Many years ago, I saw a terrible beating and didn’t realize I was looking at one. Till much later. No experience is unmediated; without membership in a linguistic community, without a background theory, there is no immediate experience to speak of. There is no ‘given’; to ‘experience’ is to know how to deploy a certainContinue reading “A Beating, Dimly Glimpsed, Poorly Understood”
Tag Archives: urban life
Shakespeare, Drayton, and Birdsong, Then and Now
In his The Life and Times of William Shakespeare, Peter Levi wrote, [H]istory and family connection do as much to throw light on Shakespeare as a poet as academic criticism has done, and maybe more. The problem is that England and Stratford and the Elizabethan age are all somehow part of his great mystery, andContinue reading “Shakespeare, Drayton, and Birdsong, Then and Now”
Let ‘Em Eat Birdies (and Eagles Too)
My weekend posts should really have been titled: Being Some Notes on the State of the Union–Especially Its Urban Components and Their Budgetary Shenanigans–In the Twenty-First Century. Like my post on Camden yesterday, this post needs little commentary. So, here we go. Shelley said poets and philosophers were the unacknowledged legislators of his generation. InContinue reading “Let ‘Em Eat Birdies (and Eagles Too)”
Camden Can’t Afford Its Police and Its Union Any More
Today’s blog post has little ‘analysis’; all I need do is point. Perfect storms should be ‘admired’ from a distance. When I’m done, let the chants of ‘USA! USA! USA!’ ring out, loud and proud. So, let us get started. Here is a little piece of news: Camden, NJ has decided to disband its policeContinue reading “Camden Can’t Afford Its Police and Its Union Any More”
Georg Simmel on Sociologically Positive Conflict and Urban Life
A quiet span of days with a national holiday mid-week, rare access to expansive living spaces, no subway riding. So, by virtue of having occupied a ‘retreat-like’ space and by taking a step back from the madding crowd, back to a slower pace, there is time to reflect on the space-living-crowds bargain that New YorkContinue reading “Georg Simmel on Sociologically Positive Conflict and Urban Life”
Nick Drake’s ‘At the Chime of a City Clock’ and Urban Melancholia
I discovered Nick Drake late, very late. Back in 2007, Scott Dexter and I were busy dealing with the release of our book Decoding Liberation: The Promise of Free and Open Source Software; mainly, this involved engaging in some spirited discussions online with other folks interested in free software, the creative commons, free culture, andContinue reading “Nick Drake’s ‘At the Chime of a City Clock’ and Urban Melancholia”
Samir Chopra 