Minor Rant: Hotel Internet Service

April 25, 2009

I travel frequently for work, most often in Europe and Asia, with the occasional jaunt to Africa or the States.
More and more, it strikes me that hotels just don’t “get it” when it comes to the Internet.

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Memory and Technology

April 20, 2009

As I was finishing “Old & Rare: 40 Years in the Book Business,” Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern’s fabulous book on their adventures in the antiquarian book trade, I came across a prescient bit on the dangers of technology as they saw it.
A brief digression: If you love books,

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In Africa

April 18, 2009

I once again have let far too much time elapse without posting here. Part of the problem is work. The other is that this remains an unshared slice of my life as far as the family is concerned, so I can only write here in small slivers of leftover time. Finally, Twitter is an unexpected [...]

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The Class

March 8, 2009

I saw “The Class” last night and thought it was extremely good. Not “Milk” or “Waltz with Bashir” good, mind you, but good. The film is a pseudo-documentary set at a Paris junior high school, and portrays the tensions that arise as a young French teacher, François Marin (played adroitly by François Bégaudeau, the author [...]

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Towards the End of the Morning

January 31, 2009

When they sat down at the table she couldn’t manage to eat anything. She held Bob’s left hand in both of hers under the corner of the table and gazed at him.
‘Oh, Bob!’ she said.
‘Oh, Tessa!’ said Bob, taking a forkful of stew with his disengaged hand. . . .
. . .’To us, Tess’ he [...]

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Thoughts on Milk + Q/A with Van Sant, Black, and Franco

January 21, 2009

J and I saw Milk last Saturday at its first London screening, followed by a question and answer session with Gus Van Sant and Dustin Lance Black. In an unexpected bonus, James Franco also joined the fun. I absolutely loved the movie–Sean Penn was amazing. I don’t think I’ve cried that much at a movie [...]

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Tidbit: Yeats Reading The Lake Isle of Innisfree

January 18, 2009

Probably only news to me, but was pleased to find this on You Tube. You can also hear his 1936 National Lecture on Poetry here (RealPlayer required, sadly).

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Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney

December 28, 2008

My reading time these days consists primarily of two 30 minute stints each week day on the Tube and three or four hours I cobble together most week-ends, so choosing a book is something I do with a reasonable amount of care. (For the same reasons, don’t expect eloquence here–this blog amounts to [...]

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The Aura of Failure?

December 21, 2008

Conspicuous consumption might seem to be one of those areas to come under pressure given the state of the economy. Tell that to Motorola. With another example of the exquisite business sense that has helped the firm descend into the ranks of technology also-rans, the firm has come out with a $2,000 phone. The Aura, [...]

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Text as Music

December 1, 2008

I am insanely busy at the day job, so haven’t much time to post here. However, did come across this little audio gem. Enjoy.

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