Categories
Archives
Recent Comments
- ADAPTING GATSBY. (1)
- Mary Jane Schaefer: I think these are crucial, important decisions, what to leave out of any literary work, maybe any...
- DAMIEN HIRST—AN ART MARKET BUBBLE?. (1)
- Kate Bush: I hope you enjoy my visit to the Damien Hirst show as much as I did The Technical Impossibility of...
- THE MOST IMPORTANT EPISODE OF THE SIMPSONS ? (COMMENT). (1)
- Nick: Homer does has success as the team’s best hitter until Mr. Burns places a bet with a rival factory owner...
- THE “RIGHT TO EDIT”. (1)
- Lee: A relevant Simpsons clip.
- ULYSSES—VIRGINIA WOOLF LIKED THE BOOK, DESPISED THE AUTHOR. (3)
- A DEFENSE OF INVASIVE SPECIES. (3)
- Dick Weisfelder: Today’s Toledo Blade has an article on the importation of live Asian carp to Canada to serve...
- Lee: The downside is that red squirrels are way cuter than their gray cousins. Hitchens on the subject.
- THE OLDEST FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE STARTS ITS 32ND SEASON. (COMMENT). (5)
- frank martin: Have been in a an Al only Roto league since 91… started at Ohio University were we all went to...
- DEATH OF A BUMBLEBEE. (1)
- Nick: By contrast, I remember witnessing the entire thing. I was surprised by Annalisa’s reaction and...
- ANOTHER VOTE ON UMBRIDGE. (1)
- Dick Weisfelder: When I look back at one of the Potter books, it’s usually this one. There are just a lot of...
- THE SCARIEST VILLAIN IN HARRY POTTER? (1)
- Dick Weisfelder: Didn’t we all meet her somewhere in grade or high school?
- ADAPTING GATSBY. (1)
Meta
Category Archives: History
A CHART OF ATROCITIES.
A CHART OF ATROCITIES. In connection with my posts on Steven Pinker’s theory that human violence has declined over time, Dick Weisfelder sent me a hard copy of a graphical display of the 100 greatest atrocities in history. This link … Continue reading
Posted in History, Science
Leave a comment
THE LACK OF PRIMOGENITURE AND THE FALL OF ROME.
THE LACK OF PRIMOGENITURE AND THE FALL OF ROME. In Mary Beard’s review in the London Review of Books (April 26) of CALIGULA: A BIOGRAPHY by Aloys Winterling, she says that Augustus failed to create a reliable system of monarchical … Continue reading
Posted in History, Literature, Politics
Leave a comment
IS HEREDITARY GOVERNMENT GOOD?
IS HEREDITARY GOVERNMENT GOOD? In his review in the Wall Street Journal (May 11) of THE CREATION OF INEQUALITY by Kent Flannery and Joyce Marcus, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto says that his students in global history at Notre Dame have trouble understanding … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics
Leave a comment
ARGUING THAT THE DARK AGES WEREN’T SO DARK.
ARGUING THAT THE DARK AGES WEREN’T SO DARK. Nick, knowing that I am interested in the transition between the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, gave me last Christmas BARBARIANS TO ANGELS: The Dark Ages Reconsidered by Peter S. Wells. … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, History
Leave a comment
MY OPINIONS ON PINKER’S HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (COMMENT).
MY OPINIONS ON PINKER’S HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (COMMENT). I have revisited Pinker’s arguments on violence because I have been thinking about it a good bit. My thoughts at this point (before reading the book): First, the most important thing about … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics
Leave a comment
EXPLAINING DECLINES IN VIOLENCE (COMMENT).
EXPLAINING DECLINES IN VIOLENCE (COMMENT). When I first posted three months ago on Pinker’s contention that human violence has declined, “erik” commented that rather than changes in human nature, “The most likely explanation would be that modern culture gives us … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics
Leave a comment
RANKING THE VIOLENT EVENTS OF HISTORY (COMMENT).
RANKING THE VIOLENT EVENTS OF HISTORY (COMMENT). I posted here about Steven Pinker’s new book arguing that in the course of human history violence has declined. In Dick Weisfelder’s comment on that post, he said: “…the argument also appears to … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics
Leave a comment
HAVING A BEER WITH STONE-AGE MAN.
HAVING A BEER WITH STONE-AGE MAN. A remarkable sentence in Terborgh’s article describes an extraordinary experience: “One starry evening, after we both had a few beers, an Amazonian acquaintance of mine loosened up and recounted to me the life he … Continue reading
Posted in History
Leave a comment
THE VIOLENT LIFE OF EARLY MAN?—EVIDENCE FROM TODAY.
THE VIOLENT LIFE OF EARLY MAN?—EVIDENCE FROM TODAY. John Terborgh had a review in the New York Review of Books (April 5) of Scott Wallace’s THE UNCONQUERED: IN SEARCH OF THE AMAZON’S LAST UNCONTACTED TRIBES. Terborgh has been conducting research … Continue reading
Posted in History
Leave a comment
GLADIATORS AND PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING.
GLADIATORS AND PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING. My first post on Steven Pinker’s book asked: “Are people less violent?” It grew out of comments by Dick Weisfelder and Nick that, as I summarized, “people today are more concerned about injuries in sporting events … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics
Leave a comment