Monthly Archives: May 2009

Rant: If you have anything worthwhile to say, then reaching out to other bloggers is a waste of time

When I first started blogging, my main practice was to write posts that were responses to other bloggers’ posts. This wasn’t to attack them, although a few did deserve that. I spent a lot of time trying to show how to best appreciate their best points. I was doing this to show that someone was …

May 30, 2009 – 4:27 pm | By ashok | Posted in media | Comments (6)

Rant: Is Suburbia Appropriate for Adults?

In this suburb, every individual home stands with well-groomed yards. “Neat” and “cute” are usually the best terms for the exterior of the house, the arrangement of the yard, the choice of flowers. I can’t help but think that ornament – cosmetic – is directly from the Greek cosmos. There are children everywhere, having their …

May 29, 2009 – 4:01 pm | By ashok | Posted in personal, politics | Comments (11)

Links, 5/27/09

Re: American Football – this Football Outsiders discussion of how teams work with the salary cap, player value in the market, etc. is really interesting and actually compelling. You wonder also about what causes the attitudes of some athletes: I wouldn’t be sneezing at $2.82 million a year, that’s for sure, but I also wonder …

May 27, 2009 – 4:40 pm | By ashok | Posted in links | Comments (0)

In Omaha

Note: The wedding and the singing Collegium did went well; I know we were appreciated. Below is a documentation of some personal encounters. The flight there did not seem lonely. Two were beside me, both consultants as I found out. I got them talking and learned about the future of pharmaceuticals (drugs for niche diseases, …

May 25, 2009 – 11:25 am | By ashok | Posted in personal, politics, writing | Comments (4)

Out until early morning Monday…

…Collegium is singing a wedding in Omaha: my flight gets in at 12:10 am Monday. Taking some heavy reading with me, although I don’t know how much I’ll get to. In case you’re curious what I’ve been reading recently – just finished Strauss’ short essay “On Natural Law” in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy – …

May 22, 2009 – 10:47 am | By ashok | Posted in personal | Comments (0)

On the Relevance of Euripides’ “Hippolytus”

1. Theseus, the hero who became king of Athens, by an Amazon had an illegitimate child named Hippolytus. Hippolytus stayed chaste while practicing hunting, tending to horses, and other affairs of “manly men.” When Hippolytus had grown, Theseus took another, younger wife, Phaedra, who bore him several children. Phaedra fell in love with Hippolytus; the …

May 19, 2009 – 5:08 am | By ashok | Posted in poetry, politics | Tagged | Comments (1)

Links, 5/18/09

Pedagogy of the Oppressor, by Sol Stern – fta: “Pedagogy of the Oppressed was one of the most frequently assigned texts in their philosophy of education courses…. Pedagogy of the Oppressed mentions none of the issues that troubled education reformers throughout the twentieth century: testing, standards, curriculum, the role of parents, how to organize schools, …

May 18, 2009 – 6:25 am | By ashok | Posted in links | Comments (1)

Love and Truth in a Material World: The Weakerthans, “None of the Above”

None of the Above (lyrics from theweakerthans.org / song available here) The Weakerthans All night restaurant, North Kildonan. Luke warm coffee tastes like soap. I trace your outline in spilled sugar, killing time and killing hope. This brand new strip mall chews on farmland as we fish for someone to blame. But we communicate in …

May 15, 2009 – 6:07 pm | By ashok | Posted in music, weakerthans | Comments (4)

The Erotic Contemplation of What Is? Thinking on “The Jewel Stairs’ Grievance”

The Jewel Stairs’ Grievance (from Adam Kirsch’s “Disturbances of Peace”) Li Po, trans. Ezra Pound The jeweled steps are already quite white with dew, It is so late that the dew soaks my gauze stockings, And I let down the crystal curtain And watch the moon through the clear autumn. Comment: Kirsch provides us with …

May 14, 2009 – 6:48 am | By ashok | Posted in poetry | Tagged | Comments (4)

Links, 5/13/09

Should Michael Steele Resign? “The Idiot’s Guide to Pakistan” (h/t aldaily.com) More from aldaily.com – the current status of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps on campus. In case you’re wondering how we got here: Tensions between the military and the university are hardly new or surprising; after all, the two institutions embrace different cultures, procedures, …

May 13, 2009 – 1:30 pm | By ashok | Posted in links | Comments (0)