Ashley Vaught | Erstwhile Flâneur, Philosopher

Jane Eyre: Post-Colonial Christian Zealotry?

Reading "Jane Eyre" for the second time revealed a quite different— quite Christian and not postcolonial—one from what inhabited my memory (and imagination).

2022-12-26
On Literature, Books Reading Journal

November 2022: Reading, Watching

Some transcendent moments. In reading Brontë, Borges, Sebald, Masters. Watching "The Getaway" and "Breaking Away". Others, not transcendent even a little.

2022-12-03
Monthly Reading, Viewing Report

Realism Lite: “Midnight Run” (1988)

Realism lite, how film and television suggest serious violence without actually including it, is exemplified in the 1988 buddy film “Midnight Run.”

2022-11-29
On Film, Movies, Cinema Confessions of a Bad Movie Watcher

Female Friends: Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s "Happy Hour" (2015)

Three curiosities about the lovely 2015 Ryusuke Hamaguchi film about female friendship, "Happy Hour"

2022-11-15
Idle Reflections On Film, Movies, Cinema

Pleasures in Reading: Edgar Lee Master’s “Spoon River Anthology”

From the "Spoon River Anthology" by Edgar Lee Masters, excerpts and commentary on the experience of its reading

2022-11-10
On Literature, Books Idle Reflections Reading Journal

Odious October 2022: Reading, Watching

Started reading W.G. Sebald, for the first time. Who turned me to "The Hunter Gracchus," by Dr. K. Also, Edgar Lee Master’s "Spoon River Anthology" … okay, perhaps not odious

2022-11-02
Monthly Reading, Viewing Report

Tyrannical Imagination: Henry James’ “An International Episode”

A passage from Henry James’ novel "An International Episode" displays the tyranny of the imagination

2022-10-29
On Literature, Books Reading Journal

Suburban Micro-Aggressions: Shirley Jackson’s short story “Flower Garden”

Shirley Jackson’s "Flower Garden" will mystify readers expecting horror, but civil discord is in no short supply

2022-10-18
On Literature, Books

Saturnine September 2022: Reading, Viewing

Greatest hits of September: "Lord of the Rings," "We Are the Best!" (2013), "The Hunt" (1966)—and I finished James Joyce’s "Ulysses"!

2022-10-03
Monthly Reading, Viewing Report

August-alia 2022: Reading, Watching

Birthday months are great for watching Antonioni trilogies, Premingers’ “In Harm’s Way,” reading “The Haunting of Hill House” and “The Shawl.”

2022-09-03
Monthly Reading, Viewing Report

2 Missing Details in Richard Linklater’s Epic Before Trilogy

The Before Trilogy is an elegant, conversational set of romantic films, notably missing some important details.

2022-08-24
On Film, Movies, Cinema Viewing Journal

Strikingly Read, Viewed: July 2022

Mostly mountainbiked during July, enjoyed the refreshing waters of Lake Willoughby Vermont, but also read Shirley Jackson’s “We Have Always Lived in the Castle,” José Saramago’s “The Double,” and Richard Linklater’s “Before Trilogy”