There was something very odd about the Watergate break in. With such high stakes, you would expect that the break in was done for urgent reasons. But just what were the burglars looking for? And who ordered them to do it? As Ron Rosenbaum points out for Salon, despite all the investigations we still don’t know. He thinks that Nixon ordered the break in (a controversial claim) and he thinks he knows why. Interesting stuff.
It was many years ago when I first read In Praise of Shadows by Tanizaki. I was in those days, a rather typical university student, spending most of my energy to connect with other kids. Tanizaki opened my eyes to a different sort of pleasure. Of serenity that one can only achieve on his or her own.
Among all of the self-help writing that you see these days, you don’t see much about the value of being on your own. So I was pleased to see Susan Cain speak up for the creative value in being introverted and alone. Susan did a TED talk on this as well — and I am sure it was not easy for her. Here she is
Appreciating great craftsmanship is one of the pleasures of life. So I loved this review of a new movie from Aardman Animations. It is a great story about great craftsmanship. And here is a quote that might whet you appetite
Much is often made of the handmade attractions of Aardman’s work, of the signature imperfections and literal fingerprints on its creations. These tiny dents and fingerprint whorls are reminders that these movies were made by people who molded clay with their hands instead of only manipulating symbols on computers. But these human touches also give the movies an extraordinary haptic quality — you watch them, but you almost feel them in your fingers too — that can transport you back to childhood pleasures, like squishing Play-Doh and making crooked clay pots for your parents. That’s partly why the movies seem more personal than many computer animations and why, for all its digital flourishes, “The Pirates! Band of Misfits,” like other Aardman films, is a wonderful time machine.
Enjoy!
I had an unpleasant surprise this morning. My site was down and I could not access it. So there is a short interruption in my posting. Sorry!