Evening Light on Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico. DH Lawrence wrote that, in New Mexico, a “new part” of his soul “woke up suddenly” and “the old world gave way to a new”. In Native American religion he discovered there were no gods, because “all is god”. In a related way, America, in [...]
Archive for November, 2011
Poem of the week: Autumn at Taos by DH Lawrence
Posted in Literature, Poetry on November 20, 2011 | Comments Off
Teaching Good Sex
Posted in Living on November 20, 2011 | Comments Off
“First base, second base, third base, home run,” Al Vernacchio ticked off the classic baseball terms for sex acts. His goal was to prompt the students in Sexuality and Society — an elective for seniors at the private Friends’ Central School on Philadelphia’s affluent Main Line — to examine the assumptions buried in the venerable [...]
Neutrino experiment repeat at Cern finds same result
Posted in Physical sciences on November 18, 2011 | Comments Off
The team which found that neutrinos may travel faster than light has carried out an improved version of their experiment – and confirmed the result. Neutrinos travel through 700km of rock before reaching Gran Sasso’s underground laboratories If confirmed by other experiments, the find could undermine one of the basic principles of modern physics. Critics [...]
This Is a … Oh, Never Mind
Posted in Strange but true on November 18, 2011 | Comments Off
Apparently the robber’s conscience got the better of him. Kids Thwart Robbery With Piggy Banks An attempted robbery in the German state of Lower Saxony took an unexpected turn earlier this week when an armed burglar called off his own holdup, having been shamed by a pair of children. At around 6:25 p.m. on Monday [...]
When Heaven Freezes Over
Posted in Religion on November 17, 2011 | Comments Off
Hotels and bars made out of ice have been common for a while — now a church is the latest project to get the cold treatment. In the Bavarian Forest, one congregation wants to build a place of worship out of 1,400 cubic meters of snow, just as their ancestors did 100 years ago. Everything is [...]
Into Thin Air
Posted in Photo galleries on November 17, 2011 | Comments Off
Chinese artist Liu Bolin blends in with shelves of vegetables in a Beijing supermarket on Nov. 10. Known as the “vanishing artist,” Bolin’s art installations entail him going “incognito” by painting painstakingly accurate depictions of colorful backgrounds on himself. __________ Full article and photo: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,797725,00.html
Poem of the week: Trenches: St Eloi by TE Hulme
Posted in Literature, Poetry on November 15, 2011 | Comments Off
British troops in silhouette march towards trenches near Ypres at the western front during the first world war. The author of this week’s poem is remembered today chiefly for the anthology-favourite, “Autumn”. TE Hulme published only six short poems in his lifetime. Without Ezra Pound’s faintly ambiguous championship, he might not be known as [...]
Ten of the best sentences as titles
Posted in Literature on November 13, 2011 | Comments Off
‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, by John Ford The title of Ford’s tragedy of sexual jealousy and incestuous passion is also its closing statement. After a final bloodbath, the Cardinal pronounces judgment on Annabella, who has had carnal relations with her brother and then been killed by him: “Of one so young, so rich in [...]
Poem of the week: Square One by Roddy Lumsden
Posted in Literature, Poetry on November 13, 2011 | Comments Off
City workers walk across London Bridge. Several commentators on recent books blogs have said they’d like to see a discussion of Roddy Lumsden’s poetry, and PotW’s own MeltonMowbray posted a request earlier this year. So for this week’s poem, I’ve chosen one of my favourites from Lumsden’s latest collection, Terrific Melancholy (recommended if you [...]
Readmill Networks Lonely Bookworms
Posted in Literature on November 13, 2011 | Comments Off
Traditionally, reading has been a solitary activity. But two Berlin-based Swedes hope to change this. They’re close to launching new software called Readmill, which promises to create a social network for bookworms to share their reading habits, margin notes and recommendations. The pool table in the living room is covered by a wooden slab, a second room [...]
Salt of the Earth
Posted in Photo galleries on November 11, 2011 | Comments Off
Elaborate salt formations are seen in the Dead Sea near Ein Bogek, Israel, on Nov. 9. The lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea is one of 28 finalists in the online campaign to determine the new seven wonders of the natural world. The list includes other geographical splendors such as Switzerland’s Matterhorn mountain, the [...]
‘Berlusconi Is a Joke, Behind Him Is a Void’
Posted in Politics on November 11, 2011 | Comments Off
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may soon be history. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s promise to resign has failed to calm financial markets, with Italy’s borrowing costs hitting a record 7 percent on Wednesday. Still, German commentators are glad to see the back of Il Cavaliere. Silvio Berlusconi’s demise had been forecast many times, but [...]
Dutch Scientists Drive Single-Molecule Car
Posted in Physical sciences on November 11, 2011 | Comments Off
Scientists in the Netherlands have introduced a molecule-sized car. Legroom might be an issue. Its wheels are comprised of a few atoms each; its motor, a mere jolt of electricity. Scientists in the Netherlands have introduced the world’s smallest car — and it’s only a single molecule long. It’s certainly no Porsche, but scientists at [...]
Poem of the week: Stone by Janet Simon
Posted in Literature, Poetry on November 11, 2011 | Comments Off
‘A stone is a stone is a stone is a stone’. “– Pebbles cannot be tamed / to the end they will look at us / with a calm and very clear eye,” Zbigniew Herbert concluded in “Pebble”. This week’s poem by Janet Simon, “Stone,” recalls the political-parable style of much central and eastern [...]
Poem of the week: Tiny Pieces by Billy Mills
Posted in Poetry on November 11, 2011 | Comments Off
Broken glass. This week’s poem is by Billy Mills, and comes from Lares/Manes: Collected Poems, published by Shearsman in 2009. While the title of the collection suggests concerns with hearth and home this is only part of the story: the vast and flowing home of the poems belongs to geological time. These poems are [...]
Poem of the week: All Souls’ Day by Frances Bellerby
Posted in Literature, Poetry on November 11, 2011 | Comments Off
Mexicans mark the day of the dead in San Gregorio. Bellerby’s poem likewise seems to melt the borders between life and death. Frances Bellerby, who died in 1975, was born 112 years ago in Bristol. She wrote fiction, essays and poetry. Much of Bellerby’s verse is set in Devon and Cornwall; her first, 1946, [...]
10 of the best women dressed as men
Posted in Literature on November 10, 2011 | Comments Off
Surface male … Katy Stephens as Rosalind (as Ganymede) in a 2009 RSC version of As You Like It. Orlando Furioso by Ariosto Bradamante covers herself with armour and fights as a manly knight. “He” is befriended by the Saracen warrior Ruggiero, who realises his luck is in when his new comrade takes off [...]
Ten of the best men dressed as women
Posted in Literature on November 10, 2011 | Comments Off
Alan Cumming in the National Theatre of Scotland’s production of The Bacchae. The Bacchae by Euripides Pentheus wants to witness the revels of the Maenads, women under the ecstatic influence of Dionysus who range freely in the woods and mountains. He is persuaded by the god that in order to do this he must [...]
Ten of the best cathedrals in literature
Posted in Literature on November 10, 2011 | Comments Off
Salisbury cathedral, the focus of William Golding’s novel. The Spire by William Golding Salisbury resident Golding imagined the building of the cathedral whose spire towers over the city. Ignoring the warnings of others, the obsessive Dean Jocelin drives the work on, convinced that an angel is prompting him. As he becomes madder, the miraculous [...]
