Archive for May, 2008
Short and Sweet
I recently listened to an abridged version of Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything. It came on five CDs with a run time of just under six hours. The full version is three times that size, which makes sense since the printed book is 560 pages long.
I try to read or listen to […]
Proverbs With Nationalist Pretensions
Proverbs tend to be assigned to, ascribed to or claimed by nations or nationalities. Silly really, because proverbs are, by definition, universal in nature. On the other hand, some connections - if somewhat stereotypical - make intuitive sense:
The Tsarina’s breasts yield milk, not wine. (Russian proverb of the upper crust)
You can’t heat a stove on […]
Out of the Shadows
“Daniel arrived at the sprawling round hall, a virtual basilica of shadows spiraling up under a high glass dome. A labyrinth of passageways and crammed bookshelves rose from base to pinnacle like a beehive, woven with tunnels, steps, platforms and bridges that presaged an immense library of seemingly impossible geometry.”
This was The Cemetery of Forgotten […]
The Writer’s Voice
The 10th annual Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival is over. It was, for me at least, a treasure trove. I always take copious notes when I attend a lecture or panel discussion because I know I will end up dwelling on the more interesting concepts and using some of the ideas as starting points for […]
