Kroodsma's step-by-step analysis of sonagrams is very clear, and his passion for recording bird vocalizations is persuasive. As for myself, I'mKroodsma's step-by-step analysis of sonagrams is very clear, and his passion for recording bird vocalizations is persuasive. As for myself, I'm tempted to acquire a parabolic mic and digital recorder and get out there listening. The passages in which Kroodsma details his field work, hour by hour, are less effective....more
It’s tempting to respond in kind to this novel, which takes the form of a series of online hotel reviews, each one spinning off on various loopyIt’s tempting to respond in kind to this novel, which takes the form of a series of online hotel reviews, each one spinning off on various loopy tangents, the more off-topic the better. That is, perhaps to wander off into a discussion of what’s growing in my garden, or why the Indians lost the Series.
But I will stick to commending the genuine feeling under the arch irony of the book, with its hints of a Nabokovian road trip (“The Equinox”). The “America’s Best Value Inn” and “The Inn at Harvard” sections are quite touching.
An afterword slyly alludes to Errol Morris, Herman Melville, and Wallace Stevens....more
The engine of evolution is driven, according to Wagner, by random variation within a virtuous circle of complexity, resilience and controlledThe engine of evolution is driven, according to Wagner, by random variation within a virtuous circle of complexity, resilience and controlled redundancy, and innovation. He elaborates upon this thesis by sketching the computational techniques used to explore, for instance, the vast hyperdimensional spaces of all possible metabolic pathways or all possible networks of gene regulation—problems that would have been far out of reach for researchers just decades ago. If Wagner often feels the need to print long strings of zeroes to explain the huge quantities that he's dealing with (why do writers believe that modern readers don't understand powers of ten?), I do appreciate his taking the space to credit his collaborators and to introduce each one with a brief vignette. ...more
An interesting collection, one that’s a little difficult to describe. Williams’s style and themes have evolved from the kitchen sink, kid in the carAn interesting collection, one that’s a little difficult to describe. Williams’s style and themes have evolved from the kitchen sink, kid in the car seat magic realism of the earlier stories of the mid 1970s to something darker. “Charity” is a tumble of multiple of multiple characters on a road trip, The Big Chill as remade by David Lynch. There are nods to Chekhov. Many of the stories take place on the ragged edges of the continent, in Florida or the southwest. There is much drinking: “Craving” is like the love child of Grace Paley and Malcolm Lowry....more
Alinder focuses on the period, from about 1932 to 1940, when the loose collective known as Group f.64 (with its many typographic variations) rose toAlinder focuses on the period, from about 1932 to 1940, when the loose collective known as Group f.64 (with its many typographic variations) rose to prominence in American photography—Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, and about a score of others. Dorothea Lange didn't care to be considered part of the group, while Peter Stackpole eagerly sought the recognition.
What keeps the book going is the author's pursuit of the obscurer figures, like the ghostly mathematician and painterAlbert Barrows (p. 206 and n.) TIL that Berenice Abbott found Eugène Atget's lifeless body (p. 63), and that Lincoln Kirstein preceded his career as a dance impresario with a stint promoting photography (p. 121). ...more
I found the chapter on the Koreshans' hollow-earth model particularly interesting. And the quick visit with Edgar Peissart (p. 246), who wasI found the chapter on the Koreshans' hollow-earth model particularly interesting. And the quick visit with Edgar Peissart (p. 246), who was apparently a professional cult-joiner, is intriguing....more
Inside the broody paranoia, a delectation of words. Dreamlike images of people running suggest the skaters in Satin Island. And this, as eloquent asInside the broody paranoia, a delectation of words. Dreamlike images of people running suggest the skaters in Satin Island. And this, as eloquent as any Beckett:
All the times I've done this before, stand in a dark room, motionless, eyes shut, weird kid and grown man, was I making my way toward a space such as this, long cold empty hall, doors and walls in matching colors, dead silence, shadow streaming toward me. (p. 264)
Unrewarding. The story of Allie Fox's slow, slow descent into darkness is told from the point of view of his middle school-aged son Charlie.Unrewarding. The story of Allie Fox's slow, slow descent into darkness is told from the point of view of his middle school-aged son Charlie. Unfortunately, Charlie doesn't have the tools, the understanding to enlighten us about the undoing of his father—one of literature's more indefensible anti-heroes. Hints of the more masterful Joseph Conrad, Werner Herzog, and Stanley Crawford's Log of the S.S. the Mrs. Unguentine. ...more
A comfy caper for film buffs, one that reminded me a little of The Ghost Network. This is a novel told, in part, by blog posts; there are some funA comfy caper for film buffs, one that reminded me a little of The Ghost Network. This is a novel told, in part, by blog posts; there are some fun in-jokes in the comments section of same....more
Very well done: so hard-boiled that you feel you want to take a shower afterward. Some of the horror elements compare nicely to the work of AmbroseVery well done: so hard-boiled that you feel you want to take a shower afterward. Some of the horror elements compare nicely to the work of Ambrose Bierce....more
A pleasant ramble through fields of anecdote. Dubious "suppose there was this actor..." passages. The book does not live up to the "concise argumentA pleasant ramble through fields of anecdote. Dubious "suppose there was this actor..." passages. The book does not live up to the "concise argument for the continuing relevance of an important idea" promised on the back cover. Rather, it might be better titled Why Actors Matter....more
Prose that reads like an I Ching judgment, more elliptical and yet more precise than much of today's poetry. The crux of one of these micro-lengthProse that reads like an I Ching judgment, more elliptical and yet more precise than much of today's poetry. The crux of one of these micro-length stories may come very late, sometimes the penultimate paragraph. By "The Thickening Wish," my reader's ear had attuned to Williams's songs....more
An interesting but flawed survey of the life and work of Charles Mingus. Gabbard separates his material into roughly four themes—life events, analysisAn interesting but flawed survey of the life and work of Charles Mingus. Gabbard separates his material into roughly four themes—life events, analysis of Mingus's prose work, Mingus and jazz history, and an exploration of three of his collaborations—with a coda, of sorts, concerning Mignus's music in film. While Gabbard spends a lot of time with the typescript of the semi-autobiographical Beneath the Underdog (the published work sounds unpleasant enough, so the pre-edited draft must have been frightful), elsewhere he doesn't add much new interview material, and his reliance on Wikipedia for a few citations is just lazy.
Nevertheless, the creative talents of Mingus, with so much energy (Gabbard speculates about bipolar disorder) that he could not be creatively pigeonholed, and who shared a bandstand or recording date with practically everyone in mid-century jazz, shine through the book....more
Tom McCarthy's uneasy meditation on the modern experience combines elements of Nicholson Baker (the explication of workplace minutia), LudwigTom McCarthy's uneasy meditation on the modern experience combines elements of Nicholson Baker (the explication of workplace minutia), Ludwig Wittgenstein (every paragraph of the novel is numbered, like the philosopher's unspooling propositions), and Don DeLillo: an extended conceit about a skydiver, dead by a tampered parachute, brings to mind Falling Man. Kafka's "Metamorphosis" gets a wink in paragraph 3.7. An early simile in which an office building's ventilation ductwork is compared to an elephant is quite fine (paragraph 2.4).
For a time, the book's nearly nameless narrator ("Call me U") envisions disruptive demonstrations that would subvert the grand, unknowable project that he and nearly everyone else in the world seem to be working on. His lack of action on his plans contrasts nicely with the fictional New Situationists of The Ghost Network by Catie Disabato.
One of U's colleagues studies a looped video clip of roller-bladers on the smooth tarmac of Paris, languidly engaged in a Manifestation sans Plainte.
U considers that the key to life many be the avoidance of buffering (paragraph 7.7), as when a video stream stalls:
We require experience to say ahead, if only by a nose, of our consciousness of experience—if for no other reason than that the latter needs to make sense of the former, to ... narrate it both to others and ourselves, and, for this purpose, has to be fed with a constant, unsorted supply of fresh sensations and events. But when the narrating cursor catches right up with the rendering one, ... we can enjoy neither experience nor consciousness of it. Everything becomes buffering, and buffering becomes everything.
In the end, how else can a novel conceived about the impossibility of writing about the impossibility, et cetera, conclude? Like Wittgenstein, similarly disappointed by words, McCarthy finds a solution....more
This is a book that benefited from its translation into a film. There are repeated phrases that work only as filler. Maintaining Montag's point ofThis is a book that benefited from its translation into a film. There are repeated phrases that work only as filler. Maintaining Montag's point of view throughout leads to some awkward narrative bridging during his flight. Faber, as written, is a plot device, a mouthpiece, not a character.
Nevertheless, the phrase "thimble wasps" to describe the ubiquitous wireless earpieces worn in Montag's world is very fine. And Faber, for all his faults, gives us a thoughtful definition of quality....more
Noë presents a persuasive, holistic argument for the importance and meaning of art: that it is one of a class of human activities that comment on whatNoë presents a persuasive, holistic argument for the importance and meaning of art: that it is one of a class of human activities that comment on what he calls “organized” activities, and in so doing change the way those activities are organized. Dancing is a natural, spontaneous, organized activity, and choreography is the artistic comment that changes what dancing can be.
While some of his examples and analogies are enlightening -- for instance, the idea that keeping score in a baseball game contributes meaning to the game (p. 39) -- his chapters on music are less persuasive. Agreed, pop music is much about the shared experience of the performing personality, but surely jazz music (which the author places on a different plane) is, too.
To snip out just a bit of the book's closing argument:
In making the painting, [the painter] recapitulates the very circular processes of experience making and life itself. And when you view the painting, ... you yourself must now make your own experience of the artwork. You don't do that by seeing it. You need to activate it by activating yourself. (p. 205)
A sufficiently good read for backstage in between scenes, but not one of Vowell's strongest works. She draws a distinction between "whiny" and "theA sufficiently good read for backstage in between scenes, but not one of Vowell's strongest works. She draws a distinction between "whiny" and "the funnier puissance of 'cranky'" (p. 205) that eludes me.
Subtitled "A Listener's Diary," the book charts her radio listening and other activities from New Year's Eve 1994 to the following NYE. Although she visits some surprising, interesting places (most notably, Walter De Maria's Lightning Field), Vowell seems to have found little more to listen to in Chicago than public radio, Limbaugh talk radio, rock and roll, and rock and roll talk radio.
Some copy editing and fact checking is in order. She misidentifies the East Building of Washington's National Gallery of Art and gets the title wrong of the oft-maligned hit single by the Spin Doctors.
Her complaints about public radio verge on the juvenile ("some boring jazz guitar guy introduces a piece he wrote ... [that] goes plink, plink, chord; plink, plink, chord." [p. 48]) However, she also comes to its defense, quite succinctly: "... a radio is not a newspaper with speakers. NPR, in its finest moments, remembers this, and sets aside its gutless goal of competence, giving us the loud and quite of the world." (p. 74) ...more
Very well done. Focusing on ten stories that played out in the life of Detroit during an 18-month period of the early 1960s, Maraniss shows us whatVery well done. Focusing on ten stories that played out in the life of Detroit during an 18-month period of the early 1960s, Maraniss shows us what might have been (the Olympic Games taking place in Detroit), what came to an end (the Gotham Hotel, the Flame Show Bar), and what was yet to be (the launch of Ford's Mustang, Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream"). The book is energized by new interviews conducted with the Motown recording artists who are still with us (Martha Reeves, Berry Gordy, Jr.). Another unconventional source used by Maraniss is hate mail sent to Mayor Cavanaugh's office in response to the 1963 Walk to Freedom. Maraniss skillfully keeps all of his threads going, as they wind round one another and become entangle with national-scale events.
Not satisfied with merely documenting the richness of the Detroit music scene in this period, Maraniss digs in to find some of the reasons happened then and there, and they're rather surprising in their simplicity: a music store run by the Grinnell family that put pianos within reach of working-class families, and strong music teachers in the public schools....more
A quick comedy, one in which the author may be having more fun than the reader. Zink does acknowledge her debts to Eliot, Henry Adams, and otherA quick comedy, one in which the author may be having more fun than the reader. Zink does acknowledge her debts to Eliot, Henry Adams, and other forebears. I agree with the character who says that the narrator-protagonist Tiffany has the attention span of a fish (p. 188). No quibbles with the European birding, of which I have no experience....more
This book, from 1975, is less concerned with conservation of plants and animals in general and more interested in animals that can be hunted. To beThis book, from 1975, is less concerned with conservation of plants and animals in general and more interested in animals that can be hunted. To be sure, hunters and other appreciators of wildlife have common interests, and Trefethen addresses them. Legislation like the Lacey Act is of minimal value without appropriated funds for law enforcement. He decries obsolescent hunting practices like live decoys, sinkboats, and punt guns. The chapter on recovery programs includes non-game birds like Kirtland’s Warbler and California Condor (not yet brought under a captive breeding regime at the time of the book’s writing). Management of the Department of the Interior under Eisenhower’s first-term appointee Douglas McKay was a “near disaster” (p. 256)
But p. 235’s discussion of planting non-natives like Kudzu and Multiflora Rose with no acknowledgement of their invasiveness is an eyebrow-raiser. Strident anti-hunter William Hornday gets much attention, but Rachel Carson is mentioned only in passing (and is one of the very few women named at all), while NPS chief Stephen Mather appears in only one unflattering vignette on p. 197.
The story of the 1916 Migratory Bird Treaty, from its beginnings as a bill introduced by George Shiras III in 1904, is particularly useful. An appendix providing scientific names is always appreciated; the index is a bit skimpy....more
Nicely done, profusely illustrated with photographs, a good addition to my shelf of D.C. history. Perhaps it is no consolation to today's Metro ridersNicely done, profusely illustrated with photographs, a good addition to my shelf of D.C. history. Perhaps it is no consolation to today's Metro riders to know that the streetcar system was similarly crippled by snowstorms in 1958 and 1961. And today's taxis, with their piped in "entertainment," have no monopoly on stupid ideas: in 1948-1953, Capital Transit introduced FM radio on its streetcars, called by the Transit Riders Association "racket while you ride." ...more
A fine companion to Mrs. Bridge, the current book covering the same people and period of time but with very little overlap of incident—although theA fine companion to Mrs. Bridge, the current book covering the same people and period of time but with very little overlap of incident—although the two books do present quite different versions of the events concerning Ruth's overnight visitor. There's definitely more Douglas in this book, for fans of the feckless son. And Connell shines a harsh light on the nasty streak of racism in his protagonist, Walter Bridge....more
An entertaining caper, sometimes a bit too clever for its own good. The unexplained disappearance of a Lady Gaga-like pop star portends a conspiracyAn entertaining caper, sometimes a bit too clever for its own good. The unexplained disappearance of a Lady Gaga-like pop star portends a conspiracy with roots in the 1960s French avant garde—a political underground that might find physical manifestation in the rail transit system of Chicago.
The book-within-a-book presents itself as a manuscript by a Cyrus Archer, who has been researching the mysterious vanishing of singer Molly Metropolis. He reconstructs the movements and conversations of three of Molly's followers, who have the peculiar habit of referring to one another journalism-style, by last name. In his "non-fiction" book, Archer explains the history of the Chicago L system and the thinking of French activist Guy Debord, with his philosophy of détournement. If the chronology and geography in Archer's account sometimes depart from reality (the Chicago Transit Authority did not govern the early days of the L [p. 56]), author Disabato's appropriation of the material serves the novel, up to a point. But the meticulous following of Molly's crew through the train system entails some preposterous transfers—from the Green to the Red Line to continue downtown? (p. 45) And there are some copy editing flubs. Well, Archer's book is a manuscript, after all....more
In a novel built from shifting points of view, four siblings of a family from the wilder parts of County Clare encounter more than their share of theIn a novel built from shifting points of view, four siblings of a family from the wilder parts of County Clare encounter more than their share of the shocks and travails that is our lot in the early 21st century: cancer, loss of friends to AIDS, the precipitous Irish real estate market. But the novel is really the story of their mother, Rosaleen, and when her perspective arises in the close of the book's first half, Enright's writing shimmers. As in all families, this is a book of secrets, with not everything spelled out. There's no big reveal, only a flock of little ones....more
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