The human being may be no more real than is a cinematograph film. When the projected light is switched off all that remains is a blank screen. That which has been projected by light was a series of ‘stills’. Such also is what is being projected by ‘life’. The more you consider the analogy the [...]
Archive | November, 2008
Hakamada Iwao
In Japan, a prisoner on death row wakes up every morning not knowing if he will be executed that day. The prisoner doesn’t know his execution date until the morning it is to be carried out. His family only finds out after the execution has already taken place. Hakamada Iwao has been on death row [...]
Franco Moretti on the Novel
Read a very interesting piece by Franco Moretti in New Left Review, July/August 2008. It seems like a synopsis of a much longer, multi-volume work on the theory of the novel, which I plan to read when I have time. Moretti talks about the theory of the novel by asking three surprising questions: Why are [...]
“Parecon: life after capitalism” by Michael Albert
This is not the most interesting book I have read lately, but it is one of the most important. It deals with the topics so often left vague in left-wing literature: the nitty-gritty of how a non-capitalist economy would actually allocate goods and services, balance supply and demand, avoid gluts or shortages, invest in infrastructure, [...]
Racial identification
Read a fascinating article in the Fall 2007 edition of the Du Bois Review. In an article “The New Latin Nation”, Alejandro Portes made the very interesing, and ironic, point that whereas in the past, much Mexican immigration to the US was cyclical, in the last few decades the tighter border controls have made it [...]
Great speech
Worth staying up for. He used the example of a 106-year-old voter to go through a century of US history, touching on key moments like women getting the vote, then world war two, civil rights, Martin Luther King, etc., putting everything in context. Hope his presidency lives up to it. This is not the best [...]
Excited
I am staying up to watch the US election results. It probably won’t be decided until 4 or 5am UK time, but I wouldn’t miss it. The early results are good. I’m not optimistic that Obama will bring great changes – even if he really wanted to, the system would make it very difficult. I [...]
David Foster Wallace
I really need to read more. Apparently David Foster Wallace, who committed suicide last month after years battling depression, was the “most brilliant American writer of his generation.” I have not read any of his books – in fact, I hadn’t even heard of him until I saw the mention on the Guardian site and [...]
Johann Hari – How we fuel Africa’s bloodiest war
The deadliest war since Adolf Hitler marched across Europe is starting again – and you are almost certainly carrying a blood-soaked chunk of the slaughter in your pocket. When we glance at the holocaust in Congo, with 5.4 million dead, the clichés of Africa reporting tumble out: this is a “tribal conflict” in “the Heart [...]
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“The Sense of an Ending” by Julian Barnes
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Introducing “A Virtual Love”, coming to a bookshop near you in Spring 2013
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Finding some inspiration
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Beauty is a sleeping cat
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“Half Blood Blues” by Esi Edugyan
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Great opportunity for unpublished UK writers
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How to write a book review
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How writers generate ideas
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The Sense of an Ending, explained
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How much would you pay for a short story?
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HeeKyung: I couldn't quite understand the ending until I re...
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Bruno D\'Itri: How Veronica really behaved towards Tony is up for...
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HPM: Why does Veronica behave so obstructively? Yes, i...
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Andrew Blackman: Yes, that would be good! I like contests with no g...
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Geosi: I wish it was extended to africans as well....lol!...
