Monthly Archives: January 2009

TODAY’S SIMPLER SENTENCES.

TODAY’S SIMPLER SENTENCES. You don’t see complex sentences like Johnson’s very often these days. But you also don’t see a lot of writing which balances arguments. Both of our children had a wonderful teacher in high school who told his … Continue reading

Posted in Journalism, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

SAMUEL JOHNSON’S SENTENCES.

SAMUEL JOHNSON’S SENTENCES. Walter Jackson Bate has a wonderful analysis of Samuel Johnson’s style which consists in part of reprinting a couple of sentences of Johnson’s in a format which shows their complexity and balance. Here is one of them, … Continue reading

Posted in Literature | Leave a comment

SAMUEL JOHNSON AND NaNoRiMo.

SAMUEL JOHNSON AND NaNoRiMo. I posted here on NaNoRiMo (National Novel Writing Month) in which writers complete 50,000 word novels in a month, beginning just after midnight each November. (Annalisa has completed it four times). Speed is obviously important. Samuel … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

WALTER JACKSON BATE AND SAMUEL JOHNSON.

WALTER JACKSON BATE AND SAMUEL JOHNSON. Samuel Johnson was born in 1709 so he will receive some attention this year. I have been reading Walter Jackson Bate’s biography of Johnson, which is one of Mary Jane’s favorite books. I asked … Continue reading

Posted in Literature | Leave a comment

CARLYLE AND JOHNSON AND THE CASH NEXUS.

CARLYLE AND JOHNSON AND THE CASH NEXUS. Thomas Carlyle inveighed against the “cash nexus,” in which people were related to each other only by a neutral transaction. I have always objected to his argument, which seemed to me to reflect … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, History, Literature | 3 Comments

SAMUEL JOHNSON ON TAVERNS.

SAMUEL JOHNSON ON TAVERNS. Samuel Johnson’s insight that “a tavern-chair [is] the throne of human felicity” is familiar. Adam Gopnik in an article in the New Yorker for December 8, 2008 had a different quote from Johnson which explained some … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Literature | Leave a comment

FORMULA 1 AND THE OPERATING ROOM.

FORMULA 1 AND THE OPERATING ROOM. I posted here about Atul Gutwande’s argument that lives could be saved if doctors and nurses made greater use of checklists for complicated procedures. Here is an article about how the Great Ormond Street … Continue reading

Posted in Sports, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

“JUST ANOTHER THREE MINUTES” (COMMENT).

“JUST ANOTHER THREE MINUTES” (COMMENT). A friend e mailed me about my post on theorizing that that “instead of a universe that emerged from a point of infinite density, we will have one that recycles, possibly through an eternal series … Continue reading

Posted in Science | 1 Comment

83 CONSONANTS.

83 CONSONANTS. I once chatted about the difficulties of the Finnish language during one of those times at closings where everybody is waiting for the money to move. An American woman was representing a Finnish bank. She told me that … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

KING KONG, THE BAGGIE.

KING KONG, THE BAGGIE. The sculptures of Joshua Allen Harris remind me of the day I walked out of my apartment building, walked to the corner and saw about a mile away a giant inflated King Kong climbing the Empire … Continue reading

Posted in art, Uncategorized | Leave a comment