Megs looked at my funny the other night when Sweet Toddler J and I sat in the bedroom and read a few of Emily Dickinson's poems. When Sweet Toddler J. was only two months old, I remember that I soothed her from a crying fit as I read a few Robert Frost poems to her. Wednesday night, we had a grand time on the Chase as we drank apple juice and read Dickinson.
Unfortunately, I cannot find one of Dickinson's poems that I read to the little one. But in the spirit of that night, here is the poem of the day:
"This World is not Conclusion," Emily Dickinson
This World is not Conclusion.
A Species stands beyond --
Invisible, as Music --
But positive, as Sound --
It beckons, and it baffles --
Philosophy -- don't know --
And through a Riddle, at the last --
Sagacity, must go --
To guess it, puzzles scholars --
To gain it, Men have borne
Contempt of Generations
And Crucifixion, shown --
Faith slips -- and laughs, and rallies --
Blushes, if any see --
Plucks at a twig of Evidence --
And asks a Vane, the way --
Much Gesture, from the Pulpit --
Strong Hallelujahs roll --
Narcotics cannot still the Tooth
That nibbles at the soul --
Friday, July 03, 2009
Thursday, July 02, 2009
George W. Bush, Richard M. Nixon, and James Buchanan
President Buchanan did nothing to prevent the Civil War. President Nixon, well, did too many things to list.
President Bush: invaded a country with no WMDs because of a poker bluff Saddam played to hold off Iran. CNN has more but I cannot make it through the article.
President Bush: invaded a country with no WMDs because of a poker bluff Saddam played to hold off Iran. CNN has more but I cannot make it through the article.
Poem of the Day
The Choice, William Butler Yeats
The intellect of man is forced to choose
perfection of the life, or of the work,
And if it take the second must refuse
A heavenly mansion, raging in the dark.
When all that story's finished, what's the news?
In luck or out the toil has left its mark:
That old perplexity an empty purse,
Or the day's vanity, the night's remorse.
The intellect of man is forced to choose
perfection of the life, or of the work,
And if it take the second must refuse
A heavenly mansion, raging in the dark.
When all that story's finished, what's the news?
In luck or out the toil has left its mark:
That old perplexity an empty purse,
Or the day's vanity, the night's remorse.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
New Stupid Piece of Shit from Sony
Since Solon likes shiny new technology, he might like this. (Or does it have to be from Apple?)
Todd Purdum on Sarah Palin
There is a new article by Todd Purdum in Vanity Fair concerning Sarah Palin and the 2008 Presidential Election. This article is an interesting text as it reveals very little that we did not know before and takes a few, deep and dark swipes against Sarah Palin that seem to be unfair against her and that come from a source (Purdum) who is unqualified to make these claims.
With so little new information, and what new information in the article does not seem too relevant, I have too questions: first, why should anyone other than political junkies read the piece? Second, even after reading the piece and reading the terrible slams on Palin (postpartum? seriously? what are your qualifications to diagnose this?) why cannot I not, even in good conscience, defend Palin? After everything she said and did during the campaign, I feel as if I should not even mention that the postpartum claim is outlandish because Palin deserves almost every unsubstantiated claim against her for ever unsubstantiated claim she delivered.
Update: Watch this video.
It is discourse like this, with not so subtle references to Obama as a terrorist and Obama as King Kong (no racial implications here, none whatsoever), and Palin as a national, and erotic, savior (notice the kinky, right-wing military and sex fethish with the erect missiles in relation to Palin in a military uniform-- starbursts indeed) that makes me believe everyday the network news should run the Thanksgiving footage of Palin being interviewed as turkeys were slaughtered. That is the correct metaphor for discussing what would happen to the US if Palin ever achieved national office.
With so little new information, and what new information in the article does not seem too relevant, I have too questions: first, why should anyone other than political junkies read the piece? Second, even after reading the piece and reading the terrible slams on Palin (postpartum? seriously? what are your qualifications to diagnose this?) why cannot I not, even in good conscience, defend Palin? After everything she said and did during the campaign, I feel as if I should not even mention that the postpartum claim is outlandish because Palin deserves almost every unsubstantiated claim against her for ever unsubstantiated claim she delivered.
Update: Watch this video.
It is discourse like this, with not so subtle references to Obama as a terrorist and Obama as King Kong (no racial implications here, none whatsoever), and Palin as a national, and erotic, savior (notice the kinky, right-wing military and sex fethish with the erect missiles in relation to Palin in a military uniform-- starbursts indeed) that makes me believe everyday the network news should run the Thanksgiving footage of Palin being interviewed as turkeys were slaughtered. That is the correct metaphor for discussing what would happen to the US if Palin ever achieved national office.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
"Going" Green or Merely "Performing" Green? And When, O When, Will We Stop with the Compulsive Use of Ironic Quotation Marks
Last week, Megs raised an excellent question about Americans, ranging "from esteemed blogger Andrew Sullivan to our own Harrogate," who have "changed their identifying display to the color in support of Iranian protesters."
Megs wondered whether it makes a difference at all, do the Iranian proestors even care? "Normally," she observed, "I'm all for the grassroots movement, but this one seems just too easy. Click a button, it says to me. That's all you have to do to help these people." Reading this post from the snug, secure confines of a hallowed Ivy League Library, Harrogate found himself feeling extra vapid. Worse, he was not much heartened by the latter half of Megs' post, which made an interesting move towards embracing the possibility that this "click of a button" movement might actually be doing something beyond making us feel proud of ourselves.
Sigh. Harrogate has no effective answer to this issue. But since Solon is right that intention always matters no matter how embedded in Theory we get, Harrogate in his own rambling way, would like to take a shot at stating why he went with the Green identifier.
First off, an important distinction needs to be made between Andrew Sullivan and us facebookers and lightly-trafficked bloggers (as friends know, Harrogate has deep ambivalence towards Sullivan, because Sullivan is a committed neoliberal, which Harrogate finds only marginally less repulsive than the mainstream American brand of social conservatism. But that is beside the point here). Sullivan's blogger coverage of the Iranian election and its aftermath has been beyond stellar, and one would be hard pressed to suggest that Sullivan has made no difference in shaping the public imagination, both in the United States and abroad, on these important events. To the extent that the Iranians have had uncensored access to the Internet during this time, Sullivan has in all likelihood reached protestors there as well.
Sullivan inspired Harrogate to identify Green on Facebook. Cannot remember the post (there are sooo many), but there was one where Sullivan argued that these identifiers matter. That whereas Obama and the Congress have a responsibility to be cautious with their Rhetoric, bloggers and "plugged in" citizens in the United States and throughout the Western world are not at all beholden to caution, and that while it may only be the click of a button, it sends a "human family" message.
Sullivan's was an assertion of the importance of Rhetoric in the most layman sense of the term. "That's just Rhetoric," some might say. But "Rhetoric matters," Sullivan responds, for it adds momentum to a sense of global sympathy for those who fight for their political freedom.
As Megs said, we all here in the US (except for those who want to bomb Iran and are thus sad that its people are suddenly humanized in the mainstream American imaginary) support the protestors there. Harrogate, persuaded by Sullivan, decided to inscrbe that support on Facebook, and he admits to having entertained the idea that some protestors would notice, and be gladdened by, the fact that so many are doing this.
In the end, Harrogate comes down believing that that we are, in some way and in Megs' hopeful words, "speaking to the Iranian populous" with these identifiers. But we also ought not to flatter ourselves that we are hardcore political activists in changing a Facebook Profile Picture from Picture of Ric Flair to a Placard asking "Where are Their Votes?"
Megs wondered whether it makes a difference at all, do the Iranian proestors even care? "Normally," she observed, "I'm all for the grassroots movement, but this one seems just too easy. Click a button, it says to me. That's all you have to do to help these people." Reading this post from the snug, secure confines of a hallowed Ivy League Library, Harrogate found himself feeling extra vapid. Worse, he was not much heartened by the latter half of Megs' post, which made an interesting move towards embracing the possibility that this "click of a button" movement might actually be doing something beyond making us feel proud of ourselves.
Sigh. Harrogate has no effective answer to this issue. But since Solon is right that intention always matters no matter how embedded in Theory we get, Harrogate in his own rambling way, would like to take a shot at stating why he went with the Green identifier.
First off, an important distinction needs to be made between Andrew Sullivan and us facebookers and lightly-trafficked bloggers (as friends know, Harrogate has deep ambivalence towards Sullivan, because Sullivan is a committed neoliberal, which Harrogate finds only marginally less repulsive than the mainstream American brand of social conservatism. But that is beside the point here). Sullivan's blogger coverage of the Iranian election and its aftermath has been beyond stellar, and one would be hard pressed to suggest that Sullivan has made no difference in shaping the public imagination, both in the United States and abroad, on these important events. To the extent that the Iranians have had uncensored access to the Internet during this time, Sullivan has in all likelihood reached protestors there as well.
Sullivan inspired Harrogate to identify Green on Facebook. Cannot remember the post (there are sooo many), but there was one where Sullivan argued that these identifiers matter. That whereas Obama and the Congress have a responsibility to be cautious with their Rhetoric, bloggers and "plugged in" citizens in the United States and throughout the Western world are not at all beholden to caution, and that while it may only be the click of a button, it sends a "human family" message.
Sullivan's was an assertion of the importance of Rhetoric in the most layman sense of the term. "That's just Rhetoric," some might say. But "Rhetoric matters," Sullivan responds, for it adds momentum to a sense of global sympathy for those who fight for their political freedom.
As Megs said, we all here in the US (except for those who want to bomb Iran and are thus sad that its people are suddenly humanized in the mainstream American imaginary) support the protestors there. Harrogate, persuaded by Sullivan, decided to inscrbe that support on Facebook, and he admits to having entertained the idea that some protestors would notice, and be gladdened by, the fact that so many are doing this.
In the end, Harrogate comes down believing that that we are, in some way and in Megs' hopeful words, "speaking to the Iranian populous" with these identifiers. But we also ought not to flatter ourselves that we are hardcore political activists in changing a Facebook Profile Picture from Picture of Ric Flair to a Placard asking "Where are Their Votes?"
Tuesday Musical Tribute
Mind-Blowing 2009 BBC performance of "Mars." Perfect with the morning coffee while thinking about all sorts of things. Will get ya every time.
Poem of the Day: Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Lonely House, Emily Dickinson
THE LONELY HOUSE.
I know some lonely houses off the road
A robber 'd like the look of, --
Wooden barred,
And windows hanging low,
Inviting to
A portico,
Where two could creep:
One hand the tools,
The other peep
To make sure all's asleep.
Old-fashioned eyes,
Not easy to surprise!
How orderly the kitchen 'd look by night,
With just a clock, --
But they could gag the tick,
And mice won't bark;
And so the walls don't tell,
None will.
A pair of spectacles ajar just stir --
An almanac's aware.
Was it the mat winked,
Or a nervous star?
The moon slides down the stair
To see who's there.
There's plunder, -- where?
Tankard, or spoon,
Earring, or stone,
A watch, some ancient brooch
To match the grandmamma,
Staid sleeping there.
Day rattles, too,
Stealth's slow;
The sun has got as far
As the third sycamore.
Screams chanticleer,
"Who's there?"
And echoes, trains away,
Sneer -- "Where?"
While the old couple, just astir,
Fancy the sunrise left the door ajar!
THE LONELY HOUSE.
I know some lonely houses off the road
A robber 'd like the look of, --
Wooden barred,
And windows hanging low,
Inviting to
A portico,
Where two could creep:
One hand the tools,
The other peep
To make sure all's asleep.
Old-fashioned eyes,
Not easy to surprise!
How orderly the kitchen 'd look by night,
With just a clock, --
But they could gag the tick,
And mice won't bark;
And so the walls don't tell,
None will.
A pair of spectacles ajar just stir --
An almanac's aware.
Was it the mat winked,
Or a nervous star?
The moon slides down the stair
To see who's there.
There's plunder, -- where?
Tankard, or spoon,
Earring, or stone,
A watch, some ancient brooch
To match the grandmamma,
Staid sleeping there.
Day rattles, too,
Stealth's slow;
The sun has got as far
As the third sycamore.
Screams chanticleer,
"Who's there?"
And echoes, trains away,
Sneer -- "Where?"
While the old couple, just astir,
Fancy the sunrise left the door ajar!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Poem of the Day
CHANCE MEETINGS, Conrad Aiken (1889-1973)
IN the mazes of loitering people, the watchful and furtive,
The shadows of tree-trunks and shadows of leaves,
In the drowse of the sunlight, among the low voices,
I suddenly face you,
Your dark eyes return for a space from her who is with you,
They shine into mine with a sunlit desire,
They say an 'I love you, what star do you live on?'
They smile and then darken,
And silent, I answer 'You too--I have known you,--I love you!--'
And the shadows of tree-trunks and shadows of leaves
Interlace with low voices and footsteps and sunlight
To divide us forever.
IN the mazes of loitering people, the watchful and furtive,
The shadows of tree-trunks and shadows of leaves,
In the drowse of the sunlight, among the low voices,
I suddenly face you,
Your dark eyes return for a space from her who is with you,
They shine into mine with a sunlit desire,
They say an 'I love you, what star do you live on?'
They smile and then darken,
And silent, I answer 'You too--I have known you,--I love you!--'
And the shadows of tree-trunks and shadows of leaves
Interlace with low voices and footsteps and sunlight
To divide us forever.
Monday Morning Movie Flashback (MMMF), and the Question of the Day
Can ye believe True Romance is 16 years old? What a wonderful scene this is, and how redolent with TRS-ness. Which brings us to the Question of the Day:
Is Floyd's rhetoric here appropriate to his Rhetorical Situation?
What about here? Moreover, here, does Gandolfini really "conde-n-scend," or is Floyd just being overly sensitive? Looks like a pretty cordial exchange to Harrogate....
Is Floyd's rhetoric here appropriate to his Rhetorical Situation?
What about here? Moreover, here, does Gandolfini really "conde-n-scend," or is Floyd just being overly sensitive? Looks like a pretty cordial exchange to Harrogate....
The Morning Read
Over at Balkinization, Law Professor Sandy Levinson writes about constitutional defects, constitutional ideology, constitutional interpretation, and constitutional politics in relation to Chief Justice John Robert's comments on the infamous Dred Scott decision.
If you want to understand the complexity of controversial Supreme Court decisions, this is the blog post to read.
If you want to understand the complexity of controversial Supreme Court decisions, this is the blog post to read.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunday Musical Tribute
Upon his return Harrogate sees that much has taken place here. He hopes to speak to M and Paperweight soon, to express his delight for them. He also plans a response to Megs' probing post about the whole Green Thing.
But as decompression continues, for now Harrogate submits this cover of "Suffragette City" by none other than Boy George.
A good cover? Harrogate reports, you decide.
Oh, and heh. If this has put ye in a Boy George State of Mind®, then get your fill by checking this wondrousness out:
But as decompression continues, for now Harrogate submits this cover of "Suffragette City" by none other than Boy George.
A good cover? Harrogate reports, you decide.
Oh, and heh. If this has put ye in a Boy George State of Mind®, then get your fill by checking this wondrousness out:
Friday, June 26, 2009
There's equality for ya!
In this month's "go figure" section of Sports Illustrated:
$510,000
Amount won in a
settlement by a man
who sued the A's for
sex discrimination
because he was not
given a souvenir hat
the club handed out to
women at a game on
Mother's Day 2004.
$510,000
Amount won in a
settlement by a man
who sued the A's for
sex discrimination
because he was not
given a souvenir hat
the club handed out to
women at a game on
Mother's Day 2004.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Fair and Balanced: Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before
Thank G-d for Fox News. Today, Gov. Mark Sanford (D) of South Carolina admitted that instead of hiking the Appalachian Trail, he took a five or six day to trip to hike in Argentina. He amended that statement to say he went to Argentina to see his mistress.
During the Press Conference, Fox News was right there to help his cause:
What? Sanford is a Conservative Republican? Does that mean Fox News made a mistake when defining someone to confuse its viewers? Seriously? They would do that? Again?
And, since I watch Fox, I thought only Democrats had affairs....
During the Press Conference, Fox News was right there to help his cause:
What? Sanford is a Conservative Republican? Does that mean Fox News made a mistake when defining someone to confuse its viewers? Seriously? They would do that? Again?
And, since I watch Fox, I thought only Democrats had affairs....
The Nixon Tapes
A few more Nixon tapes, from January and February of 1973, were released, ensuring that he will be remembered as the worst president in the history of the United States. Though there is some competition fot that honor, no president can surpass Nixon. From The New York Times:
On abortion, after the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade:
On antisemitism:
Hail to the Chief indeed.
On abortion, after the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade:
Nixon worried that greater access to abortions would foster “permissiveness,” and said that “it breaks the family.” But he also saw a need for abortion in some cases, such as interracial pregnancies.
“There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white,” he told an aide, before adding: “Or a rape.”
On antisemitism:
The tapes also include a phone call from February 1973 between Nixon and the evangelist Billy Graham, during which Mr. Graham complained that Jewish-American leaders were opposing efforts to promote evangelical Christianity, like Campus Crusade. The two men agreed that the Jewish leaders risked setting off anti-Semitic sentiment.
“What I really think is deep down in this country, there is a lot of anti-Semitism, and all this is going to do is stir it up,” Nixon said.
At another point he said: “It may be they have a death wish. You know that’s been the problem with our Jewish friends for centuries.”
Hail to the Chief indeed.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Going Green
Greeting, fellow bloggers and readers of TRS. I've been drawn back after an extended hiatus--sabbatical, perhaps?--dragging my feet, kicking and screaming, because I cannot stop thinking about going green.
It seems everyone around us, from esteemed blogger Andrew Sullivan to our own Harrogate has changed their identifying display to the color in support of Iranian protesters. Until this morning, I've been skeptical of this sign of solidarity. "What do they care?" I thought, referring to the people of Iran. As late as last night, I told Solon that I found it somewhat empty to make so easy a change and do nothing else. "We're all in their support," I told him. "I don't know a single American who isn't. So what are these Greenies doing that's so important, making an outward sign of it?" Normally I'm all for the grassroots movement, but this one seems just too easy. Click a button, it says to me. That's all you have to do to help these people.
I don't know if it's the lack of sleep or the lack of coffee, but I started to change my tune this morning. If the Cub cared--or spoke English, for that matter--I'd right this moment be asking her about Iranian citizen's access to American media. For I truly don't know the answer. Are American bloggers truly speaking to the Iranian populous? Is that their intent? Since our own government has--wisely, I think--shied away from any pointed, tangible support of the protesters, is this more important?
(Both girls are awake now and demanding my thoughtful attention. More later, but I'd love input.)
It seems everyone around us, from esteemed blogger Andrew Sullivan to our own Harrogate has changed their identifying display to the color in support of Iranian protesters. Until this morning, I've been skeptical of this sign of solidarity. "What do they care?" I thought, referring to the people of Iran. As late as last night, I told Solon that I found it somewhat empty to make so easy a change and do nothing else. "We're all in their support," I told him. "I don't know a single American who isn't. So what are these Greenies doing that's so important, making an outward sign of it?" Normally I'm all for the grassroots movement, but this one seems just too easy. Click a button, it says to me. That's all you have to do to help these people.
I don't know if it's the lack of sleep or the lack of coffee, but I started to change my tune this morning. If the Cub cared--or spoke English, for that matter--I'd right this moment be asking her about Iranian citizen's access to American media. For I truly don't know the answer. Are American bloggers truly speaking to the Iranian populous? Is that their intent? Since our own government has--wisely, I think--shied away from any pointed, tangible support of the protesters, is this more important?
(Both girls are awake now and demanding my thoughtful attention. More later, but I'd love input.)
Sunday, June 21, 2009
A Father's Day Tribute
This is a little ditty for all the dads at TRS from all the kids. So Solon, Roof, Harrogate, Paperweight, and Oxy this is from Jeezy and Lion Cub; Harley Q; Supadisco-T; Wild Man; and Oxy Toddler.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Saturday Musical Tribute, and a Brief Farewell from Harrogate
Off of Pink Floyd's much-maligned, but actually quite excellent, 1994 record The Division Bell. Here's the sublime album cover:
The song is "High Hopes," even without Waters it captures much of the beauty of Floyd. Enjoy the song, friends. Harrogate rejoins the TRS ranks in a week.
The song is "High Hopes," even without Waters it captures much of the beauty of Floyd. Enjoy the song, friends. Harrogate rejoins the TRS ranks in a week.
Assy McGee Award® for Saturday, June 20th: Bill O'Reilly Laments the Culture of "Personal Attacks Leveled Against Public People"
Chalk this one up in the OMFG category. Bill O'Reilly's column today weighs in on Letterman's now infamous joke about Sarah Palin and her daughter(s), and wags his righteous finger at an American discourse in which "increasingly, personal attacks are being used to marginalize opposing points of view."Even more entertaining is this line: "I've been on the Letterman program five times. Last time around, he called me a goon and mocked Rush Limbaugh's weight. I asked him why he was doing that, but he did not have an answer."
So yeah, OMFG. Here we have a worldview in which Sarah Palin, Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh, are victims of increasingly crass, personal discourse represented by David Letterman.
O'Reilly, whose mode of discourse is fairly represented by the fact that he continues to pride himself on branding George Tiller with the "Baby Killer" moniker for year upon year. He laments the personal attack on Palin and her daughters. Palin, too, decried it as sexist, condescending, and more than a little bit gross to boot. All of which is bad. But calling GOP voters and their leaders the "real Americans," and the Dem candidate a friend of terrorists: that's just being "folks."
Ugh.
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