Category Archives: arts

the authenticity question

Posted on Sunday, 2003 July 20 by Anton

Lynn S is distressed: Bach and Handel have been transcribed for banjo. The very thought of that inspires in me an emotional mix of fascination and horror. In other words it gives me the creeps. On the other hand, if … Continue reading →

Posted in music+verse | 1 Comment

a question for philologists

Posted on Sunday, 2003 July 20 by Anton

Is the phrase “some are more equal than others” older than Animal Farm?

Posted in language, prose | Leave a comment

never mind, waiter

Posted on Sunday, 2003 July 20 by Anton

After the Thin Man was on telly last night. There was one scene that I recognized, with some surprise: I thought the ‘sea bass’ bit was Marx Bros.

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the creation of tradition

Posted on Thursday, 2003 July 17 by Anton

Aha! When this blog was young and innocent, I asked how the heck Madison came to be a favorite name for girls. Rick Heller cites a NYT article with the answer: a movie that I never saw.

Posted in cinema, language | Leave a comment

metaphor is where you find it

Posted on Thursday, 2003 July 17 by Anton

Angie Schultz calls my attention to James Lileks on Star Trek. I have to disagree with him on this point: [The Borg] were joyless cyborgs intent on crushing all cultural differences. They were the Republicans! The Borg are utterly egalitarian, … Continue reading →

Posted in cinema, politics | Leave a comment

My Man Godfrey

Posted on Saturday, 2003 July 12 by Anton

I watched the above-entitled movie last night, and am scratching my head as to what other film had contaminated my memory of it. The wacky rich family in the other film had a bookish son with a morbid imagination, and … Continue reading →

Posted in cinema | 1 Comment

the muse

Posted on Thursday, 2003 July 10 by Anton

Wyman Brantley (who apparently noticed me on an INTP list) reports: [Robert E] Howard said that the Conan stories came to him after a period of writer’s block, and that the stories went from brain to paper almost as if … Continue reading →

Posted in prose | 1 Comment