Greek tragedy is the tragedy of necessity; i.e., the feeling aroused in the spectator is ‘What a pity it had to be this way’; Christian tragedy is the tragedy of possibility, ‘What a pity it was this way when it might have been otherwise.’
-W.H. Auden, The Christian Tragic Hero (courtesy of terryteachout)
Hollywood exposed life behind the Iron Curtain and defended the nation's interests abroad: Villawood ferreted out spies and subversives
Literature & Art Across Frontiers: Paperback Writer is coming, look busy!
Lennon & McCartney's "Paperback Writer" is one of the hippest & catchiest songs the Beatles ever recorded. Some women kiss and do not tell; they are called ladies. Some women tell but do not kiss; they are called liars. Some women kiss and tell; they are called best-seller paperback writers...
[Announcer's voice over p.a.: Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a warm Mad Max welcome to LYNN VIEHL!!! Crowd roars as LV enters, STAGE RIGHT, and sits in a chair across from The Host, who is wearing a handsome Brooks Bros. Haz-Mat suit. Interview begins.]
• When you decided to call yourself Mad Max, were you thinking of "mad" in the American sense, as in irate, or in the British sense, as in kooky-fanooky? [A citizen's e-mail suggestion that prosecutors check out a supposed television drama in which a mother got away with drowning her children started a series of mistakes that led to the reversal of Andrea Yates' capital murder convictions Testimony from the state's expert witness, psychiatrist Park Dietz, was false. ; Back in 2001, I began my short essay with a story I read about in the paper, in the train, on my way to work. I read it and I could not believe it, and I read it again. Then perhaps I just stared at it, at the newsprint spelling out the story of A----- of Houston who killed all five of her children. Not in a burst of gunfire, but by methodically drowning them in the bathtub. Wave of cold inhumanity ]
• · No matter how vivid your recollection of an important event may be, it's very likely what actually happened was quite different. Today is Twelfth Night when tradition dictates that the Christmas decorations are put away until next year. Precious memories
• · · Biography, both popular and literary, is hot and readers' appetites for life stories show no sign of cooling. Just as we love to stickybeak into other people's houses, we love to know how other people live - no detail is too sordid, no information too personal. Fortunately, celebrities are proving to be accommodatingly exhibitionist ; [Vowels are overrated. Of course, with a name like mine, I have to say that. Polish consonants have gained wider acceptance, even to the point of humour: the optometrist asks the Pole if he can read the letters on a displayed card: CZWIXNOSTAC. "Read it?" asked the Pole. "I know the guy!" Our consonant companions ]
• · · · Like the city, it's big, bright and expensive. But the Sydney Festival's critics say financial obligations and lack of a geographic heart are holding it back Arts and soul ; [Cool students are flocking to creative arts schools]
• · · · · The Cold War was largely a battle of disinformation, misinformation and propaganda. Ideology served as the lens through which both sides viewed the world, defined their identities and interests, and justified their actions. Oral History: Isms in Czechoslovakia ; CNN Interactive, Cold War ; Cuban Missile Crisis: What would you do in Kennedy's shoes? ; Songs About the Cold War From the 80s
• · · · · · If you don't stop Googling yourself, you'll go blind Quote from the Netherland ; [via Tis Allemaal Nicks ]