The circumstances of my purchase and knowledge of “Up From Slavery,” Booker T. Washington’s most famous autobiography
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Black History Month 2021: Consumed
Each year Black History month is another chance to own up to the failures of America, to learn about those who endured and transcended them.
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- 2021-02-05
- Monthly Reading, Viewing Report
Read, Viewed: January 2021
January 2021 inaugurated both a new year and (Gott sei Dank!!!) a new president, during which I read and watched “Vertigo,” Stanley Cavell, “Signs,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” and others.
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- 2021-02-02
- Monthly Reading, Viewing Report
Joseph Losey’s “The Servant” (1963): Master/Slave Dialectic Demonstrated
“The Servant” takes the traditional roles between gentleman and manservant and submits them to great artistic violence.
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- 2021-01-31
- On Film, Movies, Cinema Viewing Journal
Reading Journal: Assembling Dinosaurs, “War and Peace”
A glorious night when I just wanted to keep reading: first, 25 pages of Lukas Rieppel’s “Assembling the Dinosaur”; then Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”, concluding Volume III; a feast of the undeveloped imagination.
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- 2021-01-24
- Reading Journal On Literature, Books
Bad Poetry Morning
Repeatedly not finishing a sentence. Either subject or predicate but not both. Becomes some poetry itself.
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- 2021-01-17
- Idle Reflections
Read Viewed Consumed 2020-12
Perhaps I began the month of December inauspiciously, insofar as I read/viewed/consumed nothing on the first day of the month (see below). In fact, I did read two different Harry...
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- 2021-01-02
- Monthly Reading, Viewing Report
Anna Seghers’ “Transit”: Profound Unknowing
In Anna Seghers’ novel “Transit,” no one really knows who the other is. The reader is never certain of who the narrator really is.
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- 2020-12-15
- On Literature, Books Reading Journal
“Marauders” (on Netflix now) is Sooooo Bad
The 2016 film “Marauders” is a gunplay and bank robbery story that is not so bad that it’s good.
Continue reading...Read Viewed Consumed 2020-11
During the month of November what I read and viewed—what I consumed—was less varied and somewhat sparse. In fact, lost some weight.
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- 2020-11-30
- Monthly Reading, Viewing Report
“Sudden Fear” (1952): Neither sudden nor fearful
“Sudden Fear” tells the tale of a playwright that married the wrong man and was almost written out of the script.
Continue reading...Sexy Idea #2: Presentism—The Most Dangerous Prejudice
Calling presentism a prejudice is a little like calling 45 a bad president: It’s not strong enough.
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- 2020-11-14
- On Ideas, Concepts, Intuitions
Read Viewed Consumed | 2020-10
October is a good month to watch horror movies and read scary stories, but I read my scary stories over the summer and …
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- 2020-11-01
- Monthly Reading, Viewing Report
Julio Cortázar’s “Bestiary”: Man-eating animals
The “Bestiary” narrates pre-adolescent Isabel’s summer vacation with her cousin Nino and … a tiger.
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- 2020-10-25
- Short Story Month On Literature, Books
“Blind Geronimo and His Brother”: Mistrust Finds its End
Brothers Geronimo and Carlo travel the roads of 19th century Italy, entertaining passers-by with song, but one plants a seed of mistrust exposing years of alienation.
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- 2020-10-21
- On Literature, Books Short Story Month