Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: 15 Books That Influenced Me

I have been meaning to do this for some time. I am not saying these are my favorite books or the ones I most recommend. I am saying they are the ones that were most influential in decisions I made, or most reflected realizations at which I had arrived. Adiós muchachos. Memoir of an ex-Sandinista. … More Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: 15 Books That Influenced Me

On Emerging

I really like both of my projects and I really like research and writing. Really like them. I like them when I am not torturing myself about them or allowing myself to be tortured in the rest of life. I like them when I look at them, not at my directors and detractors. I am … More On Emerging

On Identity in Work and Play. On Pace. On Ignoring Mistreatment

You have to put a lot of time into work, and you have to accept that it takes a lot of time. I have to reject the advice of that Emeritus Professor and several others, that one must work as superficially and as quickly as one can. That only translates to rushing, suffering, fatigue, and … More On Identity in Work and Play. On Pace. On Ignoring Mistreatment

Axé Bahia

It is Friday, so we are wearing white, and it is the weekend, so we must sing. I sing that today, rather create a new post here, I will work on cleaning up the many posts at my seminar. Meet me at this bookstore, Rio Vermelho branch. Axé.

Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: Dalila Machado

This book on Bahian poet Jacinta Passos really is worth reading. I should discuss Passos and the book in greater detail at some point, but for now I will say only that Passos has a marvelous concept, “established disorder,” which refers in effect to authoritarian situations. A Peruvian professor of history has written a book … More Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: Dalila Machado

Lula, The Movie

This evening I went to a fancy movie theatre with a good, if small book store and a fancy café sharing its space. Suddenly I could tell I had been living too much in the slums because the upscale nature of everything was so unfamiliar. I was not quite sure I belonged at first. Lula, … More Lula, The Movie

Positively

In Reeducation we were to accentuate the negative. We were to find our faults and our weak spots. Admit, accept, confess, apologize, make amends, promise to improve, and on, and on. For me, though, that kind of negative approach makes improvement hard. History matters but fretting about it is pointless — although one of Reeducation’s … More Positively

Tropical Breeze

There is a breeze, and I am over my crisis. This is, as we know, a mystical town full of spirits who jangle at you or sweep through. As usual, I have had a multifaceted crisis — it always involves a house, a writing project, and an arbitrary power from home — and have discussed … More Tropical Breeze