Tidbit: Maximum City

by chimpden on July 17, 2010

“My father once, in New York, exasperated by my relentless demands to be sent back to finish high school in Bombay, shouted at me, ‘When you were there, you wanted to come here. Now that you’re here, you want to go back.’ It was when I first realised I had a new nationality: I was an exile. I am an adulterous resident: when I am in one city, I am dreaming of the other. I am an exile; citizen of the country of longing.”
–Suketu Mehta, Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found

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The iPad: One Week In

by chimpden on June 6, 2010

Last Friday, the day of the UK launch, I purchased an iPad. It should be noted that this was done in a semi-coherent haze amid severe jet lag.

I wandered by the Regent Street Apple store first, but the atmosphere was pure madness. A line four abreast wrapped around the block; Stephen Fry was outside covering the launch with a camera crew; police were everywhere; and the screaming and cheering of store employees as each customer emerged with his prize was just plain weird. (Note to Apple: iPad buyers are spending hundreds of pounds on luxury gadgets we aren’t even sure we need–seeing your staff so damn happy about it just makes the guilt worse. It also makes us feel like part of a cult. Knock it off.) So I headed over to PC World on Tottenham Court Road. Sure enough, there was ample stock and no waiting. I walked out with an iPad in less than 10 minutes and no one creeped me out.

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44 Scotland Street Redux

May 28, 2010

I’m beyond pleased to see that Alexander McCall Smith has another instalment in the lovely “44 Scotland Street” series coming out. McCall Smith had previously implied that he would be shelving “44″ to work on other things, most notably a new series set in Pimlico that kicked off with “Corduroy Mansions.” If you aren’t [...]

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Tidbit: Zeus on the Neva (Petersburg)

February 18, 2010

Apollon Apollonovich was in a certain sense like Zeus: from his head there emerged gods, goddesses and genii. We have already seen: one such genius (the stranger with the little black moustache), arising as an image, continued as a being there and then in the yellowish expanses of the Neva, claiming it was from them [...]

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Out East

January 30, 2010

There’s snow on the ground outside our house in London and it’s so quiet that the smallest noises catch my attention. Everyone else is sleeping early on this Saturday morning. Not me. Having just returned from a whirlwind trip to Hong Kong and Singapore, my internal clock is still eight hours ahead. Sadly, I was [...]

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Tidbit: Letters from Iceland

January 9, 2010

Tears fall in all the rivers. Again a driver
Pulls on his gloves and in a blinding snowstorm starts
Upon his deadly journey: again some writer
Runs howling to his art.
–W.H. Auden, “Journey to Iceland,” Letters from Iceland

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Notes on “A Gate at the Stairs”

November 21, 2009

I read Lorrie Moore’s latest novel, “A Gate at the Stairs,” a couple of months ago and came away less than impressed. This was not expected. I’ve enjoyed Moore’s past work immensely. And by “Moore’s past work”, I mean “Birds of America.” So, take what follows with that considerable grain of salt.
Don’t misunderstand me. A [...]

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Bite me

August 20, 2009

Reading about the healthcare debate from afar is hard to take, but probably better for my own health than actually being Stateside. Here’s where I gather we are so far: The right wing is avoiding issues and instead working to frame the debate as fascism vs. independence. They appear to have fooled people into thinking [...]

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Tidbit: Unpacking My Library

August 16, 2009

“I am unpacking my library. Yes, I am. The books are not yet on the shelves, not yet touched by the mild boredom of order. I cannot march up and down their ranks to to pass them in review before a friendly audience. You need not fear any of that. Instead, I must ask you [...]

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Back among the living….

August 15, 2009

So, between being posted to Amsterdam for a while, launching an important new product at work, and moving house, I’ve had no time for anything but a few brief Twitter posts recently. OK, that’s not entirely true. I have spent oodles of time with my lovely wife and dear son and I have been reading [...]

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