This is totally making me crazy. My internet and phone seem to be down again this morning. This intermittent service seems to occur with more frequency in the morning but that might be just because I’m a pretty regular morning user of the internet. At this point I’m connected to a nearby weak wireless signal, probably a neighbor’s. Sheesh.
I have been doing some reading of Emerson.
He is pertinent to an understanding of Ives’s Concord Sonata since the first movement bears his name. Ives apparently came from a family saturated with the New England Transcendentalists the way my family history is saturated with the Church of God brand of Christianity.
Here’s a link to the essay I have been reading: The American Scholar. It’s actually a speech he gave at Harvard which he published later as an essay. Here’s a link to handy online Cliff notes for more info like that.
He begins talking about the difference between the notion of Man and of men. Lower case individual “men” are fragmented notions of the idea of Man. This idea helps me see how I connect to the larger idea of humanity. His first object of scholarship is Nature. It’s a great essay.
Yesterday I had a conversation with someone who keeps insisting I am a “scholar.” I told her that I thought of myself more as someone who was curious and she said that was what she meant by scholar. I think that’s where Emerson is at as well. In that case I guess I’m a scholar. But it seems doubtful to me.
I am, however, like a kid in a candy shop when I get access to some more primary research tools like full-texts of scholarly articles in academic journals and online encyclopedias and music dictionaries like Groves.
I do know that my curiosity is not shared by many or doesn’t seem to be anyway. At one point in my life I was a bookstore owner. This reflected my basic love of books and words. I still have that same love.
I think it’s important to realize that all of the words in a TV news show easily fit on a page of print newspaper.
More words don’t necessarily mean better thinking or clear explication, but it’s buy valium 5mg hard to escape the notion that less words do mean less ideas and less clarity especially in the hands of the writers who write so poorly for TV.
I got this notion from Neil Postman.
Anyway, I only have two classes to play for today. Eileen stayed home with an upset stomach yesterday and took advantage of it to catch up on her rest. I think she was more tired than ill, but didn’t realize it. She has the day off today. We are going to try to get my Mom out of the nursing home today for a lunch or something. I will have to fit it in in between my classes (11 AM and 3 PM).
The internet and phone line are back. I just don’t get this. I suppose I will have to report it again. In the meantime, a few links:
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This is very admirable. I notice that many Republicans are proposing solutions to pressing problems. That’s good in that they are problem solving at a time when we desperately need leadership. I can see that in Michigan’s governor. But these solutions seem to be largely built on attacking notions they oppose instead of trying for larger views and discussion. This letter could represent a more constructive approach. Here’s hoping.
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Eiko and Koma in ‘Naked’ at Baryshnikov Center – Review – NYTimes.com
Dance? Performance art? Who knows? But this sounds very very cool to me.
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Acer’s Iconia Is the Craziest Laptop of All Time – NYTimes.com
Another new toy. I’m working on my little ancient (first generation) Acer netbook right now. I like it!
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‘The Pale King’ Is Sold Before Its Promotional Date – NYTimes.com
I read excerpts from this unfinished posthumous novel around the time Foster died. He is one of my favorites.
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Amazon’s Cloud Player Provides Music From Everywhere – NYTimes.com
Amazon MP3s are an important source of music I purchase these days. I noticed they were doing this cloud player. Interesting.
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Democracy Is Messy – NYTimes.com
I know that Libya and Japan have been dominating the news. And now it looks the Ivory Coast is next. But remember way back when stuff was happing in Cairo? Still is. This article by Nicholas Kristof is an update.
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