Friday, February 10, 2006



Artists are not, on the whole, intellectuals; they do not try to be particularly articulate and, when they do speak of their art, they do not do so in the terms of the critic or connoisseur. But that is not their job. They simply do it.
-Peter Ackroyd, J.M.W. Turner

Many contemporary novelists are drawn to the subject of millionaires and their money; Auchincloss' concern, however, is not with wealth per se but with the ways in which rich people's means of earning, preserving, spending and losing their fortunes illuminate the principles by which they live. Principles of Interest

Art of Living & Literature Across Frontiers: The Geography of His Imagination
Though he has been hailed by critics as one of Ireland's major living novelists, and though this year marks the 20th anniversary of his first book, John Banville has remained unfamiliar to American readers. Why?

We're all related," a nurse comments near the end of the novel, "only people don't take time to think about it. In his novels, truth is elusive, but it matters; the self may be a prison built on shifting ground, but it exists - a cannily constructed novel about sex, betrayal and self-deception ...


A Murderer's Life [A screaming comes across the sky: Call me Ishmael 100 Best First Lines from Novels; Social capital is in itself neither good nor bad; it may be put to both positive and negative ends Is social capital declining? ]
• · Our television networks are required to show a certain amount of Australian content each year and also an Australian drama quota The drama about Australian TV drama ; Who is the greatest artist of the 20th century? This economist has figured out the answer. The Count loves to count
• · · From the people who brought you The (unofficial) Latham Diaries Latham Diaries ; Childlessness is one of Australia’s current national preoccupations Oh no children, we forgot motherhood, did we?
• · · · This one wins, in my opinion Kid's allright : Indy environment; We live in a strange world, don’t we? And to this Jozef quickly adds, with a lot of strange people. Knowledge is Not Power and Other Paradoxes
• · · · · Is creating virtual slaves for sex and possibly housework wrong? In 2068, robots could subjugate humanity to their infernal will. Instead of being scared, why don't we marry them?; We ask: what is time? The question of all questions for which we have never had so much time. Like the wind, we are always in its midst but can’t get a grip on it and yet everything that exists is enfolded within it. Cold Truth of Time
• · · · · · Moral Heuristics or Moral Competence? Reflections on Sunstein ; BMW has recruited four authors from Random House UK, including Karin Slaughter, James Flint and Simon Kernick, to write 45 minute audio books featuring their cars BMW Test-Drives Audio Books ; Harper's Brian Murray says in the announcement of the "pilot" initiative, "Our goal is to develop new digital products based on our books while creating new revenue streams for our authors." As Harper Pilots a Free Book on the Web