Lilian Nattel's Blog, page 61
February 18, 2011
marilyn monroe, a fan of somerset maugham and james joyce
That Marilyn Monroe had an abiding interest in writers, writing, and literature is made plain by more than her telegram to Maugham. There is also the famous photograph, taken on Long Island, of her reading James Joyce's Ulysses—she appears to be at the very end, which is the Molly Bloom soliloquy: the world's leading sex symbol reading English literature's sexiest passage.
via nybooks.com
Filed under: Miscellany
little people who don't get sick
Can a gene that causes dwarfism also confer major health benefits? Perhaps, according to a new study showing that a group of extremely short people in Ecuador get no diabetes, even though they are unusually obese.
via whyfiles.org
And as an interesting aside, the villagers are descendants of Conversos, hidden Jews who converted under duress during the Spanish Inquisition.
Filed under: Miscellany
borders' bankruptcy shakes industry–i ask why no bail-out?
After Borders, the 40-year-old retail chain that helped define the age of the book superstore, filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, the struggling book industry was left wondering what was next — and maybe even who was next.
via nytimes.com
If GM was bailed out, why not bookstores? If GM could come back to big profits, why not books?
Filed under: Miscellany
February 17, 2011
Egypt et al seen through China's lens
The Egyptian uprising is an awkward fact for China's rulers because it undermines one of their favorite arguments. They have long claimed that China has "special characteristics" (meaning that its people prefer authoritarianism, at least for now) and that demands in China for democracy and human rights are merely results of the subversive tactics of "anti-China" forces based in Western countries.
via nybooks.com
Filed under: Miscellany
Today I wrote, it was fun!
After yest's despair, a good change. Then brain gave out (runny nose).So I scraped paint off porch stairs.
Filed under: Personal Tagged: writing process
more on shy 83 year old intellectual who inspired Egypt
When Egypt's April 6 Youth Movement was struggling to recover from a failed effort in 2005, its leaders tossed around "crazy ideas" about bringing down the government, said Ahmed Maher, a leading strategist. They stumbled on Mr. Sharp while examining the Serbian movement Otpor, which he had influenced.
via nytimes.com
It's rare that a man like Gene Sharpe, shy, retiring, living in the small Boston home he bought for $150 plus back taxes 40 years ago, a thinker who thinks about, of all things, not the secret of success, but something like non-violence, for pete's sake, can have such a profound impact, not only in Egypt, but in Serbia and now other places as well. Full story at the link above.
Filed under: Interesting Tagged: Gene Sharp, non-violence
family maid files suit against author of 'The Help' – NYT
Ablene Cooper, a 60-year-old woman who has long worked as a maid, has filed a lawsuit against Kathryn Stockett, the author of the best-selling novel, The Help…
via artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com
Filed under: Literary Tagged: lawsuit re The Help
cabinet minister doctoring documents is democratic according to PM
The case of a Conservative minister who doctored a signed document and misled the House of Commons is a test of Canada's democracy, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says.
via theglobeandmail.com
But according to PM Stephen Harper it is just fine for a cabinet minister to a) crudely change a document and b) lie about changing it because the government has to make decisions. How does decision making require lying and forgery? That's not what I teach my kids.
Filed under: Miscellany
February 16, 2011
Draft 1, The Jitters
I have no idea how I have written any of my books–that's how it feels in the first draft. This time, I made notes before hand. I considered the characters and I worked on the narrative arc. I've got a timeline and an outline.
It doesn't matter. I've got the first draft blues, not knowing how I've written a thing before or how I will again. Ten pages in–with about two weeks of procrastination between page two and page six, and another two weeks of procrastinating between page six and page ten.
Can I give it up now, the procrastination and just keep going?
Filed under: Literary, Personal Tagged: writing process
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