Monthly Archives: July 2010

Sonic Youth: “Brother James”

Posted on July 31, 2010 by

I dug up an old tape this morning of SY’s “Hold that Tiger”, a live show (bootleg?) from Japan in the late 80s. The vinyl copy is still in my mother’s basement with about four-hundred other choice albums from my … Continue reading →

Posted in Marc's Record Collection | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The poetry of the cosmos

Posted on July 30, 2010 by

Someone should – if it hasn’t been done yet – edit an anthology of poetry of the cosmos. Maybe they could make sure to sprinkle Hubble images all throughout it, just to make us cosmonuts happy and get our rocks … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Wading through the muck

Posted on July 30, 2010 by

Lee Smith is back this week with a response to the readers of his article last week in Tablet about Israel’s critics, their commenter hoardes and the “mainstreaming” of anti-Semitic invective by respectable purveyors of information. Wait, who wrote what … Continue reading →

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The first Arab novel about the Holocaust

Posted on July 30, 2010 by

That’s what the newly refurbished cover of The German Mujahid tells us.* My guess is they tacked that phrase on due to Paul Berman’s lengthy discussion of is in his recent FOTI. Anyway, that’s how I first heard about it. … Continue reading →

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Blood on the tracks

Posted on July 29, 2010 by

I was late to work this morning because some guy decided to lie down on the tracks and get himself killed by an oncoming train. In Rome. I remember when there was a flurry of “pushers” in New York around … Continue reading →

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Nostaligia and bile

Posted on July 29, 2010 by

Read this eloquent piece in the Stranger on Gallagher 2.0. Ever wonder, as I have, what ever became of the craaaaaazy watermelon-smashing mainstay of Showtime, circa 1984? I am shocked – but, alas, unsurprised- that Gallagher circa 2010 is a … Continue reading →

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Stop smoking

Posted on July 28, 2010 by

I believe from time to time I get to be a bit of a pedant on my own blog. It’s the price my readers pay – especially those searching for Hubble images, a strangely growing phalanx – for all the … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Gary Shteyngart’s new novel

Posted on July 27, 2010 by

I’m not allowed to reproduce this wonderfully imaginative excerpt for Gary Shteyngart’s new novel, Super Sad True Love Story. I’m going to assume by the title he’s been hanging around Jonathan Safran Foer lately. (Here’s a teaser, though: pistachio ice … Continue reading →

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Days of 1994

Posted on July 26, 2010 by

I’ve been reading about the early years of blogging and find the evolution of it fascinating. I’ve never been a techie, so I completely missed out on the 1990s and the advent of blogging. In fact, as recently as 2005, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sucking up

Posted on July 26, 2010 by

Franco Frattini, Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, keeps piping up about the “right” to display the crucifix in Italian public schools. He’s bristling over the Strasbourg Court’s hearings; soon they will have to make a decision over whether or not … Continue reading →

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