The 10 American cities that spend the most on coffee.
I have lived in four of them: Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Washington, and Miami.
A coincidence?
Innovation and Science Fiction
This article by science fiction writer Neal Stephenson focuses on how science fiction has/can/should influence and drive innovation in America.
Stephenson is one of those science fiction writers who has been able to expand beyond just genre readers and become respected by what you might call the critical establishment. Caveat lector – he’s on my list, but I have never read him. But, it appears as if he’s on a level with a writer like China Miéville, though perhaps not up to Margaret Atwood heights.
Much of it is a cri de couer regarding the failure of the current age to follow up on the dreams of a previous age, but I mostly wanted to point how two ways, mentioned in the article, that sci fi can push scientific achievment.
The Tennis Court Oath
For my birthday, father bought me a copy of John Ashberry’s The Tennis Court Oath.
I had asked for that book because I was trying to get into Ashberry. I liked him, I’m influenced by him, but I also knew there was something that was missing.
The Tennis Court Oath was not his first book (I believe it was his second), but it was the one that exploded him onto the national poetic consciousness (whatever that is).
While it still has his trademark speed of thought, his fast directional changes, and intensely urban feel, it is also different from his later works.
Among other things, it is surprisingly romantic – something that he is not known for (though his most recent book of original poetry was praised for containing some rare love poems; but The Tennis Court Oath doesn’t contain ‘love poems,’ but is merely touched by romantic love) – as well as political, again not what you expect from Ashberry.
And yes, you can see why he and the other New York School poets flipped things upside down when they broke out.
Great book.
For Fans Of ‘Choose Your Adventure’ Books
Is The World’s Knowledge No Longer To Be Stored In Books?
It used to be the case that my favorite, though rarely used (because it’s pretty mean), put down in cases where someone disputed the veracity my statement was to say, “That’s because this information is hidden… in books.”
Will I live to see when that is no longer the case? When the truest information (please, no discussion of epistemology here) is no longer in printed books but online?
But I’ve already moved away from books, haven’t I? I found that article online and I published this post online. Is everything I do undermining what I proclaim to treasure?
Pound’s Correspondence
I did not know this, but the publisher, New Directions (which has done great and unselfish work in keeping the writings of Pound and other twentieth century alive and in print for decades), has been publishing volumes of Ezra Pound’s correspondence, with each volume being dedicated to his letters to a particular person.
The article that alerted me to this focused on the publication of his letters to his parents.
It’s odd seeing the idiosyncrasies of the Cantos appear in the excerpts of these letter, especially his occasional offbeat spelling. I had taken it for an effort to reflect a broader colloquial language, but now I don’t wonder if it isn’t just a particular tic of Pound to have his own, private written language.
And the sentences varying between short, incomplete fragments and long sentences containing only vaguely connected thoughts in its clauses.
You can also see Pound’s obsession with money – mainly inspired by his lack of it (though his parents were apparently generous in supporting their self-proclaimed ‘genius’ son).
National Coffee Day
Today (September 29) is National Coffee Day! Huzzah!
Check and see if local coffee houses are honoring the day with a free cup or something. Or just brew some coffee and enjoy.
The Meaning Of Banned Books Week In Contemporary Culture
An interesting article about BBW – Banned Books Week – which is to say this week.
Argues that, in today’s world, it less about fighting censorship and more about creating, if only for a week, a certain kind of cultural solidarity around traditional liberal values for freedom and free expression and thought.
Times in Rhymes
Something a little nifty, current events described in verse.
Sort of connects to what I was saying about the decline of satirical, political verse as a phenomenon (though this, of course, would be an effort to bring it back).
Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are now digital so read up!
I visited an exhibit containing many of the scrolls (fragments of scrolls, really) several years in San Diego. They were touring the country while their regular home was being refurbished, I believe. Worth seeing, definitely.
the coffee philosopher 