Perhaps the strangest aspect of life is the sense it conveys of having a pattern—everything falling into place, nothing happening by chance; outward phenomena an image of the inward reality; and therefore inevitable in their relation to that inward reality.
-Malcolm Mugggeridge, Affairs of the Heart (courtesy of Christopher Porterfield)
One of the most important books of our time? Like Imrich’s Cold River, Milton Mayer’s story has been bubbling through the online zeitgeist for a little while now—most recently is was passed around the social bookmarking sites del.icio.us, reddit, and stumbleupon They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45
Art of Living & Literature Across Frontiers: Extraordinary power of compassion
The blockbusters and feel-good movies are out in the cold this year
At the78th Academy Awards, mass-appeal commercial movies are as hard to find in the main categories as heterosexual cowboys.
Yesterday's nominations established the gay western romance Brokeback Mountain as clear favourite to dominate the Oscars, with eight nods including best picture, Ang Lee for best direction and Heath Ledger for best actor
• Politics, racism and sexuality - Oscar gets serious [What's the hot new frontier of neuroscience? Buddha on the Brain ; Well, it was fun while it lasted Established in 1886 and known for selling men's clothing, knick-knacks and housing a popular barber shop, the store was placed into the hands of administrators in November last year. Dr Cope introduced me to $5 haircuts back in 1982 when I first started working at the NSW Parliamentary Library. My last haircut took place on 4 October 2005 and it cost me $15. After my last symbolic haircut I incurred a lot more expenses ;-P Iconic Gowings closes forever ]
• · Supreme Court justices who sign memoir deals risk squandering the impersonal respect on which the judiciary depends. Judicial Exposure ; From Truthdig, an article on the Year of the Queer: Hollywood and homosexuality. Brokeback Mountain: A Dig led by Larry Gross
• · · Alan Turing not only saved countless lives by breaking a Nazi code, he conceived the computer, and rethought the nature of mind CODE-BREAKER ; Harper Lee, who lives in a small town in Alabama, is one of the most reclusive writers in the history of American letters. But she does get out Harper Lee, Gregarious for a Day
• · · · One More Time: Making Amends Frey's Agent Goes on the Record with 'PW' ; Vera Wang is passionately in love with every aspect of clothes. “I like the gritty parts of fashion, the design, the studio, the pictures Vera Wang’s Second Honeymoon
• · · · · Steven Spielberg's film "Munich" deals with the 1972 Olympic hostage taking and its bloody aftermath. The film is a blend of cliches and originality, wisdom and presumptuousness. A vampire at the neck of reality Munich: We have lost Spielberg ; A year after its police force melted away and the streets descended into anarchy, Mosul has climbed up from the abyss Mosul Makes Gains Against the Chaos
• · · · · · Clitoral satisfaction for every woman on the planet, by all means. But no, Shere Hite, this will not give us world peace Will better sex bring world peace? ; Dating presents itself as a kind of education in human relationships. It’s not. There’s no worse preparation for love than the tireless pursuit of the perfect partner Dating