote won't affect the electoral outcome.
8. Is there a "quixotic third party candidate" I can, in good conscience, support? At the moment, no. And I'd much rather see McPalin win than Obiden. Still, I'm getting serious qualms.
9. George Will once wrote, I forget where, or perhaps he said: If you're ever thinking of not voting Republican, remember the judges. I definitely don't want any more Ruth Bader Ginsburgs on the nation's highest court. But will McCain nominate Thomases or Souters?
10. Well, we know what Obama will nominate.
11. I'll come clean. I voted for Ron Paul in the primaries. But the thing is, I'm not a libertarian ideologue. I'm much more of an anti-Democrat than a libertarian.
12. But I am getting sick of this damned war.
13. The Democrats have declared war on the unborn.
14. There is no #14. I'm done, for now. Your thoughts are welcome in the combox.
[Pause ...]
OK, here are a few initial thoughts:
1. The jingoism of the chanting crowds gets really old really fast.
2. I don't believe McCain when he says he's going to reduce the size of government.
3. I do believe Sarah Palin is pro-life, much more so than, oh, McCain, who will actually be the President next year if the Republicans win in November.
4. By pro-life I mean anti-abortion. She's giving us the standard victory-at-all-costs line on the Iraq war, and I'm really sick of hearing about 19-year-old kids coming home in coffins.
5. The libertarians have a point. Country first? How about the individual? Life, liberty and the security of person, as John Paul II paraphrased the famous statement of professed American ideals.
6. Don't worry, folks. I'm not voting for the Great Beige Hope under any circumstances.
7. But the Great Beige Hope will win my home state by an avalanche and three-quarters. So my vote won't affect the electoral outcome.
8. Is there a "quixotic third party candidate" I can, in good conscience, support? At the moment, no. And I'd much rather see McPalin win than Obiden. Still, I'm getting serious qualms.
9. George Will once wrote, I forget where, or perhaps he said: If you're ever thinking of not voting Republican, remember the judges. I definitely don't want any more Ruth Bader Ginsburgs on the nation's highest court. But will McCain nominate Thomases or Souters?
10. Well, we know what Obama will nominate.
11. I'll come clean. I voted for Ron Paul in the primaries. But the thing is, I'm not a libertarian ideologue. I'm much more of an anti-Democrat than a libertarian.
12. But I am getting sick of this damned war.
13. The Democrats have declared war on the unborn.
14. There is no #14. I'm done, for now. Your thoughts are welcome in the combox.
Ah, progressivism
Ah, progressivism
the philosophy of tolerance and sensitivity
Absolutely astonishing, this odious, vituperative, vulgar anti-Palin rant.
HT : Catholic and Enjoying It!
the philosophy of tolerance and sensitivity
Absolutely astonishing, this odious, vituperative, vulgar anti-Palin rant.
HT : Catholic and Enjoying It!
A libertarian's take
"hail me, hail me, hail me"
A libertarian's take on the McCain convention speech. Good thing there's none of that l'état, c'est moi stuff coming from the Obama campaign.
Link found here.
A libertarian's take on the McCain convention speech. Good thing there's none of that l'état, c'est moi stuff coming from the Obama campaign.
Link found here.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Cummings
Cummings
silently if,out of not knowable
night’s utmost nothing,wanders a little guess
(only which is this world)more my life does
not leap than with the mystery of your smile
sings or if(spiralling as luminous
they climb oblivion)voices who are dreams,
less into heaven certainly earth swims
than each my deeper death becomes your kiss
losing through you what seemed myself,i find
selves unimaginably mine;beyond
sorrow’s own joys and hoping’s very fears
yours is the light by which my spirit’s born:
yours is the darkness of my soul’s return
--you are my sun,my moon,and all my stars
silently if,out of not knowable
night’s utmost nothing,wanders a little guess
(only which is this world)more my life does
not leap than with the mystery of your smile
sings or if(spiralling as luminous
they climb oblivion)voices who are dreams,
less into heaven certainly earth swims
than each my deeper death becomes your kiss
losing through you what seemed myself,i find
selves unimaginably mine;beyond
sorrow’s own joys and hoping’s very fears
yours is the light by which my spirit’s born:
yours is the darkness of my soul’s return
--you are my sun,my moon,and all my stars
The View
It's not a show I watch regularly, but ...
On ABC's The View yesterday, Joy Behar made a crack about "drilling" in Alaska and the father of Bristol Palin's baby.
No one laughed, except Joy, at her own unfunny joke.
Not a giggle from the audience. Cricket city. El bombo.
Bless those folks for not laughing!
On ABC's The View yesterday, Joy Behar made a crack about "drilling" in Alaska and the father of Bristol Palin's baby.
No one laughed, except Joy, at her own unfunny joke.
Not a giggle from the audience. Cricket city. El bombo.
Bless those folks for not laughing!
Dear Diary
Dear diary
I hate this weather. 87 and humid. I have a rule. No 90s in August, no 80s in September, no 70s in October, no 60s in November. Someone keeps breaking that rule on me.
I miss (let me say) New Hampshire. Morning lows 45-52 when I was there, and already some pockets of red leaves. Huzzah!
I hate this weather. 87 and humid. I have a rule. No 90s in August, no 80s in September, no 70s in October, no 60s in November. Someone keeps breaking that rule on me.
I miss (let me say) New Hampshire. Morning lows 45-52 when I was there, and already some pockets of red leaves. Huzzah!
Thursday, September 04, 2008
RNC: McCain
RNC: Sen. John McCain
Accepting the nomination. Paying tribute (without naming them) to the candidates who opposed him in the primaries.
What's with the green background?
A nod to President 43 and Mrs. Bush, and to President 41 and Mrs. Bush.
Tributes to Mrs. McCain, his wife, and to Mrs. McCain, his mom -- "96 years young."
Subdued applause when he says of Sen. Obama "you have my respect and admiration."
Applause less restrained when he says "let there be no doubt, we're going to win this election!"
Protesters interrupting. "My friends, please don't be diverted by the ground noise and the static!"
"I've found just the right partner to help me shake up Washington, D.C." -- okay, so far, nothing substantive, but gracious nods all around to those to whom gracious nods are due.
"Change is coming." We'll see.
"I don't work for a party, I don't work for a special interest, I don't work for myself -- I work for you" -- decent-sounding line, not much there.
Pledges to stop pork-barrel spending and to name the names of the biggest offenders. Again, we'll see.
Reminding us of his willingness to buck popular opinion (the surge).
Awkward cadence to the "it matters less that you fight than what you fight for" line.
"We were elected to change Washington and we let Washington change us." True. And well-cadenced. And well-delivered.
"The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics." We'll see.
"We believe in work, faith, service ... a culture of life ... and judges ... who don't legislate from the bench." Standard GOP stuff.
"A government that doesn't make choices for you but works to make sure that you have more choices to make for yourself."
Now, a brief litany of differences between JSM and BHO. "He will raise taxes ... force families into a government-run health-care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor."
Now, the backdrop is sky-blue. Better.
"Education is the civil-rights issue of this century." Really??
"What is the value of access to a failing school?" "Empower parents with choice." "Help bad teachers find another line of work."
"Sen. Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucrats; I want our schools to answer to parents and students."
"Produce more energy at home." "Drill new wells offshore." "Build more nuclear power plants." Wind, solar, hybrid, etc.
"Rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices." Okay.
"We must see the threats to peace and liberty clearly -- face them with confidence, wisdom, and resolve."
Now he's turning to (turning on?) Russia. "International lawlessness that threatens the peace and stability of the world." Tough words.
About the "dangers" the world faces. "I'm not afraid of them, I'm prepared for them." "I know how the world works." "I know how to secure the peace."
His experience in Vietnam is mentioned -- "I hate war. I know how horrible it is" -- as he pledges to prevent unnecessary war.
Deplores "constant partisan rancor." Mentions how he reaches across the aisle.
Pledges his administration will set "a new standard for transparency and accountability."
"An imperfect servant of my country -- but a servant first, last, and always."
"I was blessed by misfortune, because I served in the company of heroes ... witnessed countless acts of courage."
"I was dumped in a dark cell and left to die."
Tells of having to be fed by two cellmates because his arms wouldn't work. Very moving and powerful.
Then, solitary confinement. Turned down the offer of early release. Crowd stands and applauds. I'm getting a chill.
"I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's." That is the genuine article of patriotism. Modest compared to some of the other displays we've seen, and with the ring of truth.
"I'm not running because I believe ... that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need." A shot at the Obama, no doubt, but I think the current occupant of 1600 sees himself in these terms.
"Nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself."
"Stand up! Stand up and fight for what's right," etc. He's being drowned out by the crowd!
Not a bad speech. Some characteristic awkwardness at times in the delivery, and of course the interruptions. Mostly generalities and goals rather than specifics. The personal narrative was the most powerful part, and I guess it ended well. (Will have to get transcript from somewhere -- my typing got lazy.) It's pretty much what you'd expect to hear from a Republican nominee for President.
Balloons, confetti, televised fireworks.
Accepting the nomination. Paying tribute (without naming them) to the candidates who opposed him in the primaries.
What's with the green background?
A nod to President 43 and Mrs. Bush, and to President 41 and Mrs. Bush.
Tributes to Mrs. McCain, his wife, and to Mrs. McCain, his mom -- "96 years young."
Subdued applause when he says of Sen. Obama "you have my respect and admiration."
Applause less restrained when he says "let there be no doubt, we're going to win this election!"
Protesters interrupting. "My friends, please don't be diverted by the ground noise and the static!"
"I've found just the right partner to help me shake up Washington, D.C." -- okay, so far, nothing substantive, but gracious nods all around to those to whom gracious nods are due.
"Change is coming." We'll see.
"I don't work for a party, I don't work for a special interest, I don't work for myself -- I work for you" -- decent-sounding line, not much there.
Pledges to stop pork-barrel spending and to name the names of the biggest offenders. Again, we'll see.
Reminding us of his willingness to buck popular opinion (the surge).
Awkward cadence to the "it matters less that you fight than what you fight for" line.
"We were elected to change Washington and we let Washington change us." True. And well-cadenced. And well-delivered.
"The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics." We'll see.
"We believe in work, faith, service ... a culture of life ... and judges ... who don't legislate from the bench." Standard GOP stuff.
"A government that doesn't make choices for you but works to make sure that you have more choices to make for yourself."
Now, a brief litany of differences between JSM and BHO. "He will raise taxes ... force families into a government-run health-care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor."
Now, the backdrop is sky-blue. Better.
"Education is the civil-rights issue of this century." Really??
"What is the value of access to a failing school?" "Empower parents with choice." "Help bad teachers find another line of work."
"Sen. Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucrats; I want our schools to answer to parents and students."
"Produce more energy at home." "Drill new wells offshore." "Build more nuclear power plants." Wind, solar, hybrid, etc.
"Rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices." Okay.
"We must see the threats to peace and liberty clearly -- face them with confidence, wisdom, and resolve."
Now he's turning to (turning on?) Russia. "International lawlessness that threatens the peace and stability of the world." Tough words.
About the "dangers" the world faces. "I'm not afraid of them, I'm prepared for them." "I know how the world works." "I know how to secure the peace."
His experience in Vietnam is mentioned -- "I hate war. I know how horrible it is" -- as he pledges to prevent unnecessary war.
Deplores "constant partisan rancor." Mentions how he reaches across the aisle.
Pledges his administration will set "a new standard for transparency and accountability."
"An imperfect servant of my country -- but a servant first, last, and always."
"I was blessed by misfortune, because I served in the company of heroes ... witnessed countless acts of courage."
"I was dumped in a dark cell and left to die."
Tells of having to be fed by two cellmates because his arms wouldn't work. Very moving and powerful.
Then, solitary confinement. Turned down the offer of early release. Crowd stands and applauds. I'm getting a chill.
"I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's." That is the genuine article of patriotism. Modest compared to some of the other displays we've seen, and with the ring of truth.
"I'm not running because I believe ... that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need." A shot at the Obama, no doubt, but I think the current occupant of 1600 sees himself in these terms.
"Nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself."
"Stand up! Stand up and fight for what's right," etc. He's being drowned out by the crowd!
Not a bad speech. Some characteristic awkwardness at times in the delivery, and of course the interruptions. Mostly generalities and goals rather than specifics. The personal narrative was the most powerful part, and I guess it ended well. (Will have to get transcript from somewhere -- my typing got lazy.) It's pretty much what you'd expect to hear from a Republican nominee for President.
Balloons, confetti, televised fireworks.
RNC
RNC, cont'd
Lindsey Graham. Three cheers for the war. Sigh.
Nice film about Sarah Palin. Cute pictures. Didn't really tell us anything new.
Tom Ridge is putting me to sleep. This speech is at leastnine fifteen minutes too long. Please let us get to the next speaker, whoever that may be.
More stupid chanting.
Forty minutes till McCain.
9.29 pm: Wow. Thank God that's over. Good riddance, Ridge. Now a film about Cindy.
Narrator: "Cindy's dad was a True. American. Patriot." There's only so much of this flag-waving rah-rah I can take. Don't get me wrong. I love America, and am "really proud" of America, and would rather live here than Canada, or Cuba, or Russia, or China, or the Netherlands, or Zimbabwe, etc. But is the implication that one is a commie subversive unless one goes around pumping one's fist and shouting "U-S-A! U-S-A!" every ten seconds?
"She [Cindy] shares a passion for fast cars with her son." Good to know. No, seriously, I couldn't have slept peacefully tonight without that vital piece of information.
Cindy and the seven kids are on stage now! (Thank Heaven. That film was getting on my nerves.)
Cindy is now commiserating with the displaced persons from the most recent hurricane. Sounding First-Lady-like.
Mrs. McCain (as I should be calling her) is now deploring "unsafe and underperforming schools." I'm not confident that the next Administration, whichever party it represents, will be able to do anything about that.
A kind word for Abraham Lincoln. Some students of history might demur.
Now Mrs. McCain is speaking about her husband, in the warm and glowing terms one might expect almost any spouse to use on such an occasion.
"You can trust him at the wheel -- but you know what I always thought? It's a good idea to have a woman's hand on the wheel as well." A nod to Governor Palin. "A reform-minded hockey-mom moose-hunting salmon-fishing pistol-packing ..." Damn! I typed too slow to get the exact quote. Nice touch, though.
Mrs. McC. makes "Vietnam" rhyme with "lamb."
"Preparing a better world for all of our children" -- ???
About fifteen minutes until the Senator. I think I'll be back in a while.
Lindsey Graham. Three cheers for the war. Sigh.
Nice film about Sarah Palin. Cute pictures. Didn't really tell us anything new.
Tom Ridge is putting me to sleep. This speech is at least
More stupid chanting.
Forty minutes till McCain.
9.29 pm: Wow. Thank God that's over. Good riddance, Ridge. Now a film about Cindy.
Narrator: "Cindy's dad was a True. American. Patriot." There's only so much of this flag-waving rah-rah I can take. Don't get me wrong. I love America, and am "really proud" of America, and would rather live here than Canada, or Cuba, or Russia, or China, or the Netherlands, or Zimbabwe, etc. But is the implication that one is a commie subversive unless one goes around pumping one's fist and shouting "U-S-A! U-S-A!" every ten seconds?
"She [Cindy] shares a passion for fast cars with her son." Good to know. No, seriously, I couldn't have slept peacefully tonight without that vital piece of information.
Cindy and the seven kids are on stage now! (Thank Heaven. That film was getting on my nerves.)
Cindy is now commiserating with the displaced persons from the most recent hurricane. Sounding First-Lady-like.
Mrs. McCain (as I should be calling her) is now deploring "unsafe and underperforming schools." I'm not confident that the next Administration, whichever party it represents, will be able to do anything about that.
A kind word for Abraham Lincoln. Some students of history might demur.
Now Mrs. McCain is speaking about her husband, in the warm and glowing terms one might expect almost any spouse to use on such an occasion.
"You can trust him at the wheel -- but you know what I always thought? It's a good idea to have a woman's hand on the wheel as well." A nod to Governor Palin. "A reform-minded hockey-mom moose-hunting salmon-fishing pistol-packing ..." Damn! I typed too slow to get the exact quote. Nice touch, though.
Mrs. McC. makes "Vietnam" rhyme with "lamb."
"Preparing a better world for all of our children" -- ???
About fifteen minutes until the Senator. I think I'll be back in a while.
RNC impressions
RNC, scattered impressions
I missed the first two nights of this convention, so what follows are indeed meager cogitations.
Sarah! Great night for her and for the party last night. Loved how she tweaked Obama on everything from the Greek columns to the pseudo-presidential seal. A genuine human being, with a sense of humor. And Piper Palin, who is evidently camera-friendly, cracked me up.
Pawlenty's speech, or chant, was as subtle as a sledgehammer. Punctuating every sentence with "put our country first." After the 14th or 15th sentence, the rhetorical tactic began to pall.
During Bill Frist's sober reflection on AIDS in Africa and the Rwandan genocide, some idiotic woman was mugging for the cameras with a goofy grin.
Sam Brownback just finished speaking. Taking nothing away from the tremendous governor of Alaska, I always thought that Brownback would make a good VP or President. He mentioned the unborn, and in his case, I don't think it's a cosmetic commitment. Same with Palin, obviously.
An Olympic athlete is speaking now. Don't know if I can keep liveblogging until the McCain speech, or even if I'll be awake to watch it. I'll be back sometime soon.
I missed the first two nights of this convention, so what follows are indeed meager cogitations.
Sarah! Great night for her and for the party last night. Loved how she tweaked Obama on everything from the Greek columns to the pseudo-presidential seal. A genuine human being, with a sense of humor. And Piper Palin, who is evidently camera-friendly, cracked me up.
Pawlenty's speech, or chant, was as subtle as a sledgehammer. Punctuating every sentence with "put our country first." After the 14th or 15th sentence, the rhetorical tactic began to pall.
During Bill Frist's sober reflection on AIDS in Africa and the Rwandan genocide, some idiotic woman was mugging for the cameras with a goofy grin.
Sam Brownback just finished speaking. Taking nothing away from the tremendous governor of Alaska, I always thought that Brownback would make a good VP or President. He mentioned the unborn, and in his case, I don't think it's a cosmetic commitment. Same with Palin, obviously.
An Olympic athlete is speaking now. Don't know if I can keep liveblogging until the McCain speech, or even if I'll be awake to watch it. I'll be back sometime soon.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Offline
Will be offline
from tonight until Tuesday at the earliest, Thursday at the latest. Going north to see friends and mountains.
See you in September!
from tonight until Tuesday at the earliest, Thursday at the latest. Going north to see friends and mountains.
See you in September!
Friday, August 29, 2008
DNC, night four
DNC, night fourth and last
Well! That was fun.
I think Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia wins the gold medal for abusing Sacred Scripture. "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to the mountain 'Move,' and it will move." I'm fairly sure that the faith which moves mountains is not to be equated with faith in the junior senator of Illinois.
Speaking of whom: Sen. Obama did a fairly good job of looking and sounding presidential, but the speech was a forgettable tissue of lefty tropes that floated across my mind like the images in a John Ashbery poem, quickly and without lingering for too long.
Both Al Gore and Bill Richardson mentioned "a woman's right to choose," but neither man referred to what, precisely, the woman would be choosing. Mustn't be too vivid. Some people might find that off-putting. (Obama actually did use the word "abortion," by way of making a pledge to introduce policies that would "reduce unwanted pregnancies."
Early in the afternoon, a young man named Wes Moore (???) was speaking at Invesco Field and said, "Barack Obama does not want you to have faith in him; he wants to you have faith with him." I guess that line was intended to mitigate the concerns of those who see the Obama movement as a kind of cultish worship.
Well. That's over. Bring on the Repubs!
Well! That was fun.
I think Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia wins the gold medal for abusing Sacred Scripture. "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to the mountain 'Move,' and it will move." I'm fairly sure that the faith which moves mountains is not to be equated with faith in the junior senator of Illinois.
Speaking of whom: Sen. Obama did a fairly good job of looking and sounding presidential, but the speech was a forgettable tissue of lefty tropes that floated across my mind like the images in a John Ashbery poem, quickly and without lingering for too long.
Both Al Gore and Bill Richardson mentioned "a woman's right to choose," but neither man referred to what, precisely, the woman would be choosing. Mustn't be too vivid. Some people might find that off-putting. (Obama actually did use the word "abortion," by way of making a pledge to introduce policies that would "reduce unwanted pregnancies."
Early in the afternoon, a young man named Wes Moore (???) was speaking at Invesco Field and said, "Barack Obama does not want you to have faith in him; he wants to you have faith with him." I guess that line was intended to mitigate the concerns of those who see the Obama movement as a kind of cultish worship.
Well. That's over. Bring on the Repubs!
Cummings
Cummings
when serpents bargain for the right to squirm
and the sun strikes to gain a living wage--
when thorns regard their roses with alarm
and rainbows are insured against old age
when every thrush may sing no new moon in
if all screech-owls have not okayed his voice
--and any wave signs on the dotted line
or else an ocean is compelled to close
when the oak begs permission of the birch
to make an acorn--valleys accuse their
mountains of having altitude--and march
denounces april as a saboteur
then we'll believe in that incredible
unanimal mankind(and not until)
when serpents bargain for the right to squirm
and the sun strikes to gain a living wage--
when thorns regard their roses with alarm
and rainbows are insured against old age
when every thrush may sing no new moon in
if all screech-owls have not okayed his voice
--and any wave signs on the dotted line
or else an ocean is compelled to close
when the oak begs permission of the birch
to make an acorn--valleys accuse their
mountains of having altitude--and march
denounces april as a saboteur
then we'll believe in that incredible
unanimal mankind(and not until)
Thursday, August 28, 2008
DNC, night three
DNC, night three
Biden's speech. Heard maybe half of it on the radio. He can be effective and engaging.
But since I missed the first 10-15 minutes, perhaps someone can tell me: Did he mention anything about partial-birth abortion or gay marriage or race quotas? Or any of those other wonderful things about which Democrats tend to be so enthusiastic?
I'm guessing no.
So far, it looks like Sen. Obama is not getting the expected "convention bounce." McCain's actually leading in some polls.
Biden's speech. Heard maybe half of it on the radio. He can be effective and engaging.
But since I missed the first 10-15 minutes, perhaps someone can tell me: Did he mention anything about partial-birth abortion or gay marriage or race quotas? Or any of those other wonderful things about which Democrats tend to be so enthusiastic?
I'm guessing no.
So far, it looks like Sen. Obama is not getting the expected "convention bounce." McCain's actually leading in some polls.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
DNC, night two
The DNC, night two
Nothing to report, really. I slept through hollery Hillary's speech. Also missed my governor.
Bob Casey, Jr., or his speechwriter, has a sense of humor. I chuckled at that line about McCain ("He's not a maverick, he's a sidekick"). Too bad Casey's such a squish on the most important issue of the day.
Addendum, Wednesday, 11.30 am : I've now seen some clips of Hillary. That line "sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits" was pretty good -- the closest that a Clinton has ever come to being mildly self-deprecating.
Oh, yes, and how could I forget Dennis Kucinich? He could have been a little more animated, no?
Nothing to report, really. I slept through hollery Hillary's speech. Also missed my governor.
Bob Casey, Jr., or his speechwriter, has a sense of humor. I chuckled at that line about McCain ("He's not a maverick, he's a sidekick"). Too bad Casey's such a squish on the most important issue of the day.
Addendum, Wednesday, 11.30 am : I've now seen some clips of Hillary. That line "sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits" was pretty good -- the closest that a Clinton has ever come to being mildly self-deprecating.
Oh, yes, and how could I forget Dennis Kucinich? He could have been a little more animated, no?
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
DNC, night one
The DNC, night one
In between the earlier speeches, during one of those musical interludes, a little girl was heard singing Alicia Keys' "No One"; quite the voice! Couldn't have been much more than 10 or 11.
Ted Kennedy: Looked much better than I thought he would. It would have been better if he could have expended his energy, battling against illness, in the service of a nobler cause.
Michelle Obama: News bulletin! The "t" in the word often is silent.
The Obama daughters: Way. Too. Cute.
In between the earlier speeches, during one of those musical interludes, a little girl was heard singing Alicia Keys' "No One"; quite the voice! Couldn't have been much more than 10 or 11.
Ted Kennedy: Looked much better than I thought he would. It would have been better if he could have expended his energy, battling against illness, in the service of a nobler cause.
Michelle Obama: News bulletin! The "t" in the word often is silent.
The Obama daughters: Way. Too. Cute.
Colbert on Hillary
I would have asked her to be more tenacious and more "never say die." I feel like she gave in too easily. I would have said, "Do not go gentle into that good night." I would've gotten Bill out there more.
Stephen Colbert in response to an interviewer asking how he would have run Hillary Clinton's campaign differently, in the September Reader's Digest
Stephen Colbert in response to an interviewer asking how he would have run Hillary Clinton's campaign differently, in the September Reader's Digest
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Catholics Against Joe Biden
Catholics Against Joe Biden
Here. Apposite quotations from Archbishop Chaput and Deal Hudson, among others.
Hudson : "Our Church is no longer a place where telling a few 'Pat and Mike' jokes and stories about Notre Dame football or Georgetown basketball can take the place of basic Catholic beliefs."
Here. Apposite quotations from Archbishop Chaput and Deal Hudson, among others.
Hudson : "Our Church is no longer a place where telling a few 'Pat and Mike' jokes and stories about Notre Dame football or Georgetown basketball can take the place of basic Catholic beliefs."
More of the cento
More of the cento!
Meredith has revealed part of her Dylan Thomas cento in Enchiridion's comment-box. We eagerly await the whole enchilada!
Meanwhile, here's my (somewhat inadequate) effort at a Dylan Thomas cento:
For as long as forever is,
Genesis in the root, the scarecrow word
Praised the sun
With no more desire than a ghost.
And nightly under the simple stars
I labour by singing light
With dry flesh and earth for adorning and bed.
The things of light
Raise up this red-eyed earth
Like wooden islands, hill to hill.
Over the choir minute I hear the hour chant:
Roaring, crawling, quarrel
In the last element
Possessed by the skies.
Your heart is luminous
On a star of faith pure as the drifting bread
And the shipyards of Galilee's footprints hide a navy of doves.
Meredith has revealed part of her Dylan Thomas cento in Enchiridion's comment-box. We eagerly await the whole enchilada!
Meanwhile, here's my (somewhat inadequate) effort at a Dylan Thomas cento:
For as long as forever is,
Genesis in the root, the scarecrow word
Praised the sun
With no more desire than a ghost.
And nightly under the simple stars
I labour by singing light
With dry flesh and earth for adorning and bed.
The things of light
Raise up this red-eyed earth
Like wooden islands, hill to hill.
Over the choir minute I hear the hour chant:
Roaring, crawling, quarrel
In the last element
Possessed by the skies.
Your heart is luminous
On a star of faith pure as the drifting bread
And the shipyards of Galilee's footprints hide a navy of doves.
Purple Prose
Given the color
of the text of this blog, how come no one's ever accused me of writing purple prose?
Just wondering.
of the text of this blog, how come no one's ever accused me of writing purple prose?
Just wondering.
Duran Duran
And a critical exegesis ...
of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" -- your smile of the day, via TSO.
of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" -- your smile of the day, via TSO.
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