…for the beginning of the semester. 1. Take complete control. 2. Do nothing optional that is not one hundred percent fun. 3. There is no opting out of exercise, sleep, or research/writing. 4. Eat really pure food even if it is too expensive. 5. Go out of town even when it is not really affordable. … More Monday Mantras…
Thinking of what we could sing this weekend, I reviewed many beautiful Mexican videos I could use to celebrate my escape from Spain. I concluded that the best thing I could sing was from A. C. Sandino: I am in receipt of your message from yesterday and I understand it. I will not surrender and … More A. C. Sandino
It is the weekend, and we are singing by listening to Radio Almenara 106.7 FM in northern Madrid, which streams on the Internet and sends television as well. Axé.
Axé.
Il n’est pas donné à chacun de prendre un bain de multitude: jouir de la foule est un art; et celui-là seul peut faire, aux dépens du genre humain, une ribote de vitalité, à qui une fée a insufflé dans son berceau le goût du travestissement et du masque, la haine du domicile et la … More Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: “Les foules”
Watch this in its entirety. Many of my students’ only influences resemble the discourse of Pastor Manning. That is why it is so hard to get them to be rational. It is why you have to prove basic facts to them. * I am back in Maringouin where the house and garden are very beautiful. … More Pastor Manning
The best day so far in Madrid was Wednesday, when I did not do anything recommended (e.g. stand in line to get into the Prado). 8-11 Make coffee, put laundry on, study. 11-12 Hang up laundry and dress. 12 Have eyelashes dyed black (at Jean Louis David, for 20 euros). 12:30 Deal with blogs and … More On Not Following Recommendations
Axé.
I never know when modernity starts: 1492? 1637? 1789? This article says it is with Baudelaire, and we are quoting from it. Consider Flaubert’s smooth and instantaneous leap from “moral history” into “feelings.” This elision offers an unintended but eloquent verdict on what is great and strange about Baudelaire’s poetry: its unmatched capacity to transmute … More Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: “No Ideas but in Crowds”
My friend and I discussed our problems with the Blackguard. I fear the Blackguard, if unchecked, can become our infernal wind. I do not want to feed that. Rather than discuss him further I am posting brief notes on the ideas we developed here. Problems we can solve as individuals: dealing with someone who wants … More Dat Blackguard
coldhearted scientist وداد 