Forty degrees and rain, soggy train platforms, and an unhappy toddler–my daughter, not happy at being dropped off at daycare–can make for a miserable start to a day. It was only partially redeemed by finally finding dry shelter in the shape of a subway car for the ride into Manhattan. After my wife had disembarkedContinue reading “Readin’ and Ridin’: Transportation within Transportation”
Category Archives: Books
Falling Off the Wagon
I had a bad week. Starting Friday April 18th, my brain went on the blink. In the following nine days, I only blogged twice (instead of my usual daily schedule), went to the gym only three times (instead of my scheduled seven times), read no books, and only entered into minor bouts of editing. IContinue reading “Falling Off the Wagon”
The AllRounder Kickstarter
I don’t normally make fundraising pleas on this blog, but I’m going to make an exception to that rule today. Very soon, I will be contributing articles to a new online sports journal The Allrounder, one to be marked by its thoughtfulness and breadth; it will feature the writing of some 60 different writers, who bringContinue reading “The AllRounder Kickstarter”
Jacob Bronowski on the Missing Shakespeare of the Bushmen
Jacob Bronowski–who so entertained and edified many of us with The Ascent of Man–was very often a wise man but he was also Eurocentric, a weakness that produced astonishingly reductive views about the ‘East’, about ‘uncivilized’ and ‘uncultured’ societies. This inclination is noticeably on display in his dialog The Abacus and the Rose,¹ in the courseContinue reading “Jacob Bronowski on the Missing Shakespeare of the Bushmen”
True Detective: Eight Points of Contention
I finished watching True Detective last night. I found the finale deeply disappointing but I can’t say that I was surprised; the show had seemed incapable, over the last few episodes, of sustaining the portentousness it had built up in the first three or so installments. I still think the show was outstanding, but IContinue reading “True Detective: Eight Points of Contention”
Lord Byron on the Writerly Compulsion
In Oryx and Crake, Crake quotes Lord Byron:¹ What is it Byron said? Who’d write if they could do otherwise? Something like that. Who indeed? Byron’s supposed description² of writerly obsession is by now familiar to us: writers write because they have to, they must, they can do little other; their activity is as much compelledContinue reading “Lord Byron on the Writerly Compulsion”
The Perennial Allure of Utopian Sex
In Margaret Atwood‘s cautionary, speculative tale of a genetic engineering run amuck, Oryx and Crake, the Snowman observes the Crakers are unusually and refreshingly sexually enlightened: Off to the side, from what is probably a glade where the tents and trailers used to be set up, he can hear laughter and singing, and shouts ofContinue reading “The Perennial Allure of Utopian Sex”
Traveling With the Right Kind of Passport
Amartya Sen introduces us to his Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny with the following rather well-known little story: Some years ago when I was returning to England from a short trip abroad (I was then Master of Trinity College in Cambridge), the immigration officer at Heathrow, who scrutinized my Indian passport rather thoroughly,Continue reading “Traveling With the Right Kind of Passport”
Unsung Heroines and Premature Glory
News Scientist is currently featuring a story titled “Unsung Heroines: Five Women Denied Scientific Glory.” The woman scientists featured are: Hertha Ayrton, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Gerty Cori (an odd choice given she was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize), Rosalind Franklin, and Lise Meitner. For my money, of the stories told here, those ofContinue reading “Unsung Heroines and Premature Glory”
Acts of Kindness: Writing to Writers, Especially Academic Ones
A couple of years ago, after reading Neil Gross‘ excellent biography of Richard Rorty, I sent him a short note of appreciation, telling him how much I enjoyed his book. Gross wrote back; he was clearly pleasantly surprised to have received my email. I mention this correspondence because it is an instance of an actContinue reading “Acts of Kindness: Writing to Writers, Especially Academic Ones”
Samir Chopra 