Chris Via > Recent Status Updates

Never read Musa's translation before (only Cary's and Mandelbaum's), but his notes on the effort sound promising!

I was a bit flummoxed with the beginning of HERMAN: THE GAME WARDEN, seemingly benign was it. But then it kicked in at the end and continued on into HERMAN: THE DEATH OF A CRAFT beautifully!

NEW VIDEO: Thoughts on John Williams's STONER. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqu-XV...

"The Geography of the Imagination" is worth the price of the reader!

NEW VIDEO: 10 Books that Keep Defeating Me!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqU4xr...

BX90 Progress: 1 Kings complete. The death of King David; Solomon's life, which is the start of the Baal-worshipping kings of Israel; Elijah's fear of Jezebel; and a promise for further elaborations of the kings of Israel inn the Books of Chronicles.

A look at Umberto Eco's THE INFINITY OF LISTS (among others): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMAlz...

BX90 Progress: 2 Samuel complete. Two Hebrew kingdoms--Israel and Judah. Civil war. David constantly in trouble. Pretenders to the throne. The death of Absalom. Whew!

I ended up putting Questioning Minds on hold on order to acquaint myself with Davenport and Kenner. This is proving quite fruitful.

I think I'm starting to catch on to this form!

A case for reading William T. Vollmann: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxF5F...

BX90 Progress: 1 Samuel complete. This was an epic soap opera saga chiefly between King Saul and (soon to be King) David, with some real head-turning moments. Now, Saul is dead and the Philistines have infiltrated the Land.

I'm late to the game with Williams' flash fiction.

Quick video on Gaddis’s THE RECOGNITIONS: https://youtu.be/qheB_OrcLD0

Video review of Annie Dillard's HOLY THE FIRM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNIfz...

BX90 Progress: Ruth complete. This 4-chapter book of passionate devotion is a breath of fresh air after the weight of Judges. Interesting that God uses a Moabite woman as a key link in the bloodline that will lead to King David, to whom we now turn.

BX90 Progress: Ruth complete. This 4-chapter book of passionate devotion is a breath of fresh air after the weight of Judges. Interesting that God uses a Moabite woman as a key link in the bloodline that will lead to King David, to whom we now turn.

BX90 Progress: Judges complete. The time of the judges is a cyclical continuation of Israel’s tendency to fall back to idol worship, beg God for forgiveness, receive grace—repeat. This time, it is only during the time of a judge that Israel experiences peace, but as soon as a judge dies, the people wander. Judges also has perhaps the most brutal and shocking closing chapters of any biblical book.

BX90 Progress: Joshua complete. This book of conquests is typically hard to stomach for its cold slaughter, however, this time around I noticed a thread, a preoccupation with the Anakim/Raphaim/giants (e.g. Og). Could it be that all this brutality was to cleanse the land of the corrupt Nephalim and their lineage? Heading into the time of the judges now.

Check out my video review of Douglas R. Hofstadter's LE TON BEAU DE MAROT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awvJz...

BX90 Progress: Deuteronomy complete. This is at once a summary of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers; God's reasons for the law (statutes, commands, etc.); and the prelude to the shift from Moses' leadership to Joshua's as the people prepare to progress to Jericho.