Tomorrow, the Premier League starts a six-week mad dash prior to the World Cup; some teams will play more than twice a week during this stretch. There are going to be more injuries than ever before, during, & after the World Cup. But at least β¦
'What man needs is silence & warmth; what he is given is an icy pandemonium.' ~Simone Weil
Reading
The Power Broker
Robert A. Caro
Is there any better illustration of Iain McGilchrist’s theory of the left brain’s colonization of our thinking than this post (& the paper it cites), about why philosophers spend too much time studying their dead predecessors. Surely β¦
Sure, I’d love to be your start-up’s Chief Metaverse Officer. Here’s my cover letter:
I solemnly swear that I will do everything in my power to foil your ambitions to create a metaverse. Please call or email if you have any β¦
Saddened to learn of Hilary Mantelβs sudden and untimely death at the age of 70. Her Wolf Hall novels are brilliant; what vivid historical imagination. R.I.P. π
So, apparently there are 20 quadrillion ants in the world.
Thatβs a cool 1.5 million per person. π π
Current listening: Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band, Season of Changes πΆ
Finished reading: The Elementary Particles by Michel Houellebecq. Profoundly bleak, even for Houellebecq, though there are some moments of beauty, particularly late in the novel. π
Finished reading: Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler. An amazing novel of revolutionary consciousness, conscience, & truth. π
Finished reading: The Life We’re Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World by Andy Crouch.
A wise essay on the importance of instruments, households, and history in resisting the technological idols of our age.π
Finished reading: Purgatory Mount by Adam Roberts π
Finished reading: Bells In Winter by Czeslaw Milosz π
Bill Russell, Track & Field, & Learning to Learn ππ
R.I.P., Bill Russellβan amazing athlete and man. Tributes to Russell reminded of an essay by a former professor of mine, Edward Griffin, entitled “Hoops & Hurdles: The Unlikely Story of How I Learned to Learn,".
It’s an β¦
In life and work alike, his contradictions are pressed together like layers in metamorphic rock. It is in the nature of monoliths not to grow old.
~Alex Ross on Thomas Mann, in the New Yorker. My favorite Mann is The Magic Mountainβit speaks with β¦
Finished reading: McGilchrist, *The Master & His Emissary* π
I finally finished Iain McGilchristβs The Master & His Emissary this morning. Itβs taken me about 6 months, but the time was well spentβthe book is as rich in neuroscience and psychology as in historical and cultural analysis, & a profound β¦
Thanks to MinnPost for publishing this rich, illuminating portrait of MSP drummer Dave King (of The Bad Plus, Happy Apple, & Julian Lageβs current trio, among many other groups & projects). ππΆπ₯
“The Technocrat’s Dilemma” is as concise a framing of our current “misinformation” crisis as we’re likely to get: “The technocratic response to misinformation and conspiracy theory only exacerbates the β¦
I basically agree with Gruber’s take on Netflix: Netflix would be better-served by focusing more on quality, less on quantity.
But that raises a question Gruber’s not too interested in exploring (and I’m not really, either, if β¦
I relished Roy Foster’s Conversation with Tyler on Irish history, economics, and culture. I read Foster’s Modern Ireland years ago, and I’m eager now to read his books on Yeats and Heaney. π π π§
βWeβre moving towards disaster, guided by a false image of the world; and no one realizes.β
~ Michel Houellebecq, from an excellent profile by Justin E.H. Smith ππ
Glad to see a third-party candidate enter the MN governor’s race. I don’t expect I’ll agree with the whole platform. But I agree with the principle: our current parties are broken beyond repair. ππ³
Put the Oscars out of their misery π π
Most of the ceremonies feature flickers of genuine emotion amid hours of sanctimonious, self-serving or scolding speeches.
~“Opinion: Put the Oscars Out of Their Misery”
Yes. Oddly, this op-ed doesn’t touch on the main reason to β¦