Monthly Archives: January 2022

Shakespeare’s Tragedies Condensed to a Quatrain of Bad Poetry: Part, The First

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I
Macbeth believed the Witches 'cause
they said what he wanted to hear.
Then he jumped the gun because his
ambition outstripped good sense and fear.

II
Hamlet thought he saw a ghost-dad,
but realized he might just be nuts.
Still, his uncle was schtupping his mom,
about that there's no ands, ifs, or buts.

III
Oh, Romeo, your timing sucks -
be it in breaking up a fight,
or being too quick to put vile to lip
when a pause would make timing right.

On Intrusive Thoughts & Shoving Someone in Front of a Train

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The other day I read that a man had pushed a person onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train. 

The week before that, I'd read in a book by Robin Ince that a person who -- having had a baby thrust into his hands -- has intrusive thoughts of throwing said baby out of the nearest window is [believe it, or not] the best person to ask to hold one's baby.

The argument goes like this, the person having these intrusive thoughts is being intensely reminded by his or her unconscious mind that under no circumstances -- no matter what unexpected or unusual events should transpire -- is he to throw the baby out the window (or otherwise do anything injurious.)

I've heard that, at some point, virtually everyone has some type of awkward intrusive thought such as the thought of pushing a stranger in front of a train. 

Most never do it, nor truly want to do it.

Then this one time... someone did.

BOOK REVIEW: Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley

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Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and MoralPoems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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Project Gutenberg

Many talented poets have caught flack, but few have managed to take it from as many directions as Phillis Wheatley. A slave from The Gambia, Wheatley was one of the most skilled poets of Colonial America. Obviously, she got bad-mouthed by racists. Some of them claimed she wasn’t the true author of her poems. Others said she wasn’t a good poet. Still others, quite nonsensically, made both claims simultaneously – i.e. that she plagiarized poems that weren’t any good.

If all she had to contend with was the criticism of racists, well that’s like Einstein being critiqued on General Relativity by the slack-jawed yokel working a Slurpee machine at the carnival. But when she (posthumously) became more well-known, she also started to get sass from blacks who considered her an Uncle Tom because her poetry featured the hallmarks of mainstream poetry of the era, as well as little of the visceral anger one would expect of a person who wasn’t recognized as a person. (Wheatley was eventually freed.)

It’s true that Wheatley’s poetry was – in form and content – quite in line with the poetry of her day. In terms of form, most of her poems are iambic pentameter with couplet rhyming, with a few sestinas and common meter quatrains thrown in the mix. In terms of content, Wheatley draws heavily upon Christianity, Western classics (e.g. Ovid,) and the elegy, discussing her African heritage almost in passing. When Wheatley is accused of not being good, the only sense in which that statement could be said to have a speck of truth is that her poems are quite reserved (certainly not unique to her.) But – to be fair – I think she fought enough of an uphill battle to be published and the fact that her poems are brilliant in language and cadence makes them well worth reading. I think Wheatley’s poetry must be considered in light of her time and stand on its excellent craftsmanship.

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DAILY PHOTO: Konark Sun Temple as It Was and Is

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Taken in December of 2021 in the Archeological Museum of Konark
Konark Surya Mandir [Note: the tower and three sub-temples collapsed.]

BOOK REVIEW: The Devil: A Very Short Introduction by Darren Oldridge

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The Devil: A Very Short IntroductionThe Devil: A Very Short Introduction by Darren Oldridge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

This brief guide examines the shifting landscape of thought about Christianity’s Devil. Over the centuries, the Devil has been considered a person, a fallen angel, a metaphor or abstraction, a voice, and a literary device. Satan’s stock has risen and fallen, up with the Dark Ages, down with the Enlightenment, and, on the verge of outright demise, reconsidered when the mid-20th century brought such horrors that the human mind couldn’t cope with them sans supernatural explanations. At the same time, the power of the Devil waxed and waned in the face of philosophical challenges. There’s the Devil so strong he can give God a run for the money, a Devil reduced to whispering in ears, and a Devil who’s practically irrelevant – having no power whatsoever beyond making for an entertaining plot device.

I thought this book did a laudable job of showing the Devil through the light of history, philosophy, art, and literature. It offers a great deal of food for thought about how the Devil has been viewed over time, and what factors influenced these changes in perception. If you’re interested in the role the Devil has played in theological thinking over time, this book does a fine job of shining a light on the subject.

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BOOK REVIEW: Hellblazer, Vol. 1: Original Sins by Jamie Delano

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Hellblazer, Vol. 1: Original SinsHellblazer, Vol. 1: Original Sins by Jamie Delano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

This volume gathers eleven issues, comprising six stories. The first nine issues are from the “Hellblazer” title in which John Constantine is protagonist, and the final two are from “Swamp Thing” (the title in which Constantine was originally introduced.) There is a huge variation in the quality of stories in this collection, with most being compelling reads with an intriguing lead character.

The best stories include: 1.) the two-issue “Hunger” / “A Feast of Friends” in which a heroin addicted (amateur magician) acquaintance of John’s unleashes a demonic swarm upon the world; 2.) the creepy “Waiting for the Man” which draws upon the child abduction terror of the 80’s; and 3.) the four-issue arc “Extreme Prejudice” through “Shot to Hell,” which imagines a cult forcing a young woman to bear a celestial child.

The only really bad story is the single-issue “Going for It.” This issue is a stinker because instead of subtly embedding a political message in a story, it presents a political rant and tries to make it look vaguely story-like. [And if there is anything worse than getting a political rant when you’re expecting a story, it’s getting an archaic anti-Thatcherite political rant from the mid-80’s.] The author’s politics show through in a number of other stories, but not in place of the story. “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” has a great premise, but the “protagonist” (Constantine) is reduced to the role of passive spectator. The two “Swamp Thing” titles (“L’adoration de la Terre” and “Infernal Triangles”) also make for a fine story, but they’re out of place, and presumably are meant to serve as reminder of Constantine’s roots, though he’s a supporting character.

Overall, I enjoyed this volume, despite its few flat notes.


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Sculpture Charnel House [Haiku]

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a charnel house
of sculpted anatomy 
amid the ruins

DAILY PHOTO: Papanasini Stepwell & Temple, Bhubaneswar

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Taken in December of 2021 in Bhubaneswar

BOOK REVIEW: Introducing Foucault: A Graphic Guide by Chris Horrocks

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Introducing Foucault: A Graphic Guide (Introducing...)Introducing Foucault: A Graphic Guide by Chris Horrocks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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This illustrated guide offers a brief overview of the life and philosophy of Michel Foucault in bite-sized, readable topical blocks. The book is part of a series, a series that I frequently turn to when I need a blast of information on a topic of momentary interest (because the series is readily accessible via Prime.)

Generally, I’ve found the series to be mediocre, but I found this volume to be much more engaging than most. In part this is because Foucault’s work deals in intriguing subject matter. He wrote on madness, prisons / punishment, and sexuality. Saying that the subject matter was more interesting than usual may not sound like a ringing endorsement of the book or its author, but there are a couple things that I think Horrocks can be credited for doing well to make for a more compelling book. First, he doesn’t steer away from the controversial, either in Foucault’s biography or in his work. Second, he clearly and frequently states the criticisms of Foucault, making the book more thought-provoking and useful.

And Foucault did draw his share of criticism, his multi-disciplinary style combined with an approach that didn’t result in unambiguous answers and policy recommendations made many consider him wishy-washy, or irrelevant. And, of course, his brazen willingness to take on provocative topics made many uncomfortable.

If you’re looking for a book to figure out who this Foucault guy was and why people still talk about his work, this book is worth your consideration.


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