Saturday, March 13, 2021

What We Think We Know

What We Know ...


Bob Odenkirk Action Movie??! Nobody

 

History of Nobodies in app


       Self-publishing in ... Tamil 

       In The Hindu Srinivasa Ramanujam reports on A new chapter: How self-publishing is gaining ground among Tamil authors -- surely a phenomenon that is going to spread, and possibly a boon to writers in 'smaller' languages (not that Tamil is particularly small ...).


       The Neglected Books Page reminds of Philip Roth and the “Writers from the Other Europe” Series -- a significant part of his legacy. 
       Despite being a relatively small series, it was tremendously influential, and there are some great titles here; they're all worth picking up. 

Wagnermania The Baffle


Kevin Roberts , March 9, 2021

What Have You Been Watching?

 


Search Engine Land – “Just like it did with Google Shopping and also with Google Flights, Google announced it is now opening up free listings within Google Hotel search. There is a new section in Google Hotel search for “all options” that is below the paid results, that shows unapid listings from hotels and travel companies. Free hotel listings. “We’re improving this experience by making it free for hotels and travel companies around the world to appear in hotel booking links, beginning this week on google.com/travel. With full access to a wider range of hotel prices, users will have a more comprehensive set of options as they research their trip and ultimately decide where to book,” Google said. Google Travel options will expand to offer more free listing opportunities. “Over time, we’ll continue building this open platform, so that all partners will have even more opportunities to highlight their information and help people book a flight, find a place to stay, or explore a new destination,” Google said…”


 ·            I’ve loved Zero Zero Zero on Amazon Prime.  If you liked Gomorrah (I loved it), you’ll like this.  Roberto Saviano’s latest crime / mafia / cartel drama.  Intensely gritty and gripping.

 

·            The Trial of Christine Keeler.  Six part UK drama on HBO.  Brilliant acting, and a pretty accurate picture of 1960’s England – and all its class issues.  This was a big story at the time for me – I was 14/15 and followed every twist and turn – and I relived them all over again.

 

·            The Christine Keeler story put me back into a 60’s mood – so I watched a classic movie from the period – Get Carter with Michael Caine (based on the 60’s under-valued novelist noir Ted Lewis).  Haven’t seen it since it came out.  Brilliant Northern period piece shot in a grimy Newcastle.

 

·            Clive Davis – The Soundtrack of Our Lives – on Netflix.  A documentary of a true music industry visionary.

 

·            The Equalizer.  I loved the Denzel Washington film.  This is lighter, but still fun.  With Queen Latifah in the TV series role.

 

·            Manchester City shooting to the top of the Premier League and still competing for four trophies on NBC/Peacock – twice a week in this crazy year.  Blue Moon Rising!

 

·            Trudy’s been watching The Dig (Netflix), the very funny Schitt’s Creek, Clarice (the Silence of the Lambs spin-off), Grace and Frankie and the latest Costner movie Let Him Go.

 

Happy Viewing!

World Nature Photography Awards 2020

“We are absolutely delighted to announce our 2020 winners, in an inaugural year that saw entries flow in from all four corners of this most precious globe of ours. It also gives us great pleasure to hand the title of World Nature Photographer of the Year to Thomas Vijayan for his image ‘The world is going upside down.’ The competition is open to both amateur and professional photographers from any country in the world. Entry is permitted by anyone 18 years of age or older, with the exception of employees of the World Nature Photography Awards (WNPA) and their organisers. Entries are permitted into the following categories: Animals in their habitat; Animal portraits; Behaviour – Amphibians and reptiles; Behaviour – Birds; Behaviour – Invertebrates; Behaviour – Mammals; Plants and fungi; Urban wildlife; Planet Earth’s landscapes and environments; Black and white; Nature art; Nature photojournalism; People and nature.


“She must endure everything from her husband—if he is unlucky and if he makes any mistakes because of ignorance, or sickness or drunkenness or has relationships with other women. For this fault is at home with men…” — a passage attributed to Perictione (Plato’s mother) — but probably not actually by her — describes the “harmonious woman”


“We are at the twilight of the job I have been taking myself to do, namely, teaching writing” — Charlie Huenemann (Utah State) on the impending obsolesence of good writing skills


“How philosophy can contribute to our most urgent cultural questions about how we come to believe what we think we know” — Michael P. Lynch (Connecticut) on political epistemology


A color-coded visualization of the relationship between different emotions, as described by Spinoza in his Ethics — by Evan Roane



Porter allegations: Accusations fly of ‘trial by media’; AKA journalists doing their job

There was an outpouring of grief for the “trembling, tearful wrecks” of Cabinet Ministers forced on to sick leave, having to experience such ‘humiliating’ and ‘devastating’ claims. Some particularly callous commentary equated Porter’s life with that of the “ruined” life of the woman who died by suicide. …