When Artemis II looped around the Moon a few days ago, the astronauts aboard captured a photo of the Moon as it eclipsed the Sun from the astronauts' perspective. Jules Verne had described such an eclipse in his 1870 novel, "Around the Moon," the sequel to his earlier "From the Earth To the Moon." In … Continue reading Artemis II Around the Moon
There’s a popular belief that Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is a warning about science “going too far”. But she actually presents Victor Frankenstein as something of a pseudo-scientist, at least when left to his own devices. In his resting state, or when working in isolation, Victor Frankenstein is a romantic more inclined to enjoy nature than to study it, and disinclined to the unglamorous work that scientists must do.
My favorite read of 2024 was actually my re-read of The Lord of the Rings. But sticking to new works as usual: I read 28 works of fiction and nonfiction for the first time in '24, and of those I've picked out again my favorite ten. For each book, I've listed some excerpts, not necessarily … Continue reading My favorite reads of 2024
At one point in Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life," George Bailey tells Mr. Potter, "the meanest and richest man in town," what he really thinks of him. You sit around here and you spin your little webs and you think the whole world revolves around you and your money. Well, it doesn't, Mr. Potter. … Continue reading It’s A Wonderful Life
Recently I rewatched the entire "Lord of the Rings" trilogy with my kids, in the extended editions. That's over 12 hours of movies, but my kids were not bored for a minute. After “Fellowship” my son was gushing about how clearly the story was told; and about how the music made him feel, particularly the … Continue reading Rewatching the Lord of the Rings
Ivan Karamazov issues the following challenge to his devout brother Alyosha, before sharing with him the now-famous parable about the Grand Inquisitor, in Fyodor Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov": Tell me straight out, I call on you—answer me: imagine that you yourself are building the edifice of human destiny with the object of making people happy … Continue reading The Grand Inquisitor and Rebellion
I've recently finished "The Brothers Karamazov", a book that's tough-to-chew, frustrating, blasphemous, hilarious, delirious and puzzling: in short, a great book. I want to start with just a few *brief* remarks about the Grand Inquisitor story, the parable that Ivan Karazamov composes and shares with his brother Alyosha. The parable is so well-known that I … Continue reading The Grand Inquisitor and Exodus
During my convalescence this past winter I watched a lot of movies. I've gotten busy making YouTube playlists of my favorite music and movies. I started one playlist privately just to collect some of my favorite concluding scenes from movies, and I threw in a few scenes from old movies that marked the Intermission break. … Continue reading Favorite movie endings
A few days ago I was making a list of the best sequences in the novel of "Les Misérables." My list, which I'll put below, was heavy on actions taken by Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert, and one item stood out: Eponine barring her father and his thugs from entering the house where Cosette and … Continue reading Eponine and Sonya Alone
I've been watching a lot of "Les Misérables" adaptations since finishing the novel. I've watched the usual suspects, and I'll list them below (slight spoilers), but I have to start with one of the very best, only 10 minutes long, that I found entirely by chance. Click on the photo for Inspector's Javert's vlog, or … Continue reading Other Les Misérables films
