“But if any patch of our culture can be said to be post-Christian, it is literature. Half a century after Flannery O’Connor, Walker Percy, Reynolds Price and John Updike presented themselves as novelists with what O’Connor called ‘Christian convictions,’ their would-be successors are thin on the ground.”
Tag: 12.23.12
A Christmas Sermon, Courtesy Of Dostoevsky
Philosopher Simon Critchley looks at “the meaning of faith, freedom, happiness and the diabolic satisfaction of our desires” as laid out by The Brothers Karamazov‘s Grand Inquisitor.
Why Mo Yan Should Be Criticized
How do you think a Chinese liberal, sitting on a bench in a drab prison, would feel to hear an American liberal, sitting on a couch with the Guardian, say “you and I both live under oppressive governments, my friend; I must pause before criticizing yours”?
The Ridiculous New Stedelijk Museum
“Entering an oversize plumbing fixture to commune with classic modern art is like hearing Bach played by a man wearing a clown suit.”
How Is The Internet Changing English?
“What could it mean that so many non-natives are learning and using English imperfectly? This has less to do with the internet. Non-natives are already interacting with each other in person, in English, all around the world. It’s harder to forecast the structural changes that this could cause to standard English. But a few guesses are possible.”
Larry King (The Playwright, Not The Celebrity Interviewer), 83
King wrote the magazine article that became The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. “He wrote in a good ol’ boy vernacular style similar to other Southern authors such as Roy Blount and Charles Portis.”
Amazon Purging Friends And Family Reviews (But Letting Some Chicanery Go)
“Giving raves to family members is no longer acceptable. Neither is writers’ reviewing other writers. But showering five stars on a book you admittedly have not read is fine.”
Want To Hear Beck’s New Songs? Gather Musician Friends Around And Start To Play
“Each of the 20 tunes in Song Reader is individually printed with high-contrast illustrations and detailed faux adverts straight from the first half of the 20th century.”
The Time For Toymaking Companies May Be Over
“Children have played with dolls for millenia. It was a good run.”
Now we – and our 3-year-olds – want tablets instead.
What’s The Most Pirated TV Show Of 2012? One You Can’t Buy, Of Course
Millions (and millions) of people downloaded Game of Thrones episodes this year – because HBO doesn’t make it possible for people without the channel to subscribe to the show.