Monthly Archives: November 2006

I Love Football, But Football Fans Have An Average IQ of 7

Hmm. Add to this the following anecdotes: the amount of bitching about Andy Reid, which assumes that he can control injuries when his team plays in the toughest division in football; the time Notre Dame fired Tyrone Willingham after convening an emergency meeting of the Board of Trustees (or Governors, or something) after having lost …

November 30, 2006 – 11:38 pm | By ashok | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments (2)

The Temptation to Liberalism

What knowledge does is give one a comfort zone – one thinks problems can be solved by it, and it alone, and one feels like more knowledge can be had, so if there isn’t a solution now, there will be one later. Notice that this is a very narrow conception of “knowledge,” one based on …

November 30, 2006 – 2:01 pm | By ashok | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Seriously?

I remember a professor once upon a time telling me that life was a game, and I started tuning him out. I’m pretty sure nowadays he didn’t mean it in a trivial way, but when I see people say things like “People who take themselves seriously make me crack up,” I just wonder. Look, the …

November 28, 2006 – 4:18 pm | By ashok | Posted in love, personal | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Thinking About Equality Got Me Doing Crass Self-Promotion

I keep the Index at WritingUp up-to-date with developments here. I think the other older, major blog, substantial, is an excellent read. I only have 100 entries from a span across years, but I really like everything I wrote there, girly as it can be sometimes. Oh yeah, speaking of girly. I have other blogs, …

November 27, 2006 – 4:02 am | By ashok | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Enfolding (a poem)

Enfolding for Sarah Johnston – happy birthday There were ideal forms once, seen in a past life. Brought forth by strokes, short graphite lines adding up, forming the ideal that once was – my hands tire. And these varied flavors, sour and sweet and fresh, that last one perhaps above all. Again I find that …

November 13, 2006 – 3:21 am | By ashok | Posted in poetry | Comments (4)

On "The Prestige"

Note: This essay relies on spoilers. If you have not seen “The Prestige,” which has a mystery that unfolds throughout it, do not read this essay. for Elizabeth Wolcott The “two” magicians that drive the plot of this movie are mirrored by scientists Tesla and Edison. It is that association between Hugh Jackman’s aristocrat, who …

November 11, 2006 – 4:23 pm | By ashok | Posted in movies | Comments (2)

Gratefulness.

Thanks to all of you who have been standing by me as I go through personal stuff that is not worth dwelling on. I got several calls last night to check up on me, and I realized that I was very, very lucky to have the friends I have, and I need to be there …

November 9, 2006 – 2:46 am | By ashok | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

How The Academy Destroyed Itself

What was essential for the humanities was that it preserved the knowledge of the past, and kept students informed of the seriousness of the past, and the questions it posed. To that end, professors had to meet very rigorous demands once upon a time. Note this description of what was expected at Harvard: I remember …

November 2, 2006 – 5:00 pm | By ashok | Posted in academia | Tagged | Comments (8)

"The Soup," Gary Soto

The SoupGary Soto The lights off, the clock glowing 2:10,And Molina is at the table drawing what he thinks is soupAnd its carrots rising through a gray broth. He adds meat and peppers it with pencil markings.The onion has gathered the peas in its smile.The surface is blurred with the cold oils squeezed from a …

November 1, 2006 – 3:52 am | By ashok | Posted in poetry | Comments (10)