Monthly Archives: October 2018

Martha Nussbaum, Philosopher

She is also known for helping to advance the so-called capabilities approach to economic development, which holds that progress should be measured by things like increases in life expectancy and education, rather than simply by increases in income. Her work, … Continue reading

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“… Mind of a Genius at Work”

One note Leonardo wrote to himself reads, “Make eyeglasses to see the moon larger.” The first known record of a telescope came around a century later. (Elisabetta Povoledo, “In Leonardo da Vinci’s Scientific Notebook, the Mind of a Genius at … Continue reading

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Subjoins Mons Veneris? Nope

This week, the European Space Agency released a picture taken by its Mars Express orbiter that showed what it described as “a curious cloud formation” stretching from east to west near Arsia Mons, the southernmost in a string of three … Continue reading

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Marmite versus Vegemite

Faced with delay in receiving my mail-order Marmite, I recently ordered for the first time a supply of Vegemite as backup. They were, I assumed, essentially the same product under different labeling. Far from it! Here’s what I discovered. Consistency: … Continue reading

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Berthe Morisot (1841 – 1895)

She had the loosest, least finished-looking of Impressionist techniques—a trait that helps explain her neglect, versus the more decisively branded manners of the men, but one that also fascinates. Her paintings, indefinite at first glance, are hard to stop contemplating … Continue reading

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A little twirly birdie?

I stream my music from Spotify and Pandora, resorting to radio only when I’m in the car. My local station is Jack Radio. Its jaunty slogan, We play what we want, belies the wretched predictability of its fare, a trait … Continue reading

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Persuasion

“The only way you persuade someone is to listen harder.” [While setting aside the guns?] (John Hickenlooper, quoted by Roger Cohen, “Can Colorado Save America?”, NYTimes, 10-26-18) (c) 2018 JMN.

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Art Embraced

[stifled guffaw] “Generally people don’t like to live with complicated subject matter,” Mr. Simons said. “But I have to feel the artwork stands for something that is important to me. I don’t like the idea that it has to fit … Continue reading

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“Lobotomized by Rage”

Maybe it’s always been naïve to think about culture in a moral vacuum. Art comes from someplace and brings with it at least a little of wherever it has come from or whoever has made it. Why not keep those … Continue reading

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“Free Solo”

[Reminds me of my mother — a historian, teacher, librarian, scribbler. (Ahem. I wonder who follows in her wake!) At her funeral I said of her grammarian and authorial chops: “For her, there was a good way and a better … Continue reading

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